Originally from Illinois, Katie has been teaching, directing, performing, and choreographing in the Puget Sound region since 2005. In addition to producing and directing, Katie serves as the Director of Education at Tacoma Arts Live, managing year-round performing arts and social-emotional programs for youth and a canon of statewide Civil Rights Legacy Touring productions. Katie has also worked as a public school dance specialist, directed her own dance school located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, serves as a volunteer co-director of Tacoma’s Barefoot Collective, a community–based modern dance company, and serves on the Advisory Committee of the Kennedy Center Partners in Education. Katie has performed with BQ Danza, MG & MH Arts, and Callous Physical Theatre, as well as producing her own work in Illinois, Missouri, and Washington.

In 2006, Olga Surmacheva obtained her master’s degree equivalent at Saint Petersburg State University of Aerospace and Instrumentation in Saint Petersburg, Russia. She developed her skills in customer support and development in Gatchina, Russia, doing a variety of jobs before moving to Washington in 2011.

She was the Owner and Director of Thrive Art LLC in Seattle, Washington, where she utilized her skills in personnel management to provide service to over 500 customers and to lead a team of close-knit employees. She currently holds a seat on the Board of Advisors for the Washington Art Education Association, a non-profit that promotes visual art education. In 2019, she won the Distinguished Service award from the Washington Art Education Association.

Olga has a strong passion for art, and her training is in an eclectic mix of academic Russian drawing school and quick free-hand sketching techniques, which she uses to supplement her volunteer work as a Teaching Artist. Sketching is her favorite art form, and she mostly uses a fountain pen and watercolor wash.

Alyssa graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in Project Management and Social-Emotional Intelligence and spends her professional life as a data analyst, project manager, and event director. In her free time, she dabbles in carpentry, horticulture, and distilling. She also volunteers at her local school, The BackPack Brigade, Seattle T2P2 and with ArtsEd Washington. As a woman with mixed heritage, she sees many perspectives and she aspires to use her current privilege to elevate marginalized voices and expand opportunities for musicians in her community.

Miranda Leigh Hein has served as an arts advocate in a variety of local positions throughout Eastern Washington over the last few decades and she is eager to expand her role in arts development across the state. Miranda earned her undergraduate degrees in Music Education and English from Whitworth University in 2002, and she earned her National Board certification in Adult/Young Adult English Language Arts in 2008. In 2013, she earned her Masters in Secondary Education with a special focus in Gifted and Talented education. All the while, she taught English Literature, and Dance as a performing arts credit in Spokane Public Schools, and also taught several performing arts classes at Whitworth University.

Miranda is currently working as an Education Field Supervisor at Eastern Washington University and she speaks regularly at conferences as an advocate for arts integration, differentiated instruction, gifted education, and teacher mentorship. She is especially passionate about promoting community development and social justice issues through the arts. In her free time, she also enjoys participating in musical theatre throughout across the Spokane area!

Manuel R. Cawaling is the Executive Director for Inspire Washington, a merger of Cultural Access Washington and Washington State Arts Alliance. Prior to this position, he spent 10 years as Executive Director for Youth Theatre Northwest, providing children on Mercer Island and throughout King County with creative education and live theatre experiences. A Seattle native, Manuel has been working professionally as an artist and cultural leader for nearly 30 years. In 1989, Manuel was at the forefront of Seattle’s fringe theatre movement, serving as Artistic Director for Pilgrim Center for the Arts. He also served as a founding board member for Seattle’s League of Fringe Theatres, the predecessor of Theatre Puget Sound and the organization credited with establishing Seattle’s Fringe Theatre Festival, the first in the US.

As Associate Artistic Director for the Northwest Asian American Theatre, he initiated an award-winning Youth Outreach and Education Program; conducted theatre residencies in local high schools and communities; and developed their capital campaign. As Exhibit Developer/Manager for the Wing Luke Asian Museum, he developed award winning exhibits, spearheaded outreach initiatives and led YouthCAN, a leadership program for Asian-Pacific-American youth.

From 2003 to 2008, Manuel served on staff at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, initially in artistic programming and then as Managing Director, overseeing all administrative and programmatic activities. He has served two terms on the Seattle Center Advisory Commission, was a member of the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture’s Public Art Advisory Committee and served as President for the Washington State Arts Alliance Foundation.

Nyree has a degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran University, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Washington Drama School, and her Masters in Arts Management from George Mason University. While going to Grad School, Nyree worked with several DC Non-Profits, Arts Organizations, and Embassies as well as Government Agencies and Contractors in helping improve their business communications, organizational processes, and community engagement. In addition, she has worked in the Performing Arts industry for over twenty years as an actress, arts educator, director, and administrator and is a member of Actors’ Equity and the National Education Association.

As the former Director of Arts Education and Curriculum Integration for Bethel School District, a position held from the fall of 2002 to the spring of 2019, Michael J. Sandner worked closely with classroom teachers and arts specialists to ensure the integration of the arts into all aspects of learning. Prior to this appointment Michael was an elementary principal for seven years and a music specialist for twenty years. He has been a member of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partner’s In Education Program since 1992, and has served as an Advisory Committee Member for this national partnership.

In the spring of 2017 Michael was honored with a Golden Apple Moments Award for his work in arts education. Governor Christine Gregoire honored him with the Governor’s Arts and Heritage Award in 2007. The Mountain Region from the Washington Music Educators Association recognized him with the Friends of Music Award in 2006 and 2010. Michael received his Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1975, and his Masters in Educational Administration from Central Washington University in 1992.