Come July 1, Humanities Washington, a state-wide, non-profit organization, will bid farewell to its longtime president and CEO.
Margaret Ann Bollmeier, a Magnolia resident, has announced she will be leaving the organization next month. After 10 years of service with Humanities Washington, she will be moving to Manitowoc, Wis., to be closer to family, she said.
After Bollmeier's departure, former associate director of Humanities Washington Amanda Swain will step in as interim president while the organization commits up to a year-long search for a permanent replacement.
Bollmeier's interest and dedication to the world of non-profits started after she realized she no longer wanted to be a lawyer. After practicing law for three years in Texas, she decided the field wasn't for her and subsequently became involved in non-profit work.
"I didn't enjoy law," Bollmeier said. "I wanted to do something I felt good about, something of value. I guess you could say I was one of those people who studied law because I thought I could save the world."
Although Bollmeier abandoned litigation law long ago, she admits that she uses her legal education on a daily basis.
She since has discovered other ways to save the world: through her involvement with non-profit organizations.
Prior to working with Humanities Washington, Bollmeier served as a fund development officer as well as director of development with Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy.
Beginning her work with Humanities Washington in 1995, Bollmeier has created (along with the help of her "wonderful staff," she added) numerous state-wide projects that have garnered much recognition.
Humanities Washington dedicates itself to enhancing the cultural lives of people around the state by offering programs to under-served communities and rural areas while targeting different aspects of the humanities.
Bollmeier is responsible for building up Motheread/Fatheread, a family literacy program, in more than 100 sites around the state.
"Motheread/Fatheread teaches parents how to interpret books and make them exciting for their children," she said. "It teaches them how to bring books to life; it's for all kinds of parents; even parents who don't know how to read can learn to use pictures to tell the story."
Bollmeier stressed the importance of reading to children, saying that the number one things parents can do is read to their children when they're young because the more familiar a child is with books, the easier it will be when they begin learning to read.
Another program Bollmeier has worked to build is the organization's media program. Humanities Washington loans out professional media equipment to encourage interest in the media world as a cultural teaching tool. The organization has sponsored five major film festivals in the Seattle area designed to enhance and attract to film a broader and younger audience.
"[The film festivals] are a new format for getting issues and ideas in front of people," she said. "We always try to have forum discussions after the films to talk about the issues presented in the films."
In addition to the growing media program, Bollmeier also has helped bring an adult humanities course - called the Clemente course - to various communities throughout the state. The program, which was started in New York, is designed to give adults from under-served communities an opportunity to study humanities through a rigorous, eight-month course. Clemente is intended as both a bridge to higher education and a means of job improvement for individuals living in poverty.
"The key educational components of people in poverty seem to be missing," said Bollmeier. "They seem to lack an understanding of their part as citizens, and studies have shown that this is usually because they don't have the cultural, educational background."
The Clemente course has been extremely popular and now is implemented in five or six countries around the world.
One achievement that Bollmeier said she is most proud of is a social project she developed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. She helped to create and build a fund through which organizations around the state developed programs to help people understand the numerous aspects and implications of 9/11.
Bollmeier said her work with Humanities Washington has been both exciting and fulfilling. Along with the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the state, she has been able to help traditionally under-served communities and rural areas by implementing new projects.
"The best parts of my job are the fascinating, wonderful, dedicated people whom I get to meet with every day," Bollmeier said. "I really appreciate what I've learned about the challenges that communities face."
Bollmeier said that although she's leaving, she's not worried about the future of Humanities Washington. The organization has so many exiting projects on the way that it will continue thriving and will see lots of exiting opportunities ahead, she said.
In Wisconsin, Bollmeier plans to do part-time consulting work for non-profit firms and to continue raising her two young children.
As for her feelings about leaving Magnolia, Bollmeier confides that she will miss her friends and her involvement in the small community.
"Magnolia is such a strong community - I love going to the grocery store and seeing people I know and going to the library and being around librarians who really want to help," said Bollmeier. "[Magnolia] is such a gem for a city and I will miss it, but I'll be back."
Megan Flynn is a freelance writer living in Seattle.[[In-content Ad]]
