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ARTS Welcomes Otts Bolisay, Amber Rose Jimenez and Lizzy Melton on staff

The 3 new staff members loosen up in front of a Xenobia Bailey piece.

 

 

O.B.Ronald “Otts” Bolisay is our new Digital Media Specialist. Fourteen years of social justice work has attuned himto the rhythms of stories and how they can move us to action. Blogs were the newest form of social media back then, and Otts trained the Seattle contingent of the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride to document and share their cross-country journey with the family and supporters they left behind. Technology planning and strategic communications led to electronic advocacy and movement building, where Otts learned that all the shiny promise of emerging online platforms meant nothing without mobilizing grassroots participation. Along with video production, he began exploring other visual communications like graphic design, comics and most recently, animation. Otts has seen first-hand the critical role art plays in social change and is excited to learn, experience and share stories from Seattle’s arts community.

 

Amber Rose Jimenez serves as the Racial Equity and Arts Commission Coordinator for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. Previously, she worked at Seattle Foundation, where she oversaw the strategy and project management of Community Programs initiatives and grantmaking. Throughout her career, Amber Rose has worked to activate investments in youth-driven democracy, mobilize voters for progressive political campaigns, and catalyze grassroots nonprofit development efforts. She is the current Chair of the KEXP Community Advisory Board and participates in a collective impact fund, Present Purpose Network. She is a former Seattle Arts Commissioner, Board Member at Capitol Hill Housing Foundation, and Chair of The Vera Project Board of Directors. She studied Political Science and Philosophy at Seattle Pacific University.

 

As Panel Coordinator, Lizzy Melton provides support for the art selection panels for both the Public Art and Cultural Partnership programs. She works with the online application tools CaFÉ and CGO in all stages of the call process, compiles and readies the submitted application materials, and makes arrangements for selection panel technology requirements. Melton is a former professional dancer and later earned a BA in Art History from the American University of Paris. When not attending dance performances or enjoying museum and gallery exhibitions, she can be found indulging in her love of films, books, and French pastries.