People

STAFF

Arlene Smith

Executive director

Arlene (she/her) is a Seattle based flow artist and community organizer who loves sharing her enthusiasm for movement, play and self empowerment with those around her. She started organizing FlowShop, a weekly gathering hosting workshops and open skill shares, in 2016 and is a founding member of the Seattle Flow Arts Collective. Arlene has been playing with flow arts for the past 9 years and can most often be found tangled up in hula hoops, preferably while roller skating.

Board of Directors

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Kat Plimpton

Board President

Kat (she/her) is a flow artist and fire dancer who focuses on s-staff manipulation, which includes spinning buugeng and the Serpent Staff, a giant fire s-staff. She brings a significant amount of nonprofit experience to the SFAC board, with over 5 years of experience working for an environmental organization that advocates for clean energy and energy efficiency in the Pacific Northwest, as well as experience serving on two other nonprofit boards.

BLAZE Burg

Vice-President

BJ (she/her) is a poi spinner, fire dancer, videographer, instructor, performer, and jack-of-all-trades for Seattle Flow Arts Collective. Outside of flow arts, BJ enjoys learning to dance, discovering local artists, building LEGOs, listening to music, and parenting her 3 boys in central Seattle. Professionally, she works as a researcher, project manager, and software engineer for a large company. You can check out her current creative impulses at @brainfreezyflow.

Ariana Stokes

Secretary

Ariana (she/they) began her flow journey in 2015. Hooping is their first love, but she finds exploring new props exciting and wants to try them all. Ariana is passionate about community building and holding space for others to grow and has been administrating and moderating various online communities for the past 8 years. Professionally, they are a UX/UI Designer and have a background in illustration. When she’s not flowing, she enjoys various arts and crafts, video games, and spending time with her dogs.

Desert Black

TREASURER

Desert (he/him) has been a part of the Seattle fire dancing & fire breathing communities for over 10 years. He was the Fire Safety Director for the Flow Arts Institute, and remains deeply involved with local fire spinning gatherings as a community leader and advocate. Certified FAI Fire Safety Instructor. He’s also an Organizer for some of the regional Flow Arts Festivals. He’s happy to discuss fire safety with those who have questions!

Justin Kjolseth

At-large board member

Justin aka Tuck (they/them) has been part of the Burning Man community since 2014 and started spinning leviwand in 2018. They have been involved with a number of other arts and nonprofit organizations over the years, and bring a wealth of legal knowledge and other expertise to the board.

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