ARTSblog

Name: Marete

Web Site: http://www.artsusa.org

Bio: Marete Wester joined the staff at Americans for the Arts as the director of arts policy information in April of 2006, after more than 20 years as a nonprofit arts manager, consultant, writer, and educator. As executive director of Dance New Jersey, she recently led that organization's transition into a professional, statewide service organization; tripled the membership by managing a merger with dance educators; and initiated the first comprehensive Dance Needs Assessment research project in the state. She is the former executive director of the Alliance for Arts Education/New Jersey (AAE/NJ), where she initiated and managed several successful state partnerships, including the Arts for Everykid Campaign for Change and the Arts Create Excellent Schools (ACES) Initiative. Her previous positions include acting program specialist for presenting organizations at the National Endowment for the Arts and associate director of program operations at the Staten Island Council on the Arts. In 2003, she authored the chapter on arts education in Fundamentals of Arts Management for the Arts Extension Service (AES) at the University of Massachusetts, and went on to develop the curriculum for the online course. She currently teaches fundraising and arts education in AES’ Online Arts Management program, and serves as an adjunct professor in arts administration for Seton Hall University’s Graduate Department of Public and Healthcare Administration. Marete has conducted numerous workshops and presentations on arts management, education, and advocacy on the international, national, state, and local levels and has served as a member of planning teams for community cultural arts and arts education plans throughout New Jersey and Maryland. She is the author of several Monographs published by Americans for the Arts on advocacy and arts education. She holds a bachelor's of music performance degree from Wilkes University, PA, and a master's degree in arts administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia.