Episode 203. Delanor Manson – CEO-Kentucky Nurses Assoc., Retired U.S. Navy Captain & Owner, Koi Gallery

Creativity, curiosity, and discipline define Delanor Manson’s accomplishments across many fields.

Jewelry designer, businesswoman, nurse, and Navy captain describe successful careers mastered by Delanor.

With degrees in nursing & healthcare mgt., Delanor has been at the forefront of innovative medical initiatives in both patient care & complex administrative issues.

Achieving the rank of U.S. Navy Capt., Manson applied her nursing education to positions throughout the country and in Japan, Gt. Britain, Germany, Italy & Puerto Rico. Not too shabby! Most recently as the Assoc. VP. of R&D of Hosparus in Lou. she was involved in the complex interplay of strategy/planning & project design & mgt. However, her career spans diverse accomplishments in medicine & community involvement; she has ALWAYS nourished innate creativity. While living in Japan, she studied art forms such as ikebana-the Japanese art of flower arrangement & origami, the traditional Japanese art of folding paper. Still, the beauty of stones fascinated her as a child & led her to a natural progression as a jewelry designer.

Delanor’s jewelry has been showcased at various juried art shows throughout the region & at the KY. Museum of Art & Craft while also being featured at Rodes for Her, Karen of Course, The Shop at the Brown, Aesthetics in Jewelry & other high-end boutiques.

In 2008, Koi Gallery at the Galt House Hotel was founded to exhibit & sell her jewelry. As a member of the art community, she has supported local, regional & national artisans by showcasing & selling their paintings, sculptures & other art pieces in the Koi Gallery. 20% of the artists showcased in the gallery are emerging artisans. This has garnered Delanor national acclaim, as evidenced by the designs for poet, activist & educator Nikki Giovanni & First Lady Michelle Obama.

Delanor was featured in a 2009 Courier-Journal article titled “Salute to Style.” In 2010, Her Scene magazine recognized her as a style ICON. In addition, today’s Woman magazine honored her as the Most Admired Woman in the Arts in 2012.

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) selected her as their 2013 EPIC award finalist for the Woman Business Owner of the Year. In addition, Mogul magazine’s July 2013 issue featured her in an article titled “Not a Boutique, but a Gallery of Jewelry & Art Infusion.”

In addition to these creative achievements, she is an active community member by her leadership positions in the Woman’s Club of Louisville, as a Board of Director & the Look Art Gallery Consortium Board of Director of Galleries & membership in The Fillies.

She was the past chairperson of the Committee on Health & currently serves as the chairperson of the Committee on Culinary Arts of the Woman’s Club of Louisville.