Co-Hosts Named for the Why Change Podcast

Recently, Creative Generation announced the launch of its flagship podcast, Why Change? The Podcast for a Creative Generation. In the trailer, Managing Director and podcast host, Jeff M. Poulin announced the co-hosts of this podcast who will be profiled in the first four episodes of the series.

Below, please learn more about each of the Why Change? podcast co-hosts and join us in welcoming them to the team.

Ashraf Hasham is the Youth Arts Manager for the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture, overseeing the City’s youth investments in arts education, creative youth development, and career-connected learning. He comes to this role from The Vera Project, a homegrown, nationally-renowned, all-ages music venue & DIY arts space, where he served as Executive Director. Prior to that, he spent a short time with Chicago’s Urban Gateways, building capacity for their youth engagement & advocacy programs w/ Street-Level Youth Media. Before that, he got to work with an organization that changed his life as a young person in Seattle: TeenTix, a revolutionary arts access & youth empowerment organization, where he held multiple roles over the years, most recently Director of Programs & Partnerships. 

An unapologetic optimist, Ashraf is a proud millennial-of-color and South Asian immigrant. He believes in radical inclusivity and anti-racist, strengths-based, community-led solutions that center the most impacted. He leads with empathy and positivity, collaboratively and transparently, centering love and joy. Recognizing things change fast and often, Ashraf strives to remain nimble and humble, always growing and adapting to meet the moment.

Nationally, Ashraf advises arts advocacy initiatives. Locally, he serves on Seattle’s Central Waterfront Oversight Commission. He’s previously served on the Seattle Arts Commission, and is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Tomorrow. 

Ashraf can be seen in the wild chasing the sunset, on the dance floor, at arts events, in your local thrift store, seeing live music, or rollerblading in the distance.

Rachael Jacobs is a lecturer in Creative Arts Education at Western Sydney University, a community artist, writer and activist. She is a former secondary teacher (Dance, Drama and Music) and primary Arts specialist. Rachael has facilitated arts projects in community settings all over Australia, mostly in refugee communities, in prisons and in women’s refuges. In 2016 contributed to the arts education component of the OECD report on the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 and she is currently assisting in the analysis for UNESCO’s International Commission on Futures of Learning. As a community activist she uses the arts to make statements about public education, climate justice and building anti-racist futures. She is a freelance writer, aerial artist, South Asian dancer and choreographer. She was a founding member of the community activism group, Teachers for Refugees and runs her own intercultural dance company.

Madeleine McGirk is the Managing Director of the International Teaching Artists Collaborative (ITAC), which works to connect and promote teaching artists and their practice around the world. Madeleine is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she supports all of the Collaborative's activities. Her role includes overseeing monthly Think Tanks, network and Hub development, project management and the ground-breaking ITAC conferences held biennially (hosted most recently in 2020 by Korean Arts and Culture Education Service, and in 2018 by Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center NYC ). She coordinates international partnership projects, speaks at global arts education conferences and organises regular development opportunities for the network.

Madeleine is a trained actor, and has worked as a freelance teaching artist for some of Scotland's leading youth theatres. She is the former Executive Director of the Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET), a national educational organisation which works to encourage international understanding and language learning through innovative practices. During her time at SEET, Madeleine was invited to speak as part of an education delegation at the European Commission, European Parliament Information Office and Scottish Parliament. Madeleine is passionate about her work in the arts and education sector, and is committed to furthering international connectivity in our field and beyond.

Karla Estela Rivera is a writer, performer, activist, and arts advocate that has leveraged her gift of storytelling to uplift and create opportunities for, with, and in underserved communities. She is the Executive Director of the historic Free Street Theater and a company member of 2nd Story in Chicago. In addition to her artistic work, Karla has served in non-profit organizations for over a decade, beginning as a teaching artist and youth worker, to systems-level leadership in public affairs. Most recently she served as the co-chair of the Illinois Fine Arts Indicator work group which developed the nation’s first weighted accountability measure for the arts as part of the Illinois Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. Karla continues to perform in venues and zoom rooms across the country, and actively teaches storytelling and consults on advocacy initiatives. She is a native of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and holds a BA from Columbia College Chicago’s Department of Film & Video, with graduate studies at New York University.