Staff
Holding all the pieces together.
 Manager of Faculty Development & Founding Member
Lauren Atkinson is a visual and mixed media fiber artist who shows her work throughout the Northwest and nationally. She has 15 years of experience working as a teaching artist and has taught with Arts Corps from its beginning, joining its staff in 2005. Lauren has also taught for the Seattle Center Academy, the Arts Consortium in Port Townsend and Centrum's "Tales, Text and Theater" middle school residencies as well as for the "Teachers Creativity Weekend" workshop at Fort Worden, the Seattle Children's Museum, Art Reach and the Power of Hope. Teaching is an exciting and integral part of Lauren's own creative process; she finds inspiration in the collaborative relationship of creating art with her students.
 Deputy Director
Leslie Collins oversees programming, financial management, human resource management and operations for Arts Corps. Leslie's background includes public sector experience in the areas of budget, finance, program development and technology. In late 2000, Leslie left her management career in the public sector to write poetry, explore her spiritual path and be with her family. She joined Arts Corps in the fall of 2005 to help Arts Corps build capacity to bring the arts into the lives of more young people. Leslie is a passionate supporter of the power of arts education to help students discover their unique strengths and inner creativity.
 Community Partnerships Director
Lara Davis serves as the primary liaison to Arts Corps program partners. Her work includes building and managing these relationships and fostering community development and support. As a musician, amateur sound designer, teaching artist and activist, she knows firsthand the power of creativity in the lives of young people and the need for adult allies to help foster a compassionate space for expression. Her experiences with the YWCA youth programs, Seattle Young People's Project, AFSC Cross-cultural and LGBTQ programs, and Communities Against Rape and Abuse bring a breadth of knowledge and participation by new communities to our organization. Lara's passion for the belief that art can inspire social change and build confidence and self-esteem reinforces Arts Corps' mission and goals.
 Program Operations Coordinator
Estrella P. de Leon assists with fostering the connections with teaching artists, classroom assistants and others who serve the youth through our programs. After graduating in 2005 with a B.A. in Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, Estrella made the long road trip to the beautiful state of Washington. Estrella has served as an independent living skills coordinator for youth at Emerson High School in Mount Vernon and as a "Youth Voices" coordinator and facilitator with the Power of Hope. Estrella grew up in the musical and culturally-rich town of Austin, Texas, where she was surrounded by a community that understood the importance of using creativity as a means for changing the worlds around us.
 Development Director
As development director, Andrea Fullerton has the privilege of connecting the community to the pivotal work of Arts Corps. Andrea firmly believes that every gift is valuable and meaningful, and that everyone can be a philanthropist. Andrea's decade-long career in nonprofit communications and development spans myriad causes and organizations focusing on youth and social justice, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Trust for Public Land and Amara. Mirroring her professional background, Andrea's volunteer and personal experience spans mentoring youth, volunteering in a shantytown outside Lima, Peru and being a foster parent. Through childhood experiences and now watching her own children grow and discover the world, she adamantly believes that quality arts education is vital and opens the doors to exploration, creativity and acceptance.
 Education Director & Founding Member
In addition to being Education Director, Tina LaPadula is a theatre teaching artist and founding member of Arts Corps. Her commitment to emergent curriculum, art for social change and student-centered assessment, helped shape the Arts Corps philosophy. In her current Arts Corps role, Tina is leading the MusicianCorps Seattle pilot, a musicians-in-service program of Arts Corps and Music National Service. Tina has performed for theatre, film and television in Seattle, New York, London, and Pennsylvania and taught theatre and storytelling at Centrum Arts, Power of Hope, A Contemporary Theatre, Hilltop Children's Center and Seattle Children's Theatre. She has also led workshops on student learning, assessment strategies, classroom management and creative habits at multiple local and national venues and conferences. Tina is a proud board member of the Association of Teaching Artists and credits her early work at the YWCA for teaching her the fundamentals of youth care and illuminating the huge need for quality arts experiences for all young people.
 Finance & Events Manager
At Arts Corps, Bernadette Scheller integrates her event coordination savvy, administrative, finance and budget expertise with her passion for the arts and her belief in community service. She has created a balance in her work that includes managing small businesses, organizing special events for nonprofit organizations and creating her own artwork in the form of sculptural glass. As finance & events manager at Arts Corps, Bernadette brings her multi-disciplinary skills to contribute to an organization she has long admired. Since joining the team, she feels the satisfaction of watching her vision develop into a meaningful and rich reality.
 Executive Director
Elizabeth Whitford believes deeply that Arts Corps belongs to our whole community, and as such, should be broadly supported and shaped by all of us with our time, money, love and input. Elizabeth was hired as Arts Corps' first community investment director in 2005 and stepped into the role of executive director in 2008 to continue bringing the Corps' vision into being. Prior to Arts Corps, Elizabeth served as the founding operations director for Potlatch Fund and as executive director of Odyssey Youth Center in Spokane, Wash. In each of these roles, she has witnessed the power of the arts to help young people know and be true to themselves. She is deeply committed to this life-changing work and proud to partner with our community to keep it thriving.
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