Zach Powers '10

Spaceworks has grown into a backbone of the Tacoma arts community in the past seven years. The organization has partnered with hundreds of do-it-yourself artists, small businesses and fledgling nonprofits, injecting the city’s creative class with the know-how and confidence to thrive.

The foundation of Spaceworks’ mission, Monthy says, is helping local creatives grow their skills, resources and capacity.

“Not everybody knows the 14-point plan to becoming a successful small business owner,” Monthy said. “A lot of times people just have two: the drive and the talent in making something. Spaceworks helps artists learn how to be a bit more business minded, how to write budgets, to plan strategically.”

Monthy, who majored in political science at Pacific Lutheran University, serves as Spaceworks’ development coordinator, a position she says “entails cultivating a lot of relationships in Tacoma with people who are interested in investing their time, money or other resources in our work.”

Monthy’s natural gifts and charisma, her teammates say, is key to the success she’s enjoyed at Spaceworks.

“It takes a certain personality to be successful at fundraising,” said Heather Joy, Spaceworks’ manager. “Kate has such a way with people that it makes you want to join forces with her and do whatever it is she is suggesting you do.”

Before Spaceworks, Monthy learned how to connect with potential donors, volunteers and collaborators while serving as an administrator at Tacoma City Ballet and co-founding a nonprofit called MLKBallet, which provides tuition-free dance lessons to Tacoma-area youth.

“I’m definitely a self-taught fundraiser and nonprofit person,” Monthy said. “I’ve just learned from experience how to cultivate relationships and get people to believe in what you’re doing.”

Mikheyev, who studied art history as well as publishing and printing arts at PLU, is the marketing coordinator at Spaceworks. “My job includes a lot of social media, blogging, feature writing and graphic design,” Mikheyev said. “Other people do the work, and I just talk about it.”

Mikheyev, who grew up in Russia, is quick to downplay his impact at Spaceworks, but his colleagues insist otherwise.

“Dmitry brings to life in stories everything that we do, which is invaluable,” Monthy said. “He bumped the level of all our communications way up. Everything is enhanced thanks to him.”

Mikheyev is also known in the Spaceworks office for his boundless vivacity. “He is full of energy, as a person and as a marketer,” Joy said. “His work always feels bright, fresh and new.”

Monthy and Mikheyev maintain their creative lives outside Spaceworks — Mikheyev as his stage personas, and Monthy as a choreographer and dance instructor at Tacoma School of the Arts as well as Harbor Dance and Performance Center. Arts leaders close to Spaceworks say hiring working artists helps make the program more effective.

“The secret sauce of Spaceworks is that it is a creative organization,” said Amy McBride, Tacoma’s arts administrator. “Having working artists and creatives at the core of it is important to understanding the needs of the community and responding in creative ways.”

Joy believes the trust built between Spaceworks and its clients is a product of the peer-to-peer relationships shared by individual artists and Spaceworks staff members.

“They’re part of that community themselves,” she said of Monthy and Mikheyev. “They’ve experienced the highs and lows of being an artist and small business owner, and they can relate by sharing.”

Monthy and Mikheyev say they’re thankful for the opportunity to serve a program that serves their community.

“It’s wonderful that we get to come to a job where our sole purpose is helping other artists,” Monthy said. “I can’t think of anything better.”

“Working on the bureaucratic side we call ourselves ‘paleocrats’ because we’re actually interpreting the science for government,” Foss said. “Field research was what I always wanted to do, but a big part of what I do now is coordinate everything that goes on in the field.”

Foss juggles a variety of hats in an average week at the office, ranging from policy expert to to public relations officer.

“I spend a lot of time helping to develop policy as well as reviewing other proposed policy, thinking about how it could affect paleontological resources,” Foss said. “We work on and review a lot of environmental impact statements and assessments, making sure they are adequate for paleontology.

“We’re also really big in the planning and management process of public lands. If there is going to be a pipeline, right-of-way or an energy corridor that may affect a lot of paleontological resources, I get involved and explain how it will affect those resources or not affect them.”

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Larsen has become an expert on domestic and global policy. But he also believes that part of being an authentic leader and elected official is admitting that he doesn’t have an answer to every constituent question. Often, he says, that sort of honesty can come at a cost.

Larsen admits he can grow weary of meetings where constituents recite specific language given to them by advocacy groups. “You don’t need to use the talking points given to you by an association,” he said. “You’re actually living this, so share what it means to you. It’s much more memorable.”

Active listening is at the core of Larsen’s political ethic and personality, but he says that even the most effective listening doesn’t necessarily result in agreement. “I’d love to agree with everybody but that’s not going to happen.”

But, Larsen stressed, he can promise he will listen to what they have to say.

“You can take it or leave it, and I can’t help it if you disagree with it,” he said. “And you can use that to judge me every two years.”