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PARKERSBURG -- A new executive director was announced on Sunday by Artsbridge.
Megan Newbanks succeeds Amanda Stevens, who left Artsbridge to become executive director of Downtown PKB earlier this summer.
Newbanks is a Parkersburg native, an arts administration professional "and longtime lover of all things artful and creative," the organization said in a press release.
Newbanks has a bachelor's in theater and recently obtained a master's in arts administration and cultural policy from Goldsmiths University at London, England. She has a dedication to seeing arts and creative education become accessible to all across the region.
"I wrote my dissertation for my master's degree on utilizing arts, culture and creative placemaking as a method of curbing the Opioid Crisis in West Virginia," she said.
"It's always been my dream to see a Mid-Ohio Valley revived with a thriving arts community that caters to and invests in people from all backgrounds in our community," Newbanks said. "To be hired to head an organization whose focus is doing exactly that kind of work is an absolute dream come true."
Newbanks takes over at the end of the month.
Artsbridge was created in 1986 as an arts service agency for Washington and Wood counties in response to a Cultural Action Plan for the Mid-Ohio Valley developed by 250 citizens.