June 13, 2022

By now you might have heard the news — we have a new executive director! I couldn’t be happier to see Marie Olesen lead this wonderful, lifechanging organization. I love what I do, and I’m excited to do more of the community engagement that has been so meaningful to me, but it’s time for FCA to have new energy and ideas, and Marie will do that fabulously!

I’m sharing the message below from Mike Powers, FCA’s board chair. If you see Marie around town or at a concert, be sure to welcome her to our family. This is going to be great!

– by Mike Powers, chair of the board

Photo courtesy of Marie Olesen.

I am pleased to share with you that Marie-Sylvestre Olesen will become the new executive director for FCA. Marie has an absolute passion for the performing arts and proven leadership skills from years of managing programs and events. She’ll start with FCA on July 6.

Spending just a few minutes with Marie shows you her captivating enthusiasm for what FCA does. She’ll bring exciting ideas to engage our audiences and continue our legacy of community partnerships. 

This upcoming season marks our 75th year of presenting professional performing artists in Interior Alaska. This is a wonderful start to celebrating our history and setting the course for the next 75 years.

Marie is originally from Montreal but she has lived in Fairbanks since 2014, and she knows our community and life in the North very well. Most recently she has been working at UAF as a program coordinator, and she spent several years in Dawson, where she was the executive director for the Canadian side of the Yukon Quest. We’re lucky that she kept moving west!

I want to thank Anne Biberman, who has been FCA’s executive director for 14 years. It is impossible to overstate our appreciation for Anne’s hard work and dedication, and for everything that she achieved for FCA, the arts and our community. She is leaving a strong organization in Marie’s capable hands. We have a great association and great people who love it and support it. On behalf of the board and the staff at FCA, thank you!