Mark Mortenson has been named as the new Executive Director of the Richardson Olmsted Campus.
Mortenson previously spent seven years as president and CEO of the Buffalo Museum of Science. Prior to his move to Buffalo, he spent more two decades as a vice president of the Walt Disney Company
One of the projects Mortenson will inherit in his new role is the finalization of the Lipsey Architectural Center.
“We have rich architectural assets throughout the city," he said. "The vision is the Lipsey Architectural Center will be the hub or the catalyst to help visitors to the area explore all of those regional assets.”
The Renaissance Campaign for the Richardson Olmsted Campus helped raise $10 million to fund the building of the Lipsey Architectural Center and further redevelopment of the campus. Having worked for Disney and the Science Museum, Mortenson arrives with a wealth of knowledge and passion for the regions architectural wonders.
“As with any cultural resource, what you want to do is you want to make sure that you give visitors a rich experience when they arrive," he said, "and certainly at my tenure at Disney and my tenure at the Science Museum, that’s absolutely what I did in my role there.”
Mortenson realizes that promotion of the Richardson Olmsted Campus is key to bringing a greater appreciation to the area’s extraordinary buildings.
“I’m really hoping that I can get the word out about the amazing resource that the Richardson Center is and get a lot of those people that I have heard from to come and visit the center and experience the grandeur that is present in our community,” he said.
Mortenson will begin his tenure in January.
