Facilitation and Consulting

Partnering with entities interested in exploring new and innovative ways to fuel a vibrant arts ecosystem!

I partner with philanthropic entities, businesses, and government officials to rethink pressing challenges and devise strategies for moving forward.

A few questions I’ve been exploring with foundations, artists, arts orgs, and business leaders at both the local and national level are:

  • What new strategies, partnerships, collaborations or initiatives could ensure all critical elements — infrastructure, artistry, engagement, and access—are being adequately supported?

  • What role does each stakeholder play in maintaining and advancing these areas?

  • Can artists and arts organizations more effectively leverage their greatest asset—their creativity—to sustain and grow their work? Who in the community is doing this well? For those who are not, what are the barriers?

  • Are there key places funding can be infused to better keep it circulating within the arts ecosystem?

I have found that facilitation is one of the best ways to ensure outcomes are win win for all parties that exist within the system.

How I Work

  • Facilitation

    Facilitation is my favorite way to work as it is most like the creative process. I work with small groups over time to explore the true heart of the problem, listen to all sides, build consensus and finalize with an action plan.

    My facilitations will always conclude with actionable items rooted in a framework of responsibility, accountability, and authority to assure they are set up for successful implementation!

  • Philanthropic Consulting

    My consulting work is centered around program design and strategy development in arts funding. There are certain elements that are needed for a healthy arts ecosystem - infrastructure, artistry, access, and engagement. I help philanthropic organizations, and other investors in the arts, develop strategies around where to infuse funding to make it more regenerative.

  • Thought Partnership

    I love asking questions, and even more, considering the right questions to ask to solve the problem at hand. If what you need is someone steeped in the arts ecosystem and skilled at connecting the dots, let’s talk!

Schedule a Intro Consult

“Emily is a skilled leader and problem solver, synthesizing and clarifying diverse points of view on how dance and the performing arts feed our communities, along with an understanding of the challenges that face working artists themselves. She focuses on consensus and action to move all involved toward positive change.”

— Patch Schwadron, Entertainment Community Fund