Smuda chat.png — Hi, I’m Carl

I’m a creative with an MBA, a third-culture kid, and a practical optimist. My mission is to facilitate and support projects that bring people together, create beauty and connections, and make the world better, which is why I launched Cast Consulting – it’s our way to work together.

As a synthesizer and a bridge-builder, I bring nonprofit experience from over 15 years of working in the sector. That includes work as Executive Director of the National Independent Venue Foundation, working in emergency relief support and workforce development, and as Associate Director at Springboard for the Arts, a national leader in artists resources and artist-led community development. I have an MBA, because I believe in knitting together ways of knowing, finding new paths forward, and speaking each other’s languages. I’m a writer, artist, and theatermaker. That collaborative, creative practice informs all this work.

Being in right relationship with a global perspective drives possibility. I’m a 2019 Cultural Innovators Fellow with the Salzburg Global Seminar and have completed training on Facilitation for Racial Justice through the Interaction Institute for Social Change. I have served on the boards of Catalyst Music Twin Cities, the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network - Twin Cities, and Dissonance, advocating for mental health and wellness in creativity. I hold a BA in Studio Art from the University of Southern California and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.

To learn more about me, my art, and work, visit **www.carlatiyaswanson.com →**

Qualifications & HONORS

Urban Land Institute, Technical Assistance Panel member, City of Minneapolis, 2023
Catalyst Music Twin Cities, Board member, 2022-2024
Georgetown University New Strategies Symposium, 2021
Cultural Innovators Fellow at the Salzburg Global Seminar, 2019
Interaction Institute for Social Change training in Facilitation for Racial Justice, 2019
Camp Wellstone training in Grassroots Organizing, 2018
Dissonance, Board member, 2016-2018
Member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the international business honor society, 2015
Master of Business Administration, University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, 2015
Young Nonprofit Professionals Network – Twin Cities, Board member, 2014-2015
Pollen “Under the Radar” Leader, 2013
Bachelor of Arts, Fine Arts, University of Southern California Roski School of Fine Art, 2005

WHY “CAST”?

Think about all the ways we use that word! Find your people when you cast a show. Discover what’s around you when you cast a light. Have something solid when you make a cast. See what you catch when you cast a line. Heal what’s broken when you set a cast. Investigate further when you cast a look. Decide your future when you cast a vote. Start a new voyage when you cast off. Let’s cast our lots together.

FRIENDS & PARTNERS

When I say YOU ARE NOT ALONE, I mean it, and that is true for Cast Consulting. Below are some trusted friends, colleagues, and partners, whose own practices and expertise support Cast Consulting’s work through facilitation partnership, feedback, and network support.

GRETA PACE BUCH

Greta is a facilitator and coach on a mission to host and encourage our true selves to be seen. She supports individuals, groups or organisations who wish to better understand, embody and clearly communicate who they really are so they can be effective in what they feel called to do. Having gone through her own experience of big life changes and many shifts in identity, she wants to support others in their path towards alignment with what feels true and essential. A generalist and connector, Greta brings the fields of communication, facilitation and coaching together. Her toolbox includes Art of Hosting practices and coaching based on neuroscience, combined with over 15 years’ experience in marketing, writing and website content-building. The art and culture sector has been her main field of practice for the past 5 years. More here →.

LINDSAY BACHER

Lindsay Bacher (she/her/hers) has 15 years of experience in program development, nonprofit management, and quantitative and qualitative research methods, and currently works at the Heller-Hurwicz Economics Institute as Associate Director. Prior to that, Lindsay worked for eight years as Director of Program Development at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. Lindsay is skilled in designing and launching new programming, including engaging stakeholders, creating logic models, and analyzing evaluation and financial data. Additionally, Lindsay has experience in mixed-method research, STATA, and Tableau, and authored Everyday Household Spending as an Indicator of Post-COVID Economic Recovery in the Humphrey Public Affairs Review. Lindsay recently completed her Masters in Public Affairs from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and holds degrees from Yale University and Hamline University. Check her out here →.

Steph Jacobs, Trailblazer Leadership

Steph Jacobs (she/her/hers) is a coach who works with organizations and people who are looking for a different way of being. At Trailblazer Leadership, she specializes in helping individuals and teams that are in professional transition and ready for what's next. She fueled by connecting people and facilitating conversations that lead to new understanding, perspective, and action. She believes in an approach to leadership that is open, inclusive, and based in abundance. She wants everyone she works with to feel freedom, energy, and possibility at work and in play. She is a Certified Professional Coach through iPEC. I also serve on the board of directors for Twin Cities Catalyst Music and the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota. Check her out at Trailblazer Leadership →.