With his goals set high and his appointment book filled with meetings, Eric Nelson, the new executive director of the Nordic Heritage Museum has been busy.

"I've hit the ground running. It has been a whirlwind, meeting the board, stakeholders and neighborhood organizations. I was given a list of 250 organizations and it will be my priority to go out and meet people," said Nelson. He started his new job on Jan. 2.

Nelson has big shoes to fill, replacing long time director Marianne Forssblad, who helped found the museum 1980 and built the museum from the ground up. She retired and moved back to Norway last year.

"Part of the legacy is the incredible history of Marianne Forssblad," said Nelson.

There is also the challenge of raising $50 million to build a brand new museum on the 75,000 square foot Fenpro property in downtown Ballard.

"The momentum is going in a wonderful direction. The momentum is fantastic right now," said Nelson who will begin raising the rest of the capital funds to make the new museum a reality.

"The Market Street site is perfect. We want a state of the art museum to borrow exhibits of national quality," said Nelson. The new museum would be climate controlled to safeguard artifacts and meet modern museum standards that is lacking in the present facility, located in an old school building.

Nelson is from Napa, Calif., where he was director of the Napa Valley Museum. He has served as curator of exhibits and collections, as well as director of the Sonoma County Museum for 11 years.

His background that includes graduating from the Getty Museum Leadership Institute.

Nelson packed his car full of books and clothing for the move to Seattle. His wife Yvonne and daughters Elise and Sonja will join him this summer.

After learning of the opening at the Nordic Heritage Museum, Nelson studied the possibility. "The more I heard about it and researched it, the more excited I got about it," he said.

In the museum newsletter, Nelson said his Swedish heritage and experience with museum expansions makes the Nordic Heritage the perfect place for him at this time in his career.

As the director, Nelson said the museum does not belong to individuals. It belongs to the community it serves.

"We will be responsive to community needs. We are staying true to the core mission as a cross cultural bridge," Nelson said.

He sees Ballard and the Nordic Heritage Museum as the Nordic capital of the Northwest. "We will celebrate the old, the new and the very new," he said.

Across town, in the Chinatown International District, Nelson watches as the Wing Luke Asian Museum is in the final stages of construction on a new $23.9 million museum.

"That is another great museum. It serves the community very well. Seattle is blessed with a vibrant cultural community," said Nelson.

When Nelson came to Ballard for his interviews with the museum Board, he felt comfortable right away after meeting the volunteers and members of the search committee.

He is impressed with the amount of community involvement in the museum.

"So many people continue to come in. It has a homey feel and I mean that in the best way possible," said Nelson.

Dean Wong may be contacted at 783.1244 or deanw@robinsonnews.com