SKOWHEGAN -- A former business planner from Millinocket is the new executive director for Main Street Skowhegan.

Jennifer Olsen starts March 15, according to a release from the Main Street Skowhegan board of directors.

Olsen's "grassroots experience in a wide range of areas proves she's very adaptable," said Rosie Bradley, president of Main Street Skowhegan said in a news release. "She also has remarkable collaboration skills and really cares about her community's issues.

"Her sense of humor is a great asset as well. We are very excited to have Jennifer join our team and looking forward to her becoming a great asset to our community."

Olsen was the business coordinator for the Katahdin Area Chamber of Commerce, serving Millinocket, East Millinocket, and Medway for the past two years. During her time there, she was instrumental in bringing Millinocket into the Maine Downtown Network, according to the release.

Skowhegan Town Manager John Doucette Jr., a board member at Main Street Skowhegan, said he was impressed by Olsen during interviews.

"I think she's a very positive person," Doucette said. "I think she's a go-getter; she's a done a lot of things in Millinocket and she has some good ideas for our downtown. She also has some nonprofit knowledge, which was a big factor."

Main Street Skowhegan was designated in the fall of 2005 as one of eight Main Street Maine communities at the time.

The mission of the program is to improve and maintain the downtown area as the heart of Skowhegan, focusing on organization, promotion, design and economic revitalization.

Emphasis is on infrastructure improvements, bringing new business to town, improved pedestrian safety and aesthetics through façade design.

Having a Main Street designation is important because the group receives funding annually for training and the status gives the town extra points when officials go for state development grants.

Olsen takes over for Betsy Bourdeau, of Detroit, who started in January 2009 and resigned in July.

Bourdeau's departure left a gap in a program that already was facing possible decertification as a Main Street community by the ruling Maine Downtown Center in Augusta. Main Street Skowhegan now is in good standing with the organization.

Olsen has also owned and operated her own business and directed various local community coalitions.

"What intrigued me most about this community are the successful inroads Skowhegan has made with key partners in business, government, and the private sector," Olsen said in the release. "They seemed to recognize, early in this process, that collaboration and accountability are absolutely crucial in these economic times."

There will be an open house to introduce Olsen to the Skowhegan community, but no date has been set. Business owners and community leaders are invited to stop in to welcome her to Skowhegan prior to the event.

Offices are located upstairs at 93-B Water St., between the Bankery and Skowhegan Fleuriste.

There are currently nine communities, including Waterville, throughout the state that have implemented the Maine Downtown Center model, which is part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

For more information about the program go to www.mdf.org, or www.mainstreetskowhegan.org.

Doug Harlow -- 474-9534 -- dharlow@centralmaine.com