Welcome to the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium
Upcoming Events
Sustaining Accessibility in Challenging Times
May 30, 2025
12:00 - 1:15 pm
Virtual
The arts sector is navigating a time of profound upheaval and uncertainty—one that raises more questions than answers. How can we sustain accessibility efforts within our organizations amid shifting priorities and limited resources? What does true allyship for people of all abilities look like today? How can we secure the support needed to keep accessibility work thriving in our communities?
The Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium invites you to an important conversation featuring a distinguished panel of leaders, moderated by Manny Cawaling, Executive Director of Inspire Washington. Together, they will unpack the challenges we face and share strategies for moving forward with resilience and purpose. You will leave with practical tools to strengthen accessibility in your organization—and renewed inspiration to advocate for accessibility and allyship across the arts sector.
Captioning and ASL interpreters provided. For further accessibility information or to request additional accommodations, please contact us by email at seattlecac@gmail.com by May 16.
Image shows a headshot of a middle-aged Filipino man with short black hair wearing a checked button-down shirt in various shades of blue, gray, and brown.
Speakers
Manny Cawaling, Moderator
Executive Director, Inspire Washington
Manuel R. Cawaling is the Executive Director for Inspire Washington, a merger of Cultural Access Washington and Washington State Arts Alliance. Prior to this position, he spent 10 years as Executive Director for Youth Theatre Northwest, providing children on Mercer Island and throughout King County with creative education and live theatre experiences. A Seattle native, Manuel has been working professionally as an artist and cultural leader for nearly 30 years. In 1989, Manuel was at the forefront of Seattle’s fringe theatre movement, serving as Artistic Director for Pilgrim Center for the Arts.
Woman with shoulder-length gray hair and glasses atop her head smile at camera
Claudia Balducci
King County Councilmember
Claudia Balducci, King County Councilmember for District 6, leads on transportation, affordable housing, public safety, and a healthy environment. She champions education, the arts, and equity, collaborating with communities to enrich lives. She works to build sustainable and thriving communities, benefiting residents across King County.
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Carrie Basas
Founder, Justice Studio and CoDesign Works
Carrie Basas (she/they) is the founder of Justice Studio and CoDesign Works, where she provides legal, strategic, and organizational support to nonprofits, foundations, and public entities. A disabled and attorney licensed in Washington State, Carrie draws on over two decades of experience in disability rights, civil rights law, and nonprofit leadership. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Master’s in Education from the University of Washington. Carrie has served as a law professor, state agency leader, and executive director. She brings a justice-centered lens to her work, challenging systems to be more accessible, accountable, and human.
Adult woman with black hair and brown eyes wears black glasses, a blue and white stripped collar shirt, and red lipstick with an obscured background of blue and green colors.
Amber Rose Jimenez
Program Officer, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Amber Rose Jimenez believes in the power and possibility of a just, multiracial democracy. As program officer for arts & culture at the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Amber Rose advises on philanthropic strategy and investments. Previously, she advanced racial equity across programs at the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and managed community programs at the Seattle Foundation. At the Washington Bus, she organized young people for progressive causes and raised funds across Washington State. She served on the boards of Community Roots Housing Foundation, Seattle Works, The Vera Project, and the Seattle Arts Commission.
James Miles is a middle aged light skinned Black man with clear glasses and a smile.
James Miles
Assistant Professor, Seattle University
Fondly known as Fresh Professor, James Miles worked as an artist and educator in New York City for 20 years prior to moving to Seattle in 2016. An Assistant Professor at Seattle University, James is also the Chief Strategic Officer at Path with Art.
James previously served as the Creative Economy Manager at Seattle’s Office of Economic Development, Executive Director of Third Stone, the non-profit arm of the Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival, the Chief Executive Officer of MENTOR Washington, and the Executive Director of Arts Corps, prior to that. Originally from Chicago, James has worked internationally as an artist and educator and was motivated to foment change after seeing so many children who looked like him being disregarded and treated like criminals by our educational systems. In New York City, he was the Director of Education at Urban Arts Partnership, where he created the Fresh Education program that used original hip-hop music and theater to boost academic success in middle school ELA and social studies classrooms. The arts-infused and standards-aligned curriculum guide he designed has been used around the world and has inspired many educators and adults to shift how they teach, work with, and speak to students of all ages.
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Connecting arts and cultural organizations with information and resources to improve accessibility for people of all abilities
Seattle city skyline at dusk.
The Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium (SCAC) was founded in 2018 to increase accessibility in the Seattle arts community through:
Programming including workshops and networking events
Website with resources
Why are we here?
Panelists and audience mingle after the SCAC “It’s About Access” workshop.
The Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium (SCAC) is Seattle's only concentrated accessibility effort to help arts organizations plan for and address the needs of people with disabilities.
SCAC guides arts and cultural administrators in their journey to integrate accessibility within the structure of their organizations.
Visit our Get Involved page to join our email list and learn more!
"Our region needs a centralized entity to provide information and resources for cultural organizations working to increase accessibility. Without the proper education, training, equipment, and overall awareness, we’re falling short on our promise to be fully accessible to everyone. It will be a great accomplishment when all of our arts and cultural institutions are providing consistent, dependable, quality and accessible services for everyone in our community."
- Becky Witmer, former Managing Director of ACT Theatre
Thank you to our supporters!
Funders
Sponsors
Partners
Past Supporters
Shunpike: Powering the Business of Art
The Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium is fiscally sponsored by Shunpike. Shunpike is the 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that provides independent arts groups in Washington State with the services, resources, and opportunities they need to forge their own paths to sustainable success.
This website is made possible by generous support from Arts WA.