Djerassi Artist Residency Trustees Visited Epstein's Island Two Years After His Conviction

Two trustees of one of the West Coast's most respected artist residencies visited Jeffrey Epstein's notorious private island in 2011—two years after his first conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor—according to documents released by the Department of Justice.

Alexander Maxwell Djerassi and Michael Molesky, both board members of the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, appear on an itinerary for a January 2011 "Mindshift Conference" held at Epstein's Little Saint James island in the US Virgin Islands. The email, sent by art collector and Epstein reputation manager Al Seckel, lists the two men among guests attending academic meetings and social events that weekend.

Maxwell Djerassi is the nephew of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. His mother, Isabel Maxwell, married Al Seckel in 2007. Molesky founded the startup Marker and previously served as COO of LiveRail, a video monetization platform acquired by Meta in 2014. Both men joined the Djerassi board in 2017, six years after their island visit.

The Djerassi program told Hyperallergic that the trustees "were among those invited to attend a social lunch" years before joining the board, and emphasized that "neither Jeffrey Epstein nor Ghislaine Maxwell has ever donated to, visited, or had any contact with the Djerassi Resident Artists Program."

But a former program employee, speaking anonymously, said staff and residents knew about the trustees' Maxwell family connection and island visit before the files were released—and that staff were discouraged from discussing it around Maxwell Djerassi.

Maxwell Djerassi, now the board's secretary, worked in the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs from 2009 to 2012, serving under Hillary Clinton. He told Hyperallergic he attended the island event as part of a "family vacation" with his mother and friend Molesky, claiming they "had no awareness of Epstein's heinous crimes" at the time. Both men were approximately 27 years old during the visit.

That explanation strains credulity. Epstein's 2008 conviction was widely reported, and by 2011, his history of abusing minors was public knowledge. The "Mindshift Conference" itinerary included wine tastings, stargazing, and a lock-picking demonstration—hardly the trappings of a serious academic gathering.

The 583-acre Djerassi Resident Artists Program was founded in 1979 by chemist Carl Djerassi, inventor of the birth control pill, and his wife, author Diane Middlebrook. Originally a women-only residency honoring their daughter Pamela, who died by suicide in 1978, the program has hosted prominent artists including Lava Thomas and Viet Thanh Nguyen. It has faced criticism in recent years for alleged mismanagement.

The Epstein files continue to expose connections between the disgraced financier and elite cultural institutions. In February, David A. Ross resigned from the School of Visual Arts after his extensive email exchanges with Epstein became public. Billionaire Leon Black, who paid Epstein millions for financial advice and now faces allegations of sexual assault, remains a trustee at the Museum of Modern Art despite stepping down as board chairman in 2021.

Few of these institutions have faced meaningful accountability. The Djerassi program's statement emphasizes that Epstein never donated to or visited the residency—but that sidesteps the central question: Why are two men who socialized on Epstein's island after his conviction now governing an organization founded to honor a young woman's memory?

The art world has long operated on networks of wealth, access, and personal connections. The Epstein files reveal how those networks enabled and protected a serial abuser. When trustees of a residency dedicated to supporting artists—particularly one founded in memory of a woman who struggled with mental health—have documented ties to Epstein's world, it demands more than a carefully worded press statement.

It demands a reckoning with who holds power in these institutions, how they got there, and whether their judgment can be trusted.