Our Members Making an Impact

ArtsEd Washington is a community of passionate arts education advocates.  While the members of this community may differ in their backgrounds, they are unified in their belief that the arts are a powerful tool in student development.  They are members who are making an impact on behalf of arts in schools.  They are the voice of an integrated arts education for every student in every school.

ArtsEd Washington recognizes the work of our community members and is pleased to highlight their efforts.  We invite you to sit back and Take 5 with us.  Learn more about some of our members including their involvement in arts education and how they’re making an impact with the support of ArtEd Washington.

• Manny Cawaling – Little did Manny Cawaling know that his first experience with the performing arts as a student at O’Dea High School would significantly influence the direction of his future.  Twenty years later, he has been working as an artist and arts administrator throughout the Northwest.  One look at his past experiences and it is clear that he is an arts outreach powerhouse, as well as full of passion for serving and building communities.

• Jessica Holloway – As a band student, Jessica Holloway was inspired to become her best self from the instruction and guidance she received from her music teacher.  So much so, that years later she recognized her former band teacher’s retirement by creatively expressing how his dedication helped define her future path.  Now an elementary visual arts teacher, she strives to ignite that same passion and motivation within her own students.

• Students of Interlake High School – When a group of students at Bellevue’s Interlake High School learned that the art programs were potentially going to be cut from their school’s curriculum, they took action and launched Battle of the Bands for ArtsEd Washington, an annual student led event that benefits the work of ArtsEd Washington.  These young advocates are rigorously dedicated to arts education, and want to ensure that their fellow students receive arts instruction as part of their basic education for years to come.

• Bruce Hall - Bruce Hall, ArtsEd Washington’s own Program Director, has an extensive background in the arts and education.  As a former teacher and an artist, he brings an array of skills and personal insight to the team and mission of ArtsEd Washington.

• Cassandra Town – When a bill was introduced to the state legislature to suspend district verification of arts assessments, a coalition of arts education advocates rallied their voices to remove the suspension from the bill.  Cassandra was part of that coalition that helped get the suspension dropped.  In her first advocacy effort, she made her voice heard in a letter to the state legislature and contributed to saving the reporting requirements.