In 2009, as then-director of Cultural & Public Affairs for the City of Slidell, Louisiana, Kim joined forces with the local Chamber of Commerce to create the East St. Tammany Parish Cultural Economy Coalition. The grassroots effort was created to bring together artists, arts organizations and cultural economy stakeholders to support artists and to build awareness as to the intrinsic and economic impact of arts and culture. That organization has since grown to serve multiple parishes (counties) on the upper shores of Lake Pontchartrain, just north of New Orleans, and has been rebranded as Northshore Cultural Economy Coalition.

Kim’s unique approach to arts fundraising and her production and marketing of cultural events have been recognized with numerous regional and national awards from organizations including the National League of Cities, City-County Community and Marketing Association and two Louisiana Lt. Governors. Some of her volunteer fundraising efforts centered around arts have been chronicled on a blog she created for that purpose, www.RightBrainDiaries.com. Those efforts led to the founding of a new organization, Artists & Causes, LLC, designed to connect creatives with non profits for mutually beneficial fundraising efforts. 

Kim is a magna cum laude graduate from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette,) from which she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in applied arts and minors in English and photography.

Elisabeth joined Americans for the Arts in March 2014. She facilitates the Americans for the Arts’ State Arts Action Network (SAAN). For Americans for the Arts’ VoterVoice affiliate program, its online advocacy platform, Elisabeth provides support for state and local affiliate members. In addition, she tracks arts and arts education legislation at the state and local levels as well as ballot initiatives. She also produces the weekly e-newsletter, the SAANBox.

Prior to Americans for the Arts, Elisabeth was the Government Relations Assistant at the National Retail Federation and supported the Taxation Committee, State Association Council, and the State Leadership Group.  Before relocating to Washington, DC, Elisabeth previously served in Literacy*AmeriCorps from 2011-2012 in Pittsburgh, PA.  She coordinated a mentoring program with Reading Is Fundamental Pittsburgh and helped recruit, train, and manage 150 mentor pairs in three inner-city public schools.