Sarah Dylan Breuer
My name is Sarah Dylan Breuer — AKA Dylan the Deskie. I've been a member of Artisans Asylum and a Front Desk Worker for about a year; before that, I was waiting months for an opening, as volunteering at the front desk is the only way I can be a member.
I've been helping nonprofits get into positive ledger balances and deeper alignment with their missions for over 30 years. I was on the Executive Council, which is the board of directors for The Episcopal Church for six years, elected by the largest bicameral legislature on Earth, serving 2.2 million members in 16 nations. I ran an award-winning magazine for The Episcopal Church Publishing Company without any other paid staff, served as president of the board of a nonprofit turned back from bankruptcy with only volunteer staff, and have been on the staff or board of numerous other nonprofits, mostly small and scrappy ones like A2.
I came to A2 because I'm slowly losing hand function, and with it the ability to play stringed instruments. I need to find creative outlets that my hands can do indefinitely. After decades of creating ephemeral works of art — live music, cooking, things I lob out into the world — I want to make material works. I aspire to giant metal kinetic sculptures — I figure that for large pieces, clever clamps and cherished collaborators will stand in for my own hands.
My extensive experience bringing nonprofits from inward-looking, fearful preservationism to joyful engagement with broader communities has prepared me to help A2 become more responsive to membership and volunteer leadership. I help people see how their self-interests align with broader interests, and guide organizations into alignment with their missions, such that we are all best positioned to individually and collectively enjoy the wonderful, wild, exciting ride that is the creative life.
I'm running for the open seat as Member-Elected Board Member because I know from experience that transparency is possible even in complex organizations. I served on the board of the aforementioned huge and complex nonprofit, where our board meetings were all open to the public and our minutes published on the Internet. I understand the fiduciary duty that board members have, and I know how to navigate that while being maximally transparent to members and maintaining necessary confidentiality.
Recently, I have worked closely in collaboration with other internally elected Front Desk Representatives to organize in response to a proposed restructuring of the front desk program. Thanks to work from many people, we now have a Front Desk Team working together in solidarity to advocate for our collective interests. I'd like to broaden that work to the full community in this time of transition. I never sit at any table without asking: "Who's not seated here, and how is that interfering with our intent?" and I’d do that at every A2 table.
If you believe that A2 is meant to be a place where only people of means are to be welcomed as full members of the community, I am not your candidate. I want Artisans Asylum to be the fullest possible creative home for artists to transform our world. I believe that many here at A2 want to work together to explore how we can be more awesome in collaboration than we could ever be on our own.
How big are your dreams for A2? How much would you like someone on the board who is always engaged and curious, always wondering how we can be a better community for each other, always asking how we can bring more people into information and decision-making, and always responsive to members?
I'm running to represent the interests of membership as the ultimate source of leadership's power. I want A2 to be growing — more representative in composition, more faithful to its mission, and more inclusive. If you want those values on the board, consider me. I want A2 to be a safe place for quiet people to get loud.
Best wishes,
Dylan
