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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 1 5 newspaper advertising and volunteered for the Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce. In 2007, she was appointed business coordinator of the chamber. In 2010, Olsen became executive director of Main Street Skowhegan, where she developed a strategic plan, led a community-wide brand- ing initiative, and was instrumental in obtaining federal grants to make the town more pedestrian friendly. Her efforts yielded a new a market- ing campaign that celebrated the town's rich heritage of farming, art, mills and shoemaking, and the slogan "Skowhegan, a Place to Watch," a nod to one interpretation of the Abenaki word "Skowhegan." In 2012 Olsen took the helm at Waterville Main Street, which is overseen by a 16-person board, and funded by private donations and rev- enues generated by the downtown Tax Improvement Funding district. Olsen steers the group with the help of a part-time office manager and a legion of 100 volunteers. "I was really thrilled when they hired Jen," said Shannon Haines, Olsen's predecessor at Waterville Main Street, who is now executive director of the Maine Film Center. "She is passionate about downtown. She is knowledgeable and collabora- tive. Any community organization or successful non-profit requires that." A flurry of activity Collaboration is very much at the core of Olsen's daily duties. rough United Way of Mid-Maine, she recently became certified in Service Enterprise Training, a nationally-recog- nized practice that will allow her to train area non-profit groups to more effectively leverage volunteers. Recently, with the help of 100 Colby student volunteers, Olsen led a tactical urbanism exercise to explore what would happen if the lanes of a major intersection, Main and Temple streets, were narrowed for pedestrian activities. ey assessed the impact on traffic and emergency vehicle access. She is also on the steering commit- tee, guiding Waterville's participation in the 100 Million Healthier Lives Project, a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to develop strategies to improve commu- nity health, like improving walkabil- ity, social connectivity, and access to healthy food. Olsen is leading Main Street at a time when many of the city's major institutions have made major invest- ments of their own. The Maine Film Center bought the Railroad Square Cinema in 2012 to be a permanent home for the Maine International Film Festival and in 2013 spent $200,000 to convert to digi- tal projection. e cinema had nearly 40,000 admissions last year, including more than 10,000 for the festival. The Waterville Opera House, which draws more than 30,000 people a year, completed a $4.5 million renovation in 2012. The Waterville Public Library completed a $2.3 million renova- tion in 2011, and developed the Business, Career, and Creativity Center which provides services for job seekers like career fairs, appli- cation for benefits assistance and GED classes. Waterville Creates, a collab- orative of local arts and culture groups, relaunched and appointed its first executive director in December 2014. The Colby College Museum of Art completed a $15 million expan- sion in 2013. It drew 50,000 people last year, doubling pre-expansion attendance levels. Thomas College was awarded a $1.1 million federal TRIO grant to provide academic and post-grad support for first-generation stu- dents, students from low-income families, and those with disabilities. "I'm excited to see what happens," Olsen said. "We have to believe that change is possible and that we can be different. But it's a process, it's not an event." J e n n i f e r Va n A l l e n , a w r i t e r b a s e d i n Ya r m o u t h , c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e d i t o r i a l @ m a i n e b i z . b i z Waterville Main Street 44 Main St., Suite 202, Waterville Founded: 2001 Executive director: Jennifer Olsen Employees: two Mission: Revitalizing the downtown Contact: 680-2055 www.watervillemainstreet.org For more info, visit us at MaineNaturalGas.com For more info, visit us at MaineNaturalGas.com We're writing a new chapter in Maine's energy history. Maine Natural Gas offers consumers and businesses a more affordable solution not only for winter heating, but also for cooking, cooling, generating electricity, and much more. Together, the cost savings and natural gas's impressive versatility can help sharpen Maine's competitive edge. MNG takes great pride in working to brighten our state's economic future as part of Iberdrola's long-term commitment to the people of Maine. We're Maine's local gas company. Energizing Maine's economy, one customer at a time.

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