Bob Olsen

Bob Olsen, Executive Director, grew up in a West St. Paul family filled with music and community festival enthusiasm: his father played string bass and founded the Blooming Prairie Petunia Festival, and his mother was a piano teacher and the first Hopkins Raspberry queen.  Olsen graduated from Saint Olaf College with a degree in music education with special emphasis in baroque performance practice, and studied architecture at the University of Minnesota. 

Olsen has number of areas of interest, including the arts, regional history, and community development.  He first became familiar with COMPAS when he served on the board of directors from 1999-2005. Following his term on the Board, Bob chaired the successful COMPAS Points Forward advancement campaign.  As COMPAS’ new executive director, Bob led the successful merger with Young Audiences of Minnesota in 2009.