Katie McEldowney

I am thrilled to share that I have completed my internship with the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising in Fort Collins, CO during my final semester in Spring 2026.

This experience served as a core professional requirement for my M.A. in Arts Leadership & Cultural Management, allowing me to draw on my background in theatrical production to bridge meticulous collections care with dynamic audience engagement strategies.

During my time with the museum, my responsibilities and achievements included:

• Collections & Curation: Processed and documented items into the permanent collection and assisted the curatorial team with exhibition installation and logistics.
• Public Programming: Designed and executed an original public educational program, Beyond the Brooch: The History of Entomological Jewelry, successfully connecting one of the museum’s exhibits with diverse community audiences.
• Education Center Launch: Assisted in the preparation and launch of the new Janet J. Else Education Center. This included executing the spatial setup, assisting with the production of mockups for new educational displays, and designing the exterior display windows to engage passing visitors.

Building on the success of this project, I am currently exploring opportunities to develop this research further for submission to the Costume Society of America.

While the formal internship has concluded, it has provided invaluable operational training for my future leadership roles in the cultural sector and I am incredibly excited to continue supporting the institution’s mission by staying on as a volunteer.

A capstone project for the CSU LEAP Program’s Community Engagement and the Arts course, focused on producing small-scale, public art events to activate local spaces and foster new audiences.

My Role: Partner Liaison

Key Responsibilities & Accomplishments:
Initiated and maintained communication with local businesses and artists to secure event locations, activities, and resources.

Drafted partnership agreements defining roles, responsibilities, and use of space for the artists and partner sites participating in the events.

Coordinated with marketing team to provide location and artist information for all promotional materials.

Coordinated with risk management team to identify and address potential logistical, accessibility, and safety concerns with partner sites and artists

This project, developed for the Community Engagement and the Arts course in my Master’s program is a comprehensive plan for an Intergenerational Skill Sharing Workshop Series aimed at fostering understanding, respect, and connection between senior citizens and high school students in Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA. It demonstrates my ability to design, plan, and evaluate a community-engaged arts initiative, leveraging the arts as a tool for social connection and problem-solving.

Project Overview:
The initiative, titled “Bridging Generations,” is an arts-based workshop series designed to address several interconnected community issues. These issues include social isolation among seniors, limited intergenerational interaction, dwindling arts education in regional schools, and the risk of losing traditional craft skills. The workshops would provide opportunities for shared learning, creative expression, and community building.

Key Project Goals and Objectives:
The primary goal of the project is to foster understanding, respect, and connection between senior citizens and high school students in Mount Vernon and Burlington, WA, through arts engagement, ultimately enhancing community unity.
The project’s key objectives are to create sustainable intergenerational arts programming and enhance access to arts education for high school students. Furthermore, the project aims to increase community awareness and appreciation of local culture and history through art increase intergenerational interaction, and promote knowledge sharing of skills, experiences, and perspectives between generations. To meet these objectives, the plan calls for conducting a series of at least 6 workshops, each providing opportunities to learn different skills such as knitting, woodworking, watercolor painting, etc. The intention is to engage a minimum of 10 high school students and 10 senior citizens in each workshop, with success measured, in part, by documenting at least 3 instances of skill sharing and mutual learning within each session. Pre- and post-workshop surveys will also be administered to assess changes in attitudes toward intergenerational interaction and perceived skill acquisition.

To see the full details of the plan you can download the original project below:

This is a comprehensive project proposal develop for the Arts Policy and Advocacy course in my Master’s program. It advocates for the creation of a comprehensive, independent K-12 theatre education program in Mount Vernon, WA, as a strategic response to resource limitations and the decline of arts programs in the public school system. The proposal demonstrates my ability to analyze community needs, synthesize academic literature, develop policy options, and formulate a detailed implementation strategy for a major cultural initiative.

Executive Summary and Rationale
The project is driven by the recognition of the significant, transformative benefits that theatre education offers young people, including improved communication skills, enhanced crtical thinking abilities, greater empathy, and increased self-confidence. By establishing an independent program, Mount Vernon can ensure that students of all ages and backgrounds have consistent access to the arts.

This initiative directly addresses several critical challenges facing the Mount Vernon School District. These challenges include a decline in math proficiency among high school students, a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and limited access to comprehensive arts education opportunities. The recent decision to eliminate the high school’s music program further emphasizes the urgent need for alternative avenues to provide students with a well-rounded education. Theatre education is a particularly compelling solution because the process of designing sets, costumes, and lighting requires the application of precise measurements, calculations, and spatial reasoning, which has been shown to correlate with higher academic performance and math proficiency.

The proposed independent program is designed to be a sustainable, long-term solution that provides sequential learning, specialized instruction, and diverse programming options, ultimately enriching the cultural vibrancy of the community for generations to come.

Policy Analysis
A thorough literature review established the profound impact of theatre on students’ cognitive, social-emotional, and academic development, noting that these benefits are particularly crucial for students from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Despite these proven benefits, public schools fave significant obstacles in providing comprehensive arts education due to budget cuts, an emphasis on standardized testing, and difficulties in recruiting qualified educators. Independent arts organizations, conversely, are vital forces that can offer specialized training, flexible programming, and performance opportunities that are more accessible and responsive to students’ needs.

Project Recommendation
Based on the analysis and exploration of various options (including expanding existing school programs or partnering with existing local arts groups) the establishment of an independent K-12 theatre education program is strongly recommended. This dedicated program would possess the autonomy to develop a rigorous, standards-aligned curriculum, recruit highly qualified educators, and attract diverse funding streams, offering a comprehensive and sustained theatre education experience that the public school system currently struggles to provide.

To see the full details of the plan, including the literature review, detailed analysis of challenges, implementation strategy and more, you can download the original project document below: