The Staff
The staff at Pratt Fine Arts Center is dedicated to making art accessible to everyone. Our studio managers are working artists who can often be found working and teaching in the studios when they aren’t in the office.Steve Galatro, Executive Director
Steve Galatro has extensive experience in nonprofit arts administration and higher education, elevated by an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University. Previous management experience comes from various positions at Empty Space Theatre and the Seattle University Fine Arts Department where he remains an active member of the adjunct faculty. Steve currently serves on the Seattle Arts Commission and the Historic Central Area Arts & Cultural District.
Julie Custer, Development Manager
Julie Custer is dedicated to supporting arts education and lifelong learning opportunities. A Pratt team member since 2007, she enjoys being part of a creative community and connecting artists with resources. She received an MFA in Fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in Textile Design from the University of Kansas. Her work was included in the catalog and exhibition HOT HOUSE: Expanding the Field of Fiber at Cranbrook and has been shown at the Kirkland Arts Center, the Burnaby Art Gallery in Vancouver, BC and SOIL Gallery in Seattle. You can also find her in the Pratt studios tinkering with new materials.
Scott Darlington, Glass Studio Manager
Scott has been working with hot glass for 30 years. After completing his BFA at the Appalachian Center for Crafts he moved to Seattle and worked as an assistant for many different artists. Scott also worked as the Hot Shop Coordinator at Pilchuck Glass School for 7 summers. After nearly 10 years in Seattle, he spent 4 years in Japan as Associate Professor at the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art. In the spring of 2007 he received his MFA in glass from The Ohio State University. Scott was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bowling Green State University from 2007-2011. He has also done two residencies at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Scott has taught workshops around the globe, including Canada, Japan, Pilchuck, and Penland. He and his family returned to Seattle in summer 2011 where Scott is a practicing glass artist and the Glass Studio Manager at Pratt Fine Arts Center.Ryan Davis, Director of Business & Operations
Ryan Davis has worked as a higher education administrator for nearly 10 years and holds a BS in Business Administration. As a local musician, Ryan has performed at venues large and small all over the Puget Sound with a number of different groups.Lisa Geertsen, Metal and Stone Studio Manager
Lisa has been a blacksmithing instructor at Pratt since 2007. She is a full time artist blacksmith/fabricator and owner of Firelight Forge in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, WA. She has been working with metal since 1999 and her commission work ranges from architectural fabrication to site-specific sculptures.Jonathan Gooden, Events Coordinator
In a short amount of time Jonathan has immersed himself in the arts community here in Seattle, creating a foundation and creative opportunities/experiences for himself and others. Since moving here he has worked with arts organizations leading the way in their fields, producing several successful events while managing his own independent production company, Evrythng Creativ™.
Brian Haddix, Sculpture Technician
As a musician and artist, Brian has been on a lifelong quest to learn how to make anything he can dream up a reality. After earning a BFA in Kinetic Sculpture and Luminous Tube Construction from New York State School of Ceramics at Alfred University, he continued my education of materials and practice through work in various trades and vocational schools. With a focus in electricity, mechanics and the manipulation of metals, this journey has lead to wonderful discoveries. Through his art he combines light, movement and sound in order to give the work a life of its own.Laura Hammarlund, Development Director
Laura Hammarlund holds an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University and a BA in Drama from the University of Washington. Her professional background includes development and marketing for arts organizations in Seattle and as a producer for film and video in Seattle and Washington, DC. Laura spends her free time corralling two teenagers and feels lucky to have grown up in Seattle’s vibrant arts community.Julia Harrison, Jewelry/Metals Studio Manager
Julia has been a Pratt instructor since 2009 and became the Jewelry/Metals Studio Manager in 2016. Although trained in metals, her specialties are wooden jewelry and small-scale carving. She is delighted to share her enthusiasm for wood and carving with her students in both the Jewelry/Metals Studio and the Woodshop. Her work has appeared in galleries and museums across the country and in England, and she's received generous support and scholarships from Pratt, PONCHO, the Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck, 4Culture, and Artist Trust.Myra Kaha, Youth and Teen Studio Manager
Myra Kaha has worked in non-profit arts education in Seattle since receiving a MFA in ceramics from West Virginia University in 2006. Myra is passionate about youth arts education and continues to work in clay, and she is currently represented by Vetri Gallery in Seattle.Kamla Kakaria, Painting/Drawing/Printmaking Studio Manager
Kamla Kakaria received an MFA in Printmaking from University of Washington. She works with multiples that are related to each other but not identical to create large pieces. The act of making a piece over and over again feels legitimate. She is able to create a relationship with the form as it becomes a new word in her vocabulary that she is compelled to overuse. Being an immigrant from India her recent bodies of work are related to memories of the beauty and fragility of India.
Chuck Lopez, Glass Studio Technician
Originally from Colorado, Chuck Lopez started working with glass in 1989. With a background in computer science, mathematics, and philosophy, he received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Colorado in 1995, and an MFA from Alfred University in 1999. Chuck has been involved with Pratt since 1999, as a staff member, instructor, teaching assistant, student, and Artist in Residence. He has received grants and residencies from Pilchuck Glass School, Artists Trust, and The Creative Glass Center of America at Wheaton Arts, and he was a co-chair for the 2011 Glass Art Society conference in Seattle. Chuck's work is shown nationally and was selected for inclusion in New Glass Review, 2002 and 2007.Kim McIntyre, Wood Studio Manager
Kim McIntyre is custom furniture maker. She attended Sterling College where the experiential curriculum introduced her to woodworking via assignments such as making a canoe paddle, which she later used to learn white water paddling. She graduated with a degree in Outdoor Education and Leadership and then spent the next six years leading wilderness expeditions for Outward Bound. Ten years ago Kim transitioned into her woodworking career path, starting with attending Vermont Woodworking School, followed by working as the manager of a maker space in Denver. She builds tea boxes, wooden kayaks, and other custom woodworking projects as the owner and operator of McIntyre Furniture, and became a member of the Pratt community in 2014. Her two dogs can often be found at Pratt.
Natalie Miller, Access Fund and Donor Events Manager
Natalie Miller holds a BFA in Visual Arts from Rio Grande University located in rural Ohio. She recently graduated with her MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle U. During her time there, she bolstered her passion of the arts with practical application of resource development work and gained experience with various Seattle arts organizations. Born out of her graduate thesis, she started an arts organization, critical M.A.A.S., that utilizes a tiny and mobile space for a financially accessible artist residency. Her latest venture is moving into a shared clay studio and starting her own porcelain jewelry business, Broodmother Porcelain. She spends the rest of her time with loved ones, social dancing, imbibing the powerful art in Seattle, and trying to make time for the numerous artistic practices she is forever chasing.
Eve Sanford, Programs Director
Eve is a multi-discipline artist, arts educator and cultural worker. A transplant from Chicago, where she worked nearly 20 years teaching art for Chicago public and charter schools and various community centers, museums and programs throughout the city, Eve’s educational philosophy moves her to facilitate creative experiences that engage students in the exploration of self, community and purpose. As an artist, often her work takes form in jewelry, photographs, paintings, and installations. She explores identity, vacancy and healing through a lens that is primarily autobiographical. Eve is an alumna of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Seattle University.Karina San Juan, Marketing and Communications Director
Before joining the visual arts sector, Karina worked as marketing and corporate communications executive for multinational companies in Mexico and the US. She also served as under director of International Media at the office of the President of Mexico. Karina holds a BA in Communications from ITESM University, and specializations in International Communications and Integrated Marketing. Karina is passionate about intersectional human rights, and in her free time she serves as volunteer interpreter and translator for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, and as Marketing advisor for Children's Home Society of Washington.
Katie Twiss, Customer Service Manager
Katie holds a B.F.A. in Printmaking and Creative Writing from the Kansas City Art Institute and has meandered in and out of arts-related jobs since graduating. She enjoys making a variety of things, including but not limited to: pies, tiny felted animals, prints, endearingly ugly quilts, and tea. She loves all manner of creatures, so if you want to stop by the Front Desk and show her cute pictures of your dog, that’d be just fine.
