Flint

100% the creative collaboration. The best moments in arts work for me come when we leave any notion of competition behind and are sharing ideas openly, working toward a common goal, troubleshooting along the way–that’s where I find the most work satisfaction. Whether those goalies a new partnership between organizations, designing a new festival, or selecting shows and artists for a new season, collaboration with a team is my favorite way to work.

Tell us about a challenge you are proud that you have overcome.

I am very proud of the work I put in with the whole The Z team to bring this new arts organization to life. The biggest single challenge along the way has to have been when we moved from our temporary space, a retail corner spot with 75 seats, into our permanent facility with 2 theaters. Being ready not only to start a full season of programming, but kicking it all off with our first Proteus Festival–it was so much work! And such a roller coaster day-to-day juggling all the growing pains that come with a new building full of new systems plus the challenges of the multi-event, multiday festival. But I was so very proud sitting in the Main Stage on opening night, watching Kisi Bashir performing live with Sound GSA strings players, then heading down the hall to see The Hunts performing to a packed house in the Studio. I might have cried a little, it was definitely a career highlight.

What is one thing you do every day and why?

This started not too long ago, pandemic-adjacent you might say, but I do the crossword puzzle with my family almost every night. We miss a night every now and then, but always go back and do the puzzles we missed, so I think that counts. Why? Because my teenager is so into it! He’s the one making sure we don’t skip a puzzle and I love that he wants to hangout! The 3 of us on the couch, we each have our clues that we are good at, lots of chatting and ribbing along the way, it’s the best.

Who/what is your biggest inspiration?

This probably sounds hokey, but the people I am working with, within any given project, inspire me most often. It goes back to that collaboration thing. I don’t have a single person or moment that I could point to but there are so very many moments of creative spark, big and small, that come out of teamwork along the way. Those are what keep me going, keep me inspired to help other folks find that same inspiration.