Guest Marc McDonald, Dartmouth '96 and self-proclaimed film lover, had been combining his love of media and communications and sports through writing and broadcasting during college. After sticking around campus for a year after graduation as an assistant track coach, he also took advantage of the opportunity to run the Dartmouth Film Society and a chance to connect with the Telluride Film Festival kicked off a passion that he was able to stoke for over two decades. Although he immediately knew he wanted to run a film festival for a living, Telluride had only a small full-time team.

His skill in marketing and storytelling and innate managerial skills led him to arts management elsewhere—with a Shakespeare theater company. He realized that he needed to hone his management skills further, so pursued an MBA. The career he made for himself after that has centered on managing teams and communications work within social impact organizations. But he’s never given up the dream to run a film festival. He just figured out how to have his cake and eat it, too.

In this episode, find out from Marc how keeping a passion project alive takes work but pays dividends...on ROADS TAKEN...with Leslie Jennings Rowley.

About This Episode's Guest

Marc McDonald has a history of managing organizations and teams—and their storytelling efforts—in the social service, arts and media fields. He is currently with the AARP Foundation where he has held a number of Communications, Marketing and strategy integration roles. His previous experience includes stints at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, among other. But his love of film and community accounts for his love affair with the Telluride Film Festival, where he has been Manager of Theatre Operations, seasonally, for the last 20-plus years.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Find more episodes at https://roadstakenshow.com

Executive Producer/Host: Leslie Jennings Rowley

Music: Brian Burrows

Email the show at RoadsTakenShow@gmail.com

Passion on the Side: Marc McDonald on keeping creativity alive

Roads Taken