Joan Carter has joined the Vermont Arts Council as director of administration, replacing Elaine DuFresne, who recently retired. Carter brings to the Council a deep background in accounting, financial management, and information technology. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and decades of varied experience working in small to large businesses. Previously, she worked as the controller at Spruce Peak Realty for 10 years and has also been employed as an accounting and computer consultant for the City of Burlington and for Youth in Need, a nonprofit youth advocacy group in St. Louis, MO.
“We are thrilled to welcome Joan to the Arts Council,” said Arts Council Executive Director Alex Aldrich. “Joan’s breadth of experience in the nonprofit, profit, and public sectors, as well as her financial and technology expertise, are great additions to our staff. We look forward to Joan’s contributions as we enter the next half-century of preserving and advancing the arts at the center of Vermont communities.” Since 1964, the Vermont Arts Council has been the state’s primary provider of funding, advocacy and information for the arts in Vermont. It strives to increase public awareness of the positive role artists and arts organizations play in communities and to increase opportunities for Vermonters to experience the arts in everyday life. The Council is the only designated State Arts Agency in the U.S. that is also an independent, not-for-profit, membership organization.