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Arts Orange County has announced the appointment of Patrick Brien to the position of Vice President & Chief Operating Officer beginning July 1. The position is a new one at ArtsOC, and reflects its continued growth and evolution as Orange County’s leading arts services organization.
For nearly 17 years, Patrick Brien has served as Executive Director of the Riverside Arts Council in Riverside, California, where he helped to connect the regional arts and cultural infrastructure of the inland region.
As a mixed-race child of an American father and a mother born and raised in Japan, cultural and social equity has always been at the forefront of Brien’s intent. He has spearheaded multiple programs directed toward BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) and other underserved communities.
Brien serves on the Board of Directors of Californians for the Arts and California Arts Advocates, as well as on the Executive Committee of the United States Urban Arts Federation. He was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.
Patrick is a first-generation college graduate of Chapman University with a BA in Theatre and Film and Television.
“I have known Patrick as a theatre colleague for more than thirty years and our professional association grew even stronger over the past decade as we worked together in advocating to elected officials for the advancement of arts support,” commented ArtsOC President & CEO Richard Stein. “His deep experience as longtime chief executive of the nonprofit arts council in neighboring Riverside County and the knowledge he possesses of Orange County from his university years and early career endeavors make him perfectly suited to help ArtsOC take on the opportunities presented by its present and future growth."
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