Jennifer Goulet

President – ArtServe Michigan

Presenter – 12:00 noon, Wednesday, April 6th – Advocating and Benchmarking for the Creative Economy

Jennifer H. Goulet is the President of ArtServe Michigan, the statewide non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating the creative potential of Michigan’s arts and cultural sector through advocacy, capacity building and strategic communications. She served on the merger negotiations team whose strategic efforts led to ArtServe’s merger with the Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies in fall 2006. She joined ArtServe’s staff in 2007 as its Director of Development and was appointed as ArtServe’s President in October 2008.

Prior to joining the ArtServe staff, Goulet served as the Executive Director of the Chelsea Center for the Arts, a vibrant community arts center offering visual arts and music programming, public art projects, and cultural economic development initiatives. Goulet also served as the City of Ypsilanti’s Downtown Development Authority Director and Community and Economic Development Director from 1993 to 2005 where she was actively engaged in leading community and downtown revitalization initiatives to re-energize this historic, struggling urban community.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geography from Valparaiso University and a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University. She is also a 2004 Graduate and Fellow of the Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies Community Arts Leadership Academy.

Before moving to Michigan in 1993, Goulet was actively involved in Florida’s growth management efforts while serving as the Comprehensive Planning Director for Brevard County, Florida. She is Co-Chair of the Michigan Cultural Data Project Task Force and serves on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Nonprofit Association and Riverside Arts Center Foundation. Goulet formerly served on boards for ArtServe Michigan, the Arts Alliance of the Ann Arbor Area, Canton Partnership for the Arts, Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies, the Chelsea and Ypsilanti Area Chambers of Commerce, and the Ypsilanti Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

An avid knitter, Goulet resides in Cherry Hill Village in Canton, Michigan with her husband Jeff who serves as Community Planner for Canton Township, and 11-year old son Andres who loves music and baseball.