Kimberly is the Founder of Protagonist Events, producing entertaining corporate events. Trained as a theatre producer and story editor, she is also the Associate Artistic Director of the South Carolina New PlayFestival. Previously, she was the Literary Director of South Coast Rep, where she co-directed the Pacific Playwrights Festival and led the CrossRoads commissioning program. She has worked with companies including Los Angeles Opera, Denver Center Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Mixed Blood Theatre, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Artists at Play, The Playwrights Center, the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference, Musical Stage Company, and Native Voices at the Autry.

Mathew Patrick Heggem (he/him) is the Founder & CEO of 10kCreators.com, a social enterprise whose mission is to help 10,000 creators discover financial wellness through mentorship, training, community, and access to critical resources. As both an artist and entrepreneur, this work is personal. After having survived the life of an NYC starving artist and navigating his way through the world of small business, he created 10kCreators.com to help other artists avoid the mistakes he’s made.

Rachael is passionate about community-based creativity, healing and transformation. With more than 20 years of experience, she brings a dynamic style to her work as a consultant, facilitator, mediator and applied theatre practitioner. She is a co-founder of Creative Strategies for Change, presented at TEDx, and holds an MA from the Gallatin School at NYU, where she received the Nia award for outstanding creative work, and taught courses through the commission on Gender, Race and Social Justice. Rachael finds magic in the mess and endless joy romping in the wild with Ruthie the pup.

rachaelksharp.com

brooklyn baggett (she/her) is a trans poet and artist living in New York City. She holds an MFA from Goddard College and her work has appeared in Yellow Arrow Journal, Samfiftyfour, Impossible Archetype, The Pitkin Review, Big Muddy, and River Styx, among others. Her chapbook, we cast shadows & other true stories, is from Bottlecap Press. She has taught at Washington University St. Louis and St. Louis Community College, and worked as Editor in Chief at The Pitkin Review and Associate Editor for River Styx Magazine. brooklyn is also the founder and managing editor of new words {press} - a trans and gender-expansive poetry journal and press.

www.ebrooklynbaggett.com
www.newwordspress.com

Executive Artistic Director & Conference Director

Read her full bio above.

Conference Event Manager

Blaire is a theatre artist, K-12 educator, Founder of Beyond the Stage Youth, Owner of Social Emotional Theatre, and the current Education Manager at Village Theatre. Blaire champions new voices in theatre and playwriting to foster creativity, unity, and personal growth. She has most recently worked with Village Theatre, Missoula Children’s Theatre, ACT, Double Shot Play Festival, Ancient Lake Theatre Festival and has presented at organizations such as UW, National University, Michigan Afterschool Association Conference, Washington State Bridge Conference, and Girl Scouts conferences. Blaire is a certified Social Emotional Learning Specialist and holds a BA in Theatre Arts and MA in Social Emotional Learning.

Event Management Intern

Lena (she/her) is a Seattle-based theatre artist, designer, and dog mom. She is the maker behind all goods from Hobbit Hole Handmade. She graduated from Western Washington University in 2019 with a BA in Theatre Arts and is currently an MA student at the University of Oklahoma for Arts Management.