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
BJ Burg
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.
Zachary Mallon
Vice-President
Zac (he/him) has been a part of the Pacific Northwest flow arts community since 2008. He has worked with Pacific Fire Gathering since its first year, starting as the Fire Safety and Fuel Depot Organizer and now as a Director. He also brings experience from working in the nonprofit world and is currently the coordinator for the Lower Nehalem Watershed Council on the Oregon coast. He mucks about with a lot of props but spends most of his time spinning double/contact/doubles-contact staff.
Kat Plimpton
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.
aLLISON Phoenix
TREASURER
Allison (she/they) has been involved in the Seattle fire and flow arts community since 2010. They are a multi-prop spinning independent professional fire performer who has also performed several times with the local Burning Man Conclave groups. They co-lead the medical team for Kindle NW and work as a medical professional when they're not spinning things.
Desert Black
Ariana Stokes
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.
