As a working musician, you can bet Jessica Malone knows what it means to play nice with other musicians, artists, and creatives. One of her passions is advocating for female artists, and she’s deeply involved within the music industry, including Girls Rock Sacramento, a nonprofit that inspires and empowers youth through music. She also supports organizations such as 916 Ink, Wildwood Performing Arts Foundation and others. She has played at a multitude of festivals including Napa Earth, Davis...

From the Bay to Sacramento, Nick Jacoy brings with him a diverse background that’s touched various compartments within the design industry, from print production, to web developer, to illustrator, to graphic designer…is there anything Nick hasn’t done?! He’s a self-taught illustrator and product designer with a background in web development and print production. Some of his work includes web development for Blackberry, Samsung, and Apple. Many people are forever learners and we think it’s...

Over the course of her career, Megan Van Voorhis has played a leading role in numerous strategic planning, programming, and research committees. She has also facilitated cross-sector partnerships, illustrating the importance of collaboration. She’s provided leadership, guidance, and support for the region’s small business association and destination marketing agency to develop arts and culture initiatives within their respective organizations at various points in their lifespans. She...

Have you ever wondered how people do it? Gain such a massive following that it’s almost unheard of unless, of course, we’re talking about celebrities and famous artists. How exactly does a company attract over 750,000 followers over social media? No matter the type of function you’ve been at, rest assured H.O.F. has been there and done that. In this episode, Robbie and Tony from H.O.F. talk about how they’ve networked and harnessed social media platforms to ultimately drive Sacramento, and...

Choreographer, Company Artist with the Sacramento Ballet, and Co-founder of Capitol Dance Project (CDP), Julia Feldman is a creative who is constantly inspired by the Sacramento arts community and takes pride in her work with the CDP team to provide a unique platform for local artists, musicians, and dancers. Julia has choreographed for the School of the Sacramento Ballet and teaches master classes throughout the Valley. In 2015 she co-founded CDP, a collective group of professional dancers...

Who is Capitol Creative Alliance? We’re a union of four local creative groups - Creativity+, Design Sacramento, Roseville UX and Sac DESCO. Each group has been working separately to build the community we’ve longed to see in the greater Sacramento region. Now we’ve come together to be a hub for our members and to make our programming more accessible; to foster more impactful events and build a rich and supportive community; and to advocate for the creative economy with one voice.  Today's...

Capitol Creative Alliance (CCA) is a union of four local creative groups — Creativity+, Design Sacramento, Roseville UX, and Sac DESCO. Each group has been building the community that we longed to see in the greater Sacramento region. Our years spent growing this community gives us a deeper understanding of their needs and the desires of the greater Sacramento region. Our aim at CCA is to champion and inspire creatives from different communities, identities, and experiences to build a...

Tara Taylor’s passion for uplifting and motivating women has created a community empowering single mothers and their children through enrichment, encouragement, and educational programs. Inspired by her experience raising her daughter as a successful single mother, and motivated by her conviction that anything can be accomplished with effort and determination, Tara switched gears from her career and found her purpose in Single Mom Strong. The nonprofit has served over 800 families through a...

Paul Willis is a Sacramento-based diversity, equity and inclusion consultant whose client list includes top business, nonprofit and government agencies such as MetroEdge and the Sacramento Bee. His 15 year professional career in the arts, education, leadership development and social justice-driven organizations has provided Paul a unique lens to see the world and shape it. He is also the founder of the Hip-Hop Chess club in Sacramento, and a celebrated keynote speaker who has shared the stage...

A finalist in the 2017 Sacramento Comedy Competition, Becky Lynn is a stand up comic who covers a large range of topics including death, modern love, and the best way to help out at a kid's birthday party.  She navigates her way through life uniquely and hilariously, and in a way that translates perfectly to the stage.  With the pandemic bringing an abrupt halt to live entertainment, Becky was forced to pivot to a new way of life personally and creatively.  In our fourth episode for this...

Patrick Mulvaney is a proud Sacramentan whose cooking career has spanned five time zones. A Michelin-rated restaurateur and community policy advocate on many stages, Patrick is one of the people working tirelessly to make Sacramento the “Farm-to-Fork” capital of the country. He also co-founded the I Got Your Back project, a peer referral and online resource shifting the conversation about mental health in the hospitality world. In this episode of Creativity Speaks, Patrick talks about his...

Rebecca Plumb is the founder of Studio Plumb, an interior design studio in Sacramento helping busy families create livable and lovable homes. Rebecca started her career as a graphic designer, managed creative teams, and co-owned a small creative agency. After 20 years in the marketing world, she took a big leap into the unknown and went back to her first love of interior design to launch Studio Plumb.  You’ll find Rebecca frequently encouraging others to JFDI (just freaking do it)--whatever...

Steve Hansen has been a leading voice in Sacramento for the arts, smart growth, public safety, economic development, and innovation in government service.  He was also named by prior Creativity Speaks guest Maya Wallace as the “biggest advocate for our creative community of any recent local official.”  During Steve’s eight years on the Sacramento City Council, he passed a variety of key initiatives including those leading to new arts and educational facilities, Vision Zero policies, and...

Faith J. McKinnie is an independent curator & consultant who has held leadership positions at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento Theater Company, Bigger Than Us Arts, and is the founding director for the Black Artists Fund. Originally from South Sacramento, Faith discusses the inequality gap and financial barriers that many black artists face when it comes to finding pathways and resources to thrive as an artist. In this episode, Faith also talks about the importance of building a...

Shawn Kahan is a serial entrepreneur. From selling oranges out of his yard to reselling his Halloween candy, he has always had a natural calling for working in business. Whether it was running a streetwear clothing line at age 17, working with high profile athletes and artists on marketing and branding, to cofounding the creative consulting group Yellow Brick Group, Shawn credits the Sacramento community for his successes. In this episode, Shawn discusses the birth of Our Street Market, the...

Molly Weber is a co-founder and the Chief Experience Officer at The Urban Hive, where she is committed to building sustainable communities and beautiful work, collaboration, and event spaces, within which hundreds of creatives and entrepreneurs can thrive. In this episode, Molly talks about the vision she had upon creating what Paste Magazine calls one of the “50 Coolest Coworking Spaces Across the Country,” and discusses how the Urban Hive became the premiere hub that it is today for local...

Amanda Sanchez is the Executive Director of Design Sacramento, a nonprofit organization that aims to make Sacramento’s design community more inclusive, equitable, and supportive for all. Wanting to see the design community in Sacramento thrive, Amanda has made it her mission to create a network built on providing resources, education, and opportunities to fellow creatives of all ages and backgrounds. In this episode, Amanda discusses the impact that the pandemic has had on her work and the...

In this episode, Salvin Chahal, a Sacramento native driven by the immigrant hustle, discusses the impact that the local creative community has had on his journey to finding his true identity and fulfilling his need for artistic expression.  He's a storyteller, poet, producer, and an advocate for people of color from marginalized communities.  From humble beginnings and a career launched by social media, his book, ‘Verses From Above’, a collection of poetry and workshops, reached #3 on...

Fueled by the passion of creating unforgettable experiences, Maritza Davis has built a successful career as an entrepreneur, executive and business leader. Born and raised in South Sacramento, Maritza discusses the importance of family and community in her upbringing and how it has shaped her career decisions. Walking away from a promising career to focus on her creative pursuits, Maritza shares her story and offers advice on how to achieve success in the creative field despite feeling...

Born in New Orleans and raised in Sacramento, N’Gina Guyton is a self-made entrepreneur in the food and restaurant industry and has dedicated her life to serving the Sacramento community with the very best authentic Southern food. In this episode, N’Gina talks about what it means to be a successful, black, female restaurant owner during a truly unprecedented time.  N’Gina shares the different obstacles she has faced within the food industry and discusses the many ways that her creativity has...

On this episode of Creativity Speaks+, we talk with Isis Dallis who is currently the Managing Director at Matter Unlimited. With a passion for storytelling, Isis has had the role of President and CEO of several design agencies, as well as cofounding the nonprofit called Youth Villages Life Set Network, formerly known as Camellia Network. As a black woman and creative leader working in the design industry, Dallis discusses some of the barriers and biases that creatives of color face when it...

Ebony Ava Harper is a Sacramento-based award-winning nationally recognized activist, philanthropist, writer, creator, life and world-changer, advocate for marginalized communities, and a tremendous inspiration to many. In this episode, Ebony talks about the intersections of being black and transgender and how it ties into a bigger movement. After experiencing a very traumatic childhood due to her nonconforming gender identity, Ebony suffered years of abuse and hardships. Finally embracing...

On Episode 2 Landon Lee, a multi-skilled creative aficionado, with over 10 years of professional experience.  In this time, he's worked in a variety of industries - honing his craft each step of the way - from broadcast news to boutique marketing agencies. Today, Landon is the co-owner of Noble Creative Collective, a creative Design Studio located here in Sacramento.  Through his own experiences BOTH positive and negative within the industry, Landon along with his business partner, are...

Kicking off our first episode of Season 3 we invited Maya Wallace to discuss what’s going on in the Sacramento Arts community. Maya Wallace is a longtime Sacramento resident committed to building an equitable and prosperous community for all. Dive into this first episode to see what kind of work Maya is currently up to and what she thinks our community can do to improve. Creativity Speaks explores the stories of Sacramento’s creative community. Creativity Speaks focuses on a different theme....