{ PORTLAND ARTS } Q & A with Rebecca Burrell
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Rebecca Burrell is one of the co-founders of the Portland Emerging Arts Leaders, the Outreach Specialist for The Right Brain Initative and holds a newly elected position on the National Emerging Leaders Council. We feel very privileged to have Rebecca featured in this week’s ELANblog post.
1. Rebecca, how did you become interested in developing an EL Network in Portland? Did you and Jessica Stern have coffee one day and decide together? Was there a specific need that you felt could be filled in PDX?
PEAL was originally Jessica’s idea, after she attended the Americans for the Arts convention in 2011 and met people from EL networks in other cities. She started casually gathering small groups of arts administrators in Portland to bounce ideas around. I actually did not know her, but I got looped into the conversation in January 2012. I immediately had a million ideas about how to get this group going and established the Facebook group. I then won a scholarship to attend the AFTA Convention in June 2012, where Jessica and I were asked to lead a roundtable about starting an EL network. We realized that we needed to have something more to talk about than our Facebook group, so we rushed to hold our first event a couple of weeks before the Convention and drafted some guiding principles for the group. Once we got back to Portland after the convention, we assembled our steering committee.
I think everyone in those early conversations had the sense that there weren’t enough opportunities for arts administrators to meet each other. Theater people, for example, knew each other, and visual art people knew each other, but there were strange divides between the disciplines. Working in non-profits is a tricky business, and a lot of us feel like had we had a significant need for both a peer support network. We want more opportunities to build skills to get better at our jobs and advance our careers. And in almost no time at all, this network has exploded like a brilliant fireworks show, so our intuition was obviously right. There’s no doubt that we are filling a need in Portland.
2. We know you have an exciting career with the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) as The Right Brain Initiative’s Outreach Specialist. What are your responsibilities? What hats do you wear? What is a typical day for you in the office?
Ultimately, my job is to spread the good word about how Right Brain is advancing education in local schools, and get members of the public involved. That generally encompasses marketing and PR, community outreach, volunteer management, and grassroots fundraising. I was really fortunate to be the first person in this position, so I’ve been able to play a big role in determining what the job looks like on a daily basis. My schedule is really never consistent, which is by design. I spend a decent amount of time meeting with people from the community (always over a beverage, if I can help it), whether that’s a potential program partner or a new volunteer. I lead meetings for the three community task forces that help us with marketing and outreach. I host volunteer trainings, work with our incredible interns, build our parent advocate program. I represent Right Brain out in the community. I scheme ways to excite people about making small donations. Usually I’m at my computer for a least a few hours a day. There, I spend a lot of time working on our marketing efforts, mostly writing, but I could be selecting photographs, updating our social media channels, working with a blogger or freelance designer. I spend an incredible number of hours each week writing email, of course. I never get out to visit our schools as often as I would like, but that’s inherently the life of an administrator. Love it or leave it! I choose to love it. Really, this is the greatest job I have ever had. So dynamic and challenging. And I do believe that Right Brain has the potential to change the Portland metro area as we know it.
3. Can you tell us a little bit about your role (newly elected, a big congrats!) on the National Emerging Leaders Council? What does the council do and how will you serve in this position?
Thanks for the congrats! I’m excited about this. I can only answer this question because I went to DC a couple of weeks ago for my first council meeting, so I’m beginning to get a sense of what this will look like. Part of our work as a Council is to be a support system for EL networks around the country. We’re also here to advance the presence of Emerging Leaders on all levels of AFTA’s work—from the blog to the annual convention to AFTA’s Advocacy Day in DC in April. We’re also there to advise AFTA staff about anything they might want our input on. Personally, I’m working this year to give emerging leaders a strong presence at AFTA’s National Arts Marketing Project conference, which takes place in Portland in November. I’m also really excited to share examples of the work from EL networks in the Northwest, to see how they can inspire the national network. ELAN is already a model for a university-based EL group, but I think in Oregon we have some major potential to model other innovative practices and collaborations. I’m on this Council largely to do whatever I can to promote and strengthen the great work we’re doing in this neck of the woods.
4. What is your favorite part about living in the Pacific Northwest, and Portland in particular?
Our restaurants are making my life so good right now. I think we have better eating, with better prices, in Portland than anywhere else in the world. It’s our best developed creative culture by far. But I won’t wait more than 30 minutes for brunch, unless I’m able to sit comfortably inside with coffee in hand! That is law.
5. In a perfect world, how do you imagine UO Emerging Leaders working with PEAL both now and in the future?
There is so much delicious potential here. I would love to establish a system to help interested UO students get great summer internships at arts organizations in Portland. I would also love to work together to have a presence at the arts advocacy day in Salem each spring. I think there are opportunities to collaborate on some of our conference activities, like the Oregon Art Summit, as well as whatever we work up at NAMP. I also can’t wait to forge a greater regional alliance between our groups and the forming network in Seattle.
And I am really excited to hear about what possibilities you see. Seriously. I’d love to know how PEAL can be a resource for you. Hit me up at rburrell@racc.org.