Daniel Zuckerman is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media the Greene County Council of the Arts has named Marline Martin, of Poughkeepsie, as its new executive director. Martin replaces Kay Stamer, who left the post in June, after 40 years at the council's helm. Martin assumed her duties July 9. Martin’s career in the arts spans more than 20 years. She has worked with Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center, The Children’s Art Carnival, TRANSART & Cultural Services, Urban Dance Collective, the Caribbean Cultural Center and While We Are Still Here. Most recently, Martin served as executive director of the LeRoy Neiman Art Center for seven years. “Most of my working life, I’ve been involved with arts and culture,” she said. “I believe in building community through the arts — I think I have the ability to go and assess that. I’ve always preferred to work with the community on what their needs are.” Among her past projects: a summer-long hip-hop concert on the theme of staying in school for the Caribbean Cultural Center; and formalizing the programs at the Children’s Art Carnival to serve young people in schools. Martin is a recipient of the Harlem Women of Excellence Award, the Zeta Phi Beta/Five Pearls Foundation Award and Arts Mid-Hudson Individual Artist Award. Martin wants to contribute to the council’s legacy through bringing sustainability in creating stable foundations for artists to work in and to present their pieces at, she said. Tasks ahead for Martin include regionalizing the council into Columbia and Schoharie counties, developing a vision for the area’s cultural economy and making that economy permanent, she said. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.