Cascadia Art Museum’s Board of Directors announced Thursday the appointment of Brandi P. Clark as new executive director.

“We are really excited to have found someone of Brandi’s caliber to join us and continue the astounding growth that the museum has experienced over such a short time since opening,” said Board President Lindsey Echelbarger, who chaired the search committee. “Brandi was the clear choice of the committee and the board because of her depth of knowledge and experience in the arts non-profit world. She brings us skills that are particularly important for this stage of Cascadia’s development.”

Clark will be the first permanent executive director for the Cascadia Art Museum, which opened in September of 2015 to positive reviews for its ground-breaking exhibitions focused on early art of the Northwest region.

She brings 16 years of experience and success in the arts administration field from a broad range of organizations, including the Houston Symphony, the 5^th Avenue Theatre, Pratt Fine Arts Center and, most recently, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen.

Clark explained that while she enjoyed the challenges of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, her 10 years of living in the Pacific Northwest had made an indelible imprint on her. “When the offer came from Cascadia, I just couldn’t resist returning to the Northwest to be part of building such a promising new institution,” she said. “New art museums are rare things and the opportunity to be a part of it was too compelling to resist.”

According to the announcement, Clark has been a successful fundraiser, partnership builder and involved community member. She has been responsible for organizing and growing special events, surpassing goals for procurement, attendance, fund-a-need and sponsorships as well as supervising multiple studio programs and galleries.

“While Cascadia has had tremendous success in the past eight months (we have over 550 members), it is still surprising how many people don’t yet know who we are or what we have to offer,“ Clark said. “New visitors enter the museum and stop dead in their tracks and say ‘I didn’t realize this was a REAL museum!’ Cascadia is such a wonderful resource for Edmonds and for the region, and I am excited to be part of this new Northwest institution.”