Contact Us & Staff Information

Contact Us & Staff Information 2023-11-17T11:13:16-08:00

620 Market Street  |  Kirkland, WA  |  98033  |  (425) 822-7161   View our office hours.

Interim Executive Director
Director of Education

Star Hang Nga Rush
srush@kirklandartscenter.org

Star Hang Nga Rush has held faculty and administration appointments at colleges and university in Washington state, where she taught writing, American Literature,  creative writing, and served as an award-winning educational administrator. Star has served as Acting President and Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs at Cornish College of the Arts, the first queer woman of color to do so. Her photography has appeared in the United States, London, the Netherlands, and Italy, as well as magazines Actual Colors May Vary, Askar Magazine, Camerapixo, Dodho.com and featured in Resource Magazine, wired.it, and Volksrant. She has published poetry, memoir, cultural studies essays and presented nationally on feminist rhetoric, educational administration, and arts & humanities pedagogy. Star earned her Master’s Degree in English Studies, Nonfiction, from Western Washington University. Star serves on the Washington State Arts Commission and  Cultural Arts Commission-City of Kirkland.

Ceramics Studio Manager

Brooke Cerny
bcerny@kirklandartscenter.org

Brooke grew up in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. She earned an honors BA in Visual Arts with a concentration in Ceramics and a minor in Art History from Eckerd College in 2016. After completing her degree, she was awarded a Teaching Fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education and lived in Spain for several years teaching English. Since then, she has worked for several Artist Residency programs in both Spain and New York and has been an Artist-in-Residence herself at Saratoga Clay Arts Center and Salem Art Works. Brooke has served as a mentor and educator for a wide range of ages and demographics and enjoys fostering community through clay. In addition to her Arts and Education background, she brings years of organizational and management experience to the KAC ceramics team.

Ceramics Technician Emeritus

Pat Colyar
pcolyar@kirklandartscenter.org

Pat Colyar is a longtime ceramics technician at the Kirkland Arts Center and has taught ceramics since 1988. She enjoys helping people learn about the joys of clay work while discovering their own abilities. She specializes in making functional ceramic ware and two-dimensional wall pieces.

Education Assistant

Glenda Cooper

gcooper@kirklandartscenter.org

Glenda Cooper has been an integral volunteer member of the KAC staff for the last twenty years, and holds amazing institutional memory. She deftly helps students register for class, and assists staff and teaching artists prepare for, and then execute classes. In addition, she is a talented painter and mixed media artist, who has a passion for plants and archery. Glenda has taken a number of painting, art history, and abstract art classes at KAC, and is a great resource for class recommendations, or sourcing art supplies. Originally from Virginia, she lives with her husband and dog in Woodinville.

Education Coordinator

Analisa Soverns-Reed
asovernsreed@kirklandartscenter.org

Analisa Soverns-Reed is an art historian and educator. She was born and raised in Everett and has lived in the Kenmore/Kirkland area for the past several years. Analisa attended the University of Washington where she earned an honors bachelor of arts degree in art history with a minor in history. After working in various fields for the next seven years, she decided to follow her passion for education. In 2022, she graduated from Grand Canyon University with a master’s in education with a concentration in secondary humanities education.

Outside of her work for KAC as the education coordinator, Analisa runs the Accessible Art History social media platform. This digital humanities project utilizes free social media platforms (Instagram, YouTube, podcasts, blogs, etc) to bring art history education to anyone that is curious! Analisa is passionate about helping others to understand our shared history through objects.

In her free time, Analisa enjoys reading, working on writing her first art history book, spending time with friends and family, and cheering on Seattle sports teams!

Assistant Ceramics Technician

Eleanor Stelter
estelter@kirklandartscenter.org

Eleanor Stelter is an interdisciplinary artist focused on three-dimensional functional work who finds great joy in helping people express themselves creatively. Since graduating with a BFA in 2018, they have worked primarily in the ceramics community. Eleanor has taught every age demographic and loves to continuously expand their skill set and pass useful and sustainable practices on to others.