Centrum Executive Director, Robert Birman, announced today that George Marie, of Port Townsend, has been selected as the next Program Manager for Writing at Centrum, effective July, 2019. Outgoing manager Jordan Hartt has led Centrum’s writing programs skillfully since 2006 and is settling in Olympia, Washington, to raise his family. Ms. Marie will work with Hartt in support of this year’s Port Townsend Writers’ Conference, which features 20 award-winning faculty members and takes place July 14–21 at Centrum.
“Following a national search for our new program manager, all of us at Centrum are excited to welcome George Marie into this new role,” said executive director Robert Birman. Marie has served as a development associate at Centrum since 2017. “Our panel of interviewers was uniformly impressed by her vision and creativity in articulating ways to build upon the legacy of our writing programs in a way that ensures they will remain true to our culture, at the forefront of the writing scene in the Northwest, and responsive to our changing times.”
Marie moved to Port Townsend in 2014, having worked on the design and development staff for Bedouin Books in Portland, Oregon, and as a program consultant for the Write Now Poetry Society, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing poetry to the mainstream. She holds bachelor’s degrees in cultural studies, social philosophy, and English literature from Marylhurst University. George Marie was an associate with the Simon Mace Gallery in Port Townsend, and volunteer engagement planner with Northwind Arts Center prior to her association with Centrum. She is on the board of the Port Townsend Library Foundation and serves as co-Vice President of Programs for the American Association of University Women.
George Marie shared, “I feel I am being entrusted with something—not exactly precious because the act of writing is never fragile—but something remarkable and deeply important. Centrum is a place where writers explore their craft with bravery and daring, a place where the spirit of each writer can be nurtured and thrive. I’m grateful to Jordan for his leadership of the program, his support and his enthusiasm for the community we serve, and for making it possible for me to carry it on.”
“The Centrum community is grateful to Jordan for his leadership of the writing programs at Centrum,” continued Birman. “As Program Manager, he led our processes to select the artistic directors for writing with whom we work, and—for a short time—he also oversaw all of Centrum programming, our residencies, and assisted with marketing and promotion efforts, globally. Jordan’s father was once head ranger at Fort Worden when Jordan was in his youth. Since that time, Jordan has carried a deep well of passion and commitment to Centrum and our campus each day in his work, and our participants and faculty members reinforce these qualities in their own affiliation with us, as a result. Jordan is a gifted writer, thinker, and colleague, and will always be embraced here,” said Birman.