PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Make Shift Happen!
MAKE.SHIFT ART SPACE
Make.Shift Art Space is a 501(c)3 nonprofit in Bellingham, Washington that empowers, supports, and creates opportunities for local artists and musicians.
Make.Shift is an organization that’s very near and dear to my heart— I started volunteering during my first year of college and I was hired there in 2020 after a 12-month internship with KZAX 94.9 LP FM, Make.Shift’s community radio program. I worked with faculty at Western Washington University to develop a new skill-building internship program in late 2020. In 2022, while serving an AmeriCorps term at another local nonprofit, I developed and launched a series of community education programs that would bring in $50,000 in sustaining grant funding during their first six months running.
In 2024, I was hired as Interim Executive Director for a three month contract term, and I currently serve as Secretary on Make.Shift’s Board of Directors. As a board member, I serve on the Grants & Logistics Committees, where my focuses are fundraising, youth safety and policy and procedure writing.
From left to right (or up to down, on mobile): The art supply shelf at one of the first Open Art Studio Days we hosted, a cow collage made by a young artist at Make.Shift’s booth at the Mount Vernon Youth Arts Festival, one of the three texture quilts I made to cover the doors in the new classroom space at 306 Flora Street
COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
This project focused on increasing access to the arts for people of all ages and all experience levels and creating more opportunities for intergenerational learning and community engagement in Whatcom and Skagit counties.
In 2022, the pandemic relief funding that had supported Make.Shift through 2020 and 2021 was beginning to dissipate, and I noticed that many grants were pivoting to focus on youth programming and education. It made sense to me to develop Make.Shift’s educational offerings, as we worked to rebuild what in 2019 had been a thriving DIY arts and music scene.
That summer, I developed and launched a new series of community education programs at Make.Shift. The programs included weekly all-ages workshops, an accessible classroom space (fully stocked with art supplies and available to rent by the hour), and sustainable, sliding scale pricing structures that allowed us to stay accessible to our community while still paying facilitators a fair rate. In 2023, Make.Shift also solidified partnerships with several local elementary, middle, and high schools.
The programs launched in October 2022, and by March 2023 they had brought in over $50,000 in sustaining grant funding for Make.Shift.
Always all-ages. Always all experience levels.
“Make.Shift offers all-ages, all experience level workshops led by experienced artists and musicians. These workshops are a great way to build community, pick up skills and exercise your creativity— and they’re open to everyone. Creative workshop topics include songwriting, zine-making, embroidery, urban sketching, watercolor, freewriting and more.
The Behind the Scenes Workshop Series is a series hosted by creatives on the Make.Shift staff and board. These workshops focus on industry skills like writing artist statements, creating your own posters and promotional materials for your band, sending booking emails and doing your taxes as an artist or musician. It’s a look behind the curtain at what we do at Make.Shift, and a great way to pick up some hard-to-come-by industry skills!”
Make.Somethin’ Mini Zine
A miniature zine that I designed, illustrated and printed for the launch of the Open Art Studio in 2022.
