Angela Ossian began her career as a copywriter for Younkers and later worked for the marketing department of The Des Moines Register, where she helped launch a newcomers magazine and some niche publications. She went on to become a senior marketing and communications associate for Principal Residential Mortgage. Most recently, she was director of marketing for the Iowa State Center at Iowa State University. She also is a certified yoga instructor and in 2013 launched a Yoga magazine, YogaIowa. In her new role, which began Oct. 3, Ossian succeeds Kim Poam Logan, who was executive director of Metro Arts Alliance for eight years. 

What interested you in pursuing this position? 
For the past 12 years, I’ve been director of the Iowa State Center, which is where we have the Performing Arts Series at Stephens Auditorium. … We had all kinds of performers cross the stage at Stephens Auditorium, so I got to see and market the shows. And on the flip side, you also see the audiences come in. So definitely in the last 12 years I have been ingrained in the arts, more on the performing arts side. We also had a youth matinee series, which was a curriculum-based literacy program for pre-K through 12th-graders to come to our building and enjoy a 60-minute performance. … So it’s given me a really good appreciation for the value of the arts in our community. 

Do you see a fairly easy transition to a broader arts organization? 
I think it will be once I get over the initial (challenge) of being part of a new organization. (The board) wanted to have not only someone with an arts appreciation but with the marketing experience. One of my goals is to help elevate its mission through marketing and to build the education, branding, vision and strategy. An arts organization can be so busy in the day-to-day work that it’s easy for that marketing to go to the wayside, and then it’s hard for people to know what we’re doing. It’s important for the community to know how we’re bringing that arts engagement to everybody. 

What are your impressions of Metro Arts Alliance so far, and what are the biggest opportunities you see? 
I think the biggest challenge is to ensure continued relevancy so that Metro Arts evolves as our community evolves. It’s a 40-year-old organization, and what’s going on in the arts community is so much different than when it first started. I think we need to pursue some new ambitious goals and achieve that relevancy. 

What else is coming up in your first year? 
Next year is our 35th anniversary of Jazz in July, which is a beloved event throughout the community. … We want to make the arts accessible and keep those events free for the public to enjoy. We want to expand those; I’d like to see us have 35 concerts in July 2017, between the hourlong lunchtime concerts and the evening ones in our neighborhoods and parks throughout our communities. It’s a great way to bring people together, and in neighborhoods that they may never have had a reason to go to, and see a different side of the community. 

How did you come to found YogaIowa?  
I got my yoga (instructor) certification back in 2012. Through that, I realized that there’s so much depth to yoga; it’s not just the practice. Publications have always been part of who I am, so I decided to see if a yoga publication would even fly. At the 2012 Yoga Festival in Iowa City, I did a survey and the response was overwhelming. It has been successful; I’m looking at ways to relieve myself from that (publication), given the demands of this organization. 

What do you enjoy about yoga? 
Yoga definitely helps my outlook and dealing with stress. I also teach at the Ankeny YMCA and at a small yoga boutique. I enjoy it because it helps people and I’ve seen the positive effects it has; I think the arts have the capacity to do that as well. 

Other hobbies that you enjoy? 
I love to travel within the United States, just trying to find new places to visit. Every year, we go to Door County (Wisconsin). That county is just art-infused, so we love going to art galleries and performances there. I recently went to Bali, Indonesia. We love to cycle around Central Iowa using the bike trails. I really like to read; I’m probably reading three to five books at a time and I have a long list that I want to read. I have all ranges of interests in books, music and art.