The Vancouver Maritime Museum (VMM) has selected David Jordan as Executive Director, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). He begins his tenure on September 27, 2021.
Bringing more than 15 years of experience, Mr. Jordan most recently served as the Arts Services Manager for the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, which is owned and operated by the City of Burnaby. While there, Mr. Jordan improved the financial performance of the Blues and Roots Festival, increased the budget for new programming for festivals and events, and provided renewed artistic direction in theatre and music programming. For more than a decade, Mr. Jordan served as Executive Director of the Vancouver Fringe Theatre Society, where he led strategic planning, eliminated debt and increased the overall budget, grew earned and contributed revenue, and spearheaded a diversity audit project that resulted in changes in programming, hiring, and policies.
An active community volunteer, Mr. Jordan has served the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals as President, Arts and Culture Advisory Committee for the Vancouver Foundation, and Community Arts Program Jury for the City of Vancouver. As an Executive Mentor for Vantage Point, he provided mentorship for Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. In 2015, he was the recipient of Business in Vancouver’s Forty under Forty Award. Mr. Jordan holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in drama for human development from Concordia University and master of fine art degree in theatre from Ohio University.
In making the announcement, Board President Tom Beasley said, “The VMM Board is extremely excited that David Jordan has joined the VMM team. David’s business and arts-based experience will bring clarity and confidence and a sustainable focus to our strategic planning. Museums are evolving from static artifact exhibits to engaging and interactive community centres telling diverse and challenging stories. David’s consensus-building and creative energetic style will guide us well on that transformational journey.”
“It is clear to me that the board and staff are an enthused and committed group with the right priorities—climate action, reconciliation, and telling the compelling and complex histories of our connection to the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and their related waterways,” said Mr. Jordan “I am delighted to join the team at the Vancouver Maritime Museum and to help further this compelling work through connection with diverse communities.”
“Best wishes to David Jordan as he begins his tenure as Executive Director at the Vancouver Maritime Museum,” said ACG President Bruce D. Thibodeau. “As a creative and strategic leader, Mr. Jordan’s proven record of emphasizing diversity and inclusion, as well as a community engagement, will increase accessibility for the VMM as it increases its local, regional, and national service.”
September 2021