Erik Jorgensen, MHC’s Executive Director, joined the Council staff in 1999 as a program officer. He later served as Assistant Director before assuming his current position on January 1, 2007. He has eighteen years of experience in the Maine cultural community including service as the coordinator for Maine’s New Century Community Program, a $4.5 million interagency cultural funding initiative started in 1999. His first encounter with the Council came in 1987, when, fresh out of college, he was hired to schlep a council-funded exhibit from Portland to Machias. He later served on the MHC board. Prior to working for the Council, Erik served for nine years as Executive Director of the Pejepscot Historical Society in Brunswick. He holds degrees from Bowdoin College and Harvard University. A passionate sailor, he collects books and enjoys gardening, hiking, working on his house and spending time with his wife, Tamara Risser, and son, Will.