Building sustainable creative communities has been at the core of Kate Becker’s career. As the first King County Creative Economy Strategist, Becker currently spends her days (and nights!) working to build Seattle’s creative economy, keenly focused on the film and music industries. Prior to this, Becker served on the Cabinets of four Mayors as the Director of the Seattle Office of Film + Music. She has served in leadership roles in large and small non-profit organizations, and co-founded legendary Northwest all ages venues The Vera Project and the Old Fire House, talent pipelines for the music industry. Becker has produced more than 1,000 all ages shows, and numerous large scale events and fundraisers. She was a charter member of the Seattle Music Commission and serves on multiple nonprofit boards.
Hakim Bellamy was the inaugural Poet Laureate of Albuquerque (2012-14) and facilitates youth writing workshops for schools, jails, churches, prisons and community organizations in New Mexico and beyond.
Michael is an advocate, strategist and entrepreneur who works at the intersection of emerging technologies, culture and public policy. As Founder Emeritus of the non-profit Future of Music Coalition, Michael spent fifteen years bridging the gap between the music community and policymakers. His platform at BTBV has allowed him to work with and represent a wide range of other cultural leaders including American Ballet Theatre, NPR, Native Public Media, Colorado Creative Industries and Fractured Atlas.
Anna Harwell Celenza is a professor at Johns Hopkins University, where she holds a joint appointment in The Writing Seminars (Krieger School of Arts & Sciences) and Musicology Department (Peabody Conservatory). She is the author/editor of several scholarly books, including Music and Human Flourishing (2023), The Cambridge Companion to Gershwin (2019), Jazz Italian Style: From Its Origins in New Orleans to Fascist Italy and Sinatra (2017), Music as Cultural Mission: Explorations of Jesuit Practices in Italy and North America (2014) and Hans Christian Andersen and Music: The Nightingale Revealed (2005). Her work has also appeared in The Hopkins Review, Musical Quarterly, Nineteenth-Century Music, Notes, The Cambridge Companion to Liszt (2005), and Franz Liszt and His World (2006) and The Cambridge Companion to Duke Ellington (2014). In addition to her scholarly work, she has authored a series of award-winning children's books with Charlesbridge Publishing: The Farewell Symphony (2000), Pictures at an Exhibition (2003), The Heroic Symphony (2004), Bach's Goldberg Variations (2005), Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (2006), Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite (2011), Vivaldi's Four Seasons (2012), Saint-Saëns's Danse macabre (2013) and a 14-part syndicated series on Louis Armstrong for the NC Press Foundation. Her work has been featured on nationally syndicated radio and TV programs, including NPR's "Todd Mundt Show", BBC's "Music Matters" and "Proms Broadcasts", and C-Span's "Book-TV". In 2017, Celenza curated an exhibition titled Margaret Bonds and Langston Hughes: A Musical Friendship (Georgetown University Library, 2016). Her exhibition catalog won the 2017 Leab Exhibition Catalog Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries. In 2016, Celenza co-founded Music Policy Forum, a non-profit organization that advises local governments about how to create sustainable music ecosystems. Over the last ten years, she has participated in a range of music advocacy work, including serving on the Board of the Baltimore Jazz Alliance and as a co-developer of the 2019 Washington DC Music Census and the 2024 Baltimore Music Census.
Lisa Gedgaudas has dedicated over 25 years to advancing the creative industries, building sustainable economic development initiatives for arts, culture, and communities across Colorado and nationally. With a background in research, policy, advocacy, creative district development, event production, programming, and philanthropy, she has managed initiatives that have delivered more than $10 million to individuals, nonprofit organizations, and businesses nationwide.
MPF would not exist without the steadfast leadership and policy innovation that define Lisa’s career. Through her work with Denver Arts & Venues and the National Independent Venue Association and Foundation, she has been a driving force in strengthening local and national music ecosystems and building vital connections between artists, venues, policymakers, and communities. She has advised cities and organizations across the country and abroad, championed equity in cultural investment, and inspired colleagues through her leadership and dedication to ensuring that music remains vibrant and accessible. Lisa is deeply committed to advancing equity, justice, diversity, inclusion, and access in all her work practices, building a stronger and safer environment for cultural diplomacy.
Dani Grant is one of those tenaciously hard-working, creative entrepreneurs who has transformed a deep passion for music into her life’s work. Dani owns and manages the 1000 cap legendary and historic Mishawaka Restaurant and Amphitheatre and multiple family entertainment centers in northern Colorado. Dani also owns a media company, Mish Media that focuses on providing expert publicity and niche marketing packages to it’s bar and restaurant, live music and entertainment clientele. To add to the mix, Dani owns and operates Riverside Colorado, a 40 unit tiny home, cabin and glamping resort that is nestled on banks of the Poudre River.
To complement her roles as business owner and local arts and culture champion, Dani also has served on many boards including KUNC & KJAC The Colorado Sound, WESTAF Denver Music Task Force, The Sustainable Living Association, Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation (CSU Media) and Community Radio of Northern CO -KRFC. She currently sits on the executive board of directors as Treasurer for the Washington DC based Music Policy Forum. Dani has satisfied her affinity for the development of aspiring youth as an adjunct professor at Colorado University Denver and Colorado State University in the Music Business departments. She has raised three incredibly bright and independent daughters to adulthood and currently shares her life with her princess dog Isabel, her partner Larry Little, and his two amazingly creative sons in Fort Collins CO.
Johannes Larson is a drummer, computer scientist, music advocate, nonprofit leader, and entrepreneur from Minnesota. A recent graduate of Georgetown University with dual degrees in American Music Culture and Computer Science, he works at the intersection of music, technology, and public benefit infrastructure. As founder of the Campfire Music Foundation, Johannes is leading efforts to reform the music streaming industry by building a nonprofit, artist-centered alternative that prioritizes equity and sustainability. He brings experience as a project manager and systems designer, applying technical and organizational expertise to build platforms and programs that serve artists and communities.
Johannes has collaborated with mission-driven organizations including the D.C. Music Summit, the Internet Security Research Group, the Blues Alley Jazz Society, and the Minnesota Land Trust, and remains active with Music Policy Forum, Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW), and Twin Cities United Performers. His work advances youth engagement, workforce development, and long-term sustainability for the music ecosystem. He also brings direct venue management experience from his three years with the Dakota Jazz Club and Blues Alley Jazz Club.
Dena Morris has served as a federal advocate for non-profit clients, as the Legislative Director for a senior member of the U.S. Senate’s Democratic leadership, and as Washington (DC) Director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Political experience includes leading debate preparation and questionnaires for candidates, contributing to and appearing in television ads, and (of course) knocking on doors in Indiana, Illinois, Virginia, and Arizona.
In Seattle, Dena led the Washington Global Health Alliance, served as chief of staff with Seattle Public Schools, is now with the governing board for the Washington School-Based Health Alliance, and remains a dedicated, if not particularly gifted, student of the cello.