CREATIVE ECONOMY COALITION

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS MANAGER, CITY OF SPOKANE | BOARD MEMBER, TERRAIN SPOKANE

Pollyanne Faith Birge, M.P.A is a born and raised Spokanite with a 25 year stretch in Portland Oregon. Formerly the Arts and Culture Policy Director for both Portland Mayor Sam Adams’, and then Portland City Commissioner, Chloe Eudaly, she now resides back in her hometown of Spokane. A dedicated advocate for the arts, social justice, and equity. Pollyanne has also acted as the Executive Director for the Independent Publishing Resource Center as well as the Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She has served on numerous boards of directors including the Portland Stumptown Comics Fest, Design Week Portland and currently the Advocacy Chair of the Spokane Preservation Advocates and Board President of Terrain. She is currently the Community Engagement Manager in the Office of Neighborhood Services for the City of Spokane. She loves print art and illustration, music of all genres (especially 1960s Brazilian Jazz), and dogs.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ARTIST TRUST

Lydia Boss is a Seattle-based artist whose work investigates themes of identity, time, and nature through a millennial lens. Surfaces and experiences are manipulated in her work through the use of glass, photography, collage, and new media. She has been a resident artist at The Museum of Glass and Pilchuck Glass School and is a recipient of the John and Mary Shirley Award from the Pratt Fine Arts Center. As a Program Director at Artist Trust, Lydia oversees annual planning, implementation, and evaluation of all Artist Trust grant-making, resources and professional development programs. Centering creative strategies, she prioritizes identifying and addressing potential barriers for participation in Artist Trust funding and programs. Her work has been exhibited internationally.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TWISPWORKS

Sarah is the Executive Director at TwispWorks, an economic and community development nonprofit in rural Washington State. A Fulbright Fellow with a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Cornell University, Sarah’s curiosity has led her to research rural social innovation in Hungary, consult on systems thinking in Ecuador and Finland, and systems change in Kashmir in addition to broad strategy work in regional nonprofits. Previously, she successfully owned and operated an organic farm for a decade.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR, SPACEWORKS TACOMA

Jennifer facilitates the learning and professional development of creative entrepreneurs and artists with plans for long term creative/innovative businesses that benefit Tacoma’s culturally vibrant community. Jennifer is a Spaceworks incubator program graduate from 2014 and is the co-owner of SPUN Clay Arts Studio. She was the Hilltop Business Association Vice President for 5 years and continues to be involved in her community. She attended Cornish College of the Arts, Clover Park Technical College, and the Evergreen State College. She holds a graphic design degree and studied Asian Culture and Art. With a passion for collaboration, creativity, and helping creatives and entrepreneurs ‘get out there’, Jennifer started the Hilltop Art Walk that allows visual artists and musicians to show their work for no fee. Jennifer believes that everyone should have the opportunity to share their passion with the world and tries to limit those barriers that keep people from doing so.

FOUNDER, THE OLIVIA NEAL EXPERIENCE

Olivia Neal Howell is a seasoned creative professional with a deep passion for art, design, and aesthetics. With a two-decade career in corporate apparel design, Olivia honed her skills in project management, human development, and creative innovation before tapping into entrepreneurial pursuits. She is known for her ability to break boundaries and think disruptively, always pushing the envelope in her work and creative explorations, while preserving an inclusive mindset that encourages collaboration and participation from others.

In 2019, Olivia founded The Olivia Neal Experience, Inc. (T.O.N.E.): a dynamic design studio and talent agency that focuses primarily on cultural productions. Under her leadership, T.O.N.E. has emerged as a one-stop destination for all things related to arts, culture, design, community, marketing, sourcing, and experiential events. Olivia's vision for the company is rooted in a 'CONNECT + CREATE' mindset, with the ultimate goal of bringing people together through curated experiences that are truly unique and memorable.

With a commitment to fostering community and nurturing creativity, Olivia Neal Howell continues to be a driving force who is dedicated to connecting people and cultivating distinctive, immersive experiences across various industries including fashion, music, tech, pop culture, athletics, and art. She is currently an active advisory member serving two boards, Allied Arts Foundation and the Northwest Event Show, where her arts, production, and activism passions collide.

Current projects include SEATTLE CREATES, MXR:SEA, Women in Tech REGATTA, Seattle AI Week, WALK DONT RUN 3K Art Marathon, HAPPY TRAILS, Northwest Event Show (NWES), World Cup 2026, Black & Loud Fest

DIRECTOR, LACEY MAKERSPACE

Michelle has been an integral part of Thurston County’s innovation and arts community for over two decades. Rooted in the Pacific Northwest, her background includes leading visual arts curriculum development at The Evergreen State College and championing sustainable building in Olympia.

Since 2021, she has directed the Lacey MakerSpace, merging her artistic passion with community empowerment to foster a vibrant ecosystem of makers and entrepreneurs. She also serves on the board of the Olympia Artspace Alliance, advocating for affordable creative spaces for local artists. Based in Tumwater, Michelle remains deeply connected to the region’s creative spirit, exemplifying her commitment to community and the arts.

CEO, CO-STELLAR

Sarah is a builder at heart. As a creative economy consultant, she has provided leadership and strategic counsel to mission-driven organizations for more than 20 years. Sarah is co-founder and CEO of Co-Stellar, a social purpose corporation that connects creative entrepreneurs and arts organizations to capital that fuels next-level growth.

An advocate for the power of music and art to lift up communities, Sarah is committed to helping organizations and individuals thrive in the creative economy. She is skilled in leading capital projects and has helped raise more than $750 million for projects around the world.

As a strategic advisor at Public Sphere Projects, Sarah helps clients bring together their communities to develop novel – and sometimes radical – solutions to systemic challenges. As a writer, poet, and textile artist, Sarah prioritizes space for nature and creative adventure in her spare time.

Originally from Chicagoland Sarah is a mother of two curious and funny human children, and lives on Coast Salish land in Seattle.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SHUNPIKE

Line Sandsmark (she/her) joined the Shunpike team as its Executive Director at the end of March 2016. Sandsmark’s international and local arts leadership experience includes working as producer or executive director for various film organizations in Scandinavia, in addition to her more recent roles as development director, then managing director of Northwest Film Forum. Her short films have been distributed through international festivals and broadcasters, and her work in the field of documentary financing and production has taken her all over the world. Sandsmark has also collaborated extensively with performing arts groups in theater, dance, and music. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature at the University of Washington, conducted post-graduate studies in Critical Theory at University of Paris – Sorbonne, and earned her MFA in Arts Leadership at Seattle University. She has authored commissioned reports on the viability and sustainability of film and cinema initiatives in both Norway and the Middle East, and has focused on similar issues facing the film and fashion sectors of the Pacific Northwest. The intersection of art and commerce is a recurring theme in Sandsmark’s work which fuels her passion and a commitment to sustainability in the arts Sector.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON STATE MICROENTERPRISE ASSOCIATION (WSMA)

Lisa Smith has been working to strengthen the smallest businesses in Washington for over 25 years through her collaboration with business, academic, policy, environmental, tribal and nonprofit partners. This experience has helped WSMA build the capacity of nonprofit partners who are assisting thousands of entrepreneurs every year to launch, grow and finance their small businesses. Her work and advocacy have helped hundreds of microenterprises launch and grow and many dozens scale up and blossom to become leaders in their communities and make significant contributions to their local business economies.

She has a special interest in the potential for microenterprise to boost Washington’s economy, especially through green enterprise, rural and tribal communities, and other marginalized populations.Smith’s research and writing has appeared in Consumer Reports, Scholastic Magazine, and the American Journal of Public Health. Lisa is inspired by the power of microenterprise development to build regenerative communities and economies. She is driven to engage partners to meaningfully serve BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), rural, LGBTQ+ and veteran owned businesses, returning citizens, entrepreneurs with disabilities and other historically marginalized communities as catalysts for positive change throughout Washington.

PROGRAM MANAGER, TRIBAL CULTURAL AFFAIRS, ARTSWA

Cheryl joined ArtsWA in October 2023 as the Tribal Cultural Affairs Program Manager. She is working statewide to enhance Tribal Arts and Culture in and for Tribal Communities. She has more than 15 years of experience collaborating with Tribes on multiple projects. She is passionate about supporting Tribes and the development of programs that are respectful and honor cultural values, traditions, and history. Cheryl is an enrolled member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and is active in her own culture, traditions, ceremonies, and honoring ancestral knowledge.