After nine years of work with the Seattle Public School’s arts plan and The Creative Advantage, Audrey Querns is transitioning from her role as The Creative Advantage Project Manager to a new exciting Seattle Public Schools (SPS) project. Audrey will join Assistant Deputy Superintendents Carri Campbell and Sarah Pritchett as the Senior Project Manager of SPS’s new Office of Strategy Deployment and Responsiveness. The team’s first project will be to help coordinate the many cross-functional groups working on the fall Return to School. She was asked to join this new department to carry forward the collaborative and systematic approaches we take in The Creative Advantage into other cross-division SPS projects and initiatives.
As the project manager for The Creative Advantage, Audrey managed the SPS aspects of the collaboration with City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture partners, school leaders, teachers, teaching artists, and arts administrators to ensure that every student has access to a high-quality and culturally relevant arts education. Through that collective effort, The Creative Advantage has expanded to more than 80 schools — the number of music and art programs has more than doubled — and in tandem, schools have developed their arts plans using a racial equity arts dashboard. Audrey has utilized that collective impact approach in managing other SPS partner-oriented projects such as vaccinations for educators and students and planning for long-term partnerships with Seattle Housing Authority and Seattle Public Library.
“Audrey is incredibly detail-oriented, persistent, and dedicated to ensuring that all students are seen, heard, and supported. She is gracious in her approach to sharing information, and always strives to understand both sides of a problem before proposing a solution.”
Pam Ivezic, SPS Music Coach
“Not only is Audrey the epitome of cool, calm, and collected — she’s also an optimistic, joyful, and justice-minded do-gooder who I’m grateful to have worked with. Audrey’s pristine project management and influence are a big part of the reason why The Creative Advantage has shone so brightly. We’re delighted she’ll be able to infuse creativity, access, and equity into her new work at SPS!”
Ashraf Hasham, Youth Arts Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
Gail Sehlhorst, SPS’s Visual & Performing Arts Manager, will be hiring a new Creative Advantage Project Manager, and Audrey has offered to assist with the transition to train the new staff member. Stay tuned for updates, and please join us in showing congratulatory love and appreciation for Audrey in the comments.
