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.Angela Brown, Director of Marketing and Communications
Angela Brown has been managing and developing multimedia communications for government, not-for-profit, small business, and global media organizations in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Seattle for 20 years. Most recently she led media and evaluation for Arts Corps’ Highline Creative Schools Initiative, a 3-year longitudinal arts integration research project, in partnership with the Highline Public School District. She holds a Bachelors in social sciences from Roosevelt University and a Masters in Media & Cinema Studies from DePaul University. Angela is passionate about equity and inclusivity in the arts and has many creative passions that include writing, photography, and video. She serves as a member of the Historic Central Area Arts & Cultural District, Midtown Square Artists Selection Panel, ACES: Artists of Color Expo & Symposium, and crafts her own organic skin & hair care line, Brown Angel All Naturals.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.Ryan Davis, Director of Business & Operations
Ryan Davis has worked for over 20 years in non-profit administration and higher education and has been a member of Pratt’s leadership team since 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and his past experience largely consists of implementing and managing complex enterprise database systems to administer education programs. Ryan is passionate about equity and inclusion throughout society and particularly in the arts, and is also passionate about making music as a member of various bands performing all over the Puget Sound region. As a musician Ryan has helped raise money for charities and community projects for various organizations such as the YMCA, Marysville Parks, and Seattle Children's Hospital. He has served as a Board member and Treasurer at Northwest Folklife and is currently volunteering as a member of the audit committee there.
Gabriel-Bello Diaz, Youth and Teen Programs Manager
Gabriel-Bello Diaz is a Puerto Rican artist, instructor and community organizer. As founder of Efficio he combines 3D printing and laser cut technology with leather to create high end custom leather products. With his background in architecture and robotic engineering he has developed educational programs and curriculums that encourage students to pursue a variety of STEM careers. He as worked with several public school districts as a consultant and as an elective teacher for 6th-12th grade. Gabriel is very passionate about empowering brown and black communities through the art industry and launched an arts and fashion magazine, AntiSocial, that highlights local artists and gives them the opportunity to tell their own stories on how they navigate through their career in Seattle. Now at Pratt he continues to support youth and teens through art and develops opportunities for these local students to create with purpose and witness what a career in the arts could look like. 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.
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.
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. 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.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 Procurement 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. Her latest ventures are moving into a shared ceramics studio space and starting her own jewelry business, Broodmother Jewelry. 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.
Bianca Recuenco, Digital Marketing Manager
Bianca Recuenco (she/her) was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She is a first-generation, Filipina American college student who received her B.A. in Communication and minors in Diversity and Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies from the University of Washington. Recently, she released two photography projects entitled, "Bukas na Puso" (Open Heart), "Awaken: An Allusion to Illusion," and was a panelist speaker for the "Creating Peminist Culture" panel for the Pinay Power II Conference at McGill University. Some of her passions include shifting culture and reimagining realities through digital photography as well as creating equitable pathways for holistic wellness, decolonized healing practices, and creative expression for underrepresented communities.
