ROCKLAND — The Friends of the Strand Theatre (FOST) announce the appointment of Anne Rogers-Popejoy as the next Executive Director of the Strand. Rogers-Popejoy succeeds Jessie Davis, who announced in January that she was stepping down after ten years.

Rogers-Popejoy joined the Strand staff in September 2021, after working in the Black Hills as Executive Director of Northern Hills Alliance for Children as well as in development, education and outreach at the Historic Homestake Opera House. Rogers-Popejoy has worked in the nonprofit sector for 19 years. In her role as the Strand’s lead development person and membership coordinator, Rogers-Popejoy has increased Strand memberships and donations, access to grants, and developed strong relationships with donors and members, according FOST, in a news release.

“Anne has also become a well-known and integral member of the Strand and broader Midcoast community, joyfully interacting with Strand patrons of all ages, and helping them become more involved with the theater,” said FOST.

“I am thrilled to be named the next Executive Director of the Strand,” said Rogers-Popejoy. “The Strand is a cornerstone of Rockland’s Main Street and a cultural treasure in Maine. My time at the theater’s development desk, engaging with members and supporters, has given me important insights into our audiences and a strong framework on which to build the theater’s second century. Working with the Strand’s talented team, I look forward to living into our mission, empowering our community through the performing arts. I am honored to continue the legacy of all those who built and sustained the Strand’s first hundred years.” 

“The FOST Board is immensely pleased that we are able to promote from within the Strand family,” said Ellen Seidman, Chair of the FOST Board. “We conducted a broad search that attracted great candidates from across the country and Anne was a standout.  Anne has the talent, drive, enthusiasm, commitment and love for the Strand and the community that will enable her to build on all that Jessie, the staff, the Board, and the community have done over the past 10 years. She is the right person to lead the Strand in furthering its mission ‘to entertain, engage, and empower our community, in our theater and beyond our walls.’ Please join me in congratulating and welcoming Anne in her new role.”

Departing FOST Executive Director Jessie Davis, said: “Since the day Anne joined the Strand team it was clear that she embodied the values and spirit of the organization and understood the power that film and the arts have in enhancing the quality of our lives while also expanding our perspectives. The Strand is beautifully positioned to grow into its full potential — with a new strategic plan in place mapping out a path to sustainability for the theater’s next 100 years — and I am certain that Anne is the right person to step in and take the lead.” 

Rogers-Popejoy is a board member at the Coastal Children’s Museum in Rockland and clerk of the vestry and cantor at St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Camden. She is a graduate of Kenyon College. Rogers-Popejoy lives with her family in Rockport.

About the Strand and FOST: The Strand Theatre is an independent movie theater and live performance venue located in the Midcoast community of Rockland, Maine. Friends of the Strand Theatre (FOST) is the nonprofit owner and operator of the theater. The theater is 100 years old, has been lovingly restored, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Strand Theatre is a multi-use venue offering the best of current first run and independent films, live musical concerts and comedy, simulcasts, education programs, conferences and other special events on our stage and screen.