The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council has announced that island resident Morgan Smith will take the reins as the organization’s new executive director.

“She comes to us with impeccable credentials,” BIAHC Board President Claudia Anderson said in a press release.

Smith moved to the island a year ago with her husband and 3-year-old daughter from Georgia, where she was chief of strategic planning for the City of Atlanta and prior to that, director of fiscal policy. She has worked for a variety of public and private sector organizations and holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University.

BIAHC, an umbrella organization that supports arts and humanities organizations through training, coordination and funds distribution, also has a variety of its own programs and partnerships.

According to the press release, Smith’s first steps in her roughly half-time position will include working with leaders of island cultural organizations and the city to advocate for the organization’s agencies and programs, and to develop a sustainable financial model to build on.

Smith’s Sept. 1 start date coincides with the re-opening of the BIAHC offices, which have been closed for a month-long furlough. Smith replaces Zon Eastes, who left the organization this summer.