Katie Petitt

Senior leader with over 15 years of experience across community engagement, organisational development and social impact, with significant experience in sustainability and environmental justice. Experienced in leading mission-driven organisations, developing environmental and social impact strategies, strengthening organisational culture and building cross-sector partnerships. Proven track record in fundraising, financial oversight, governance, staff development and performance measurement, with a collaborative approach grounded in community.

Work eligibility: New Zealand open work visa

Founding Executive Director at Making Space Bmore (2025 – 2026-09)

• Launched and grew a nonprofit gallery, print studio and community arts hub, developing its organisational infrastructure, programming, partnerships, funding and governance.
• Led exhibitions and artist projects from planning and budgeting through contracts, installation and deinstallation.
• Delivered 69 public programmes and six exhibitions in 2025–26, reaching 1,443 attendees, while building the 2026–27 programme calendar.
• Raised and managed USD$109K+ in contributed support, developing funder relationships and securing public and private grants while overseeing grant management and reporting.
• Expanded organisational capacity through board, committee and volunteer development, strengthening governance and building new community partnerships.
• Oversaw budgets, vendors, artwork logistics, insurance, accessibility and operational risk.

Founder and Director at Current Movements (2018 – 2024)

• Founded and directed a social-impact organisation using arts, media and public programmes to connect audiences with grassroots movements and community-led social change.
• Curated and produced the Current Movements Film Festival at Eaton DC, bringing together 13 films and 27 activists, filmmakers and cultural organisers for 350+ attendees; the festival was later featured in Vogue.
• Produced a documentary short on a DC Trans organising collective, which debuted in Them magazine, as well as two seasons of a podcast exploring intersections between art and activism.
• Built relationships with 40+ grassroots organisations and produced 15 public programmes with artists and activists while leading organisational strategy, partnerships and programme implementation.

Director of Impact at Eaton Workshop DC (2020 – 2023)

• Led social and environmental impact strategy across a 110-person hospitality and cultural organisation, working across 10+ departments to advance Eaton’s Triple Bottom Line approach to People, Planet and Profit.
• Led the property’s sustainability programme, implementing waste reduction, recycling and composting initiatives and integrating environmental responsibility into day-to-day hotel operations.
• Trained 110+ staff in sustainability practices and established a staff-led sustainability advisory board, working with department leaders to build participation and accountability across the organisation.
• Developed systems for collecting and tracking environmental performance data, trained staff in data collection and reporting, and coordinated third-party sustainability certification processes, contributing to Eaton DC becoming the first urban hotel to meet Regenerative Travel’s social and environmental standards.
• Led organisational culture and DEI initiatives, designing and facilitating staff training, managing external consultants, and using surveys and organisational KPIs to measure progress and inform strategy.
• Built partnerships with grassroots, environmental and cultural organisations and delivered 10+ public programmes monthly, including collaborations with The Nature Conservancy and Earth Conservation Corps, climate justice events and Indigenous-led cultural initiatives.
• Managed programme budgets and financial documentation, contributed to the annual allocation of USD$100K+ in programme and community investment, and reported environmental and social impact outcomes to Eaton Workshop Global leadership.

Independent Consultant at Katie Petitt Consulting (2016 – 2025)

• Produced major public events and demonstrations for 4,000 to 200,000 participants, coordinating logistics with government agencies, the National Park Service, artists, vendors, partner organisations and production teams, including art builds, public-space logistics, staffing and on-site delivery.
• Produced Ashoka's three-day Changemaker Education Summit in New Mexico, bringing together 85+ educators, school leaders and students from the U.S. and internationally for facilitated learning, relationship-building and collaborative programme development; participant-led projects generated through the convening received USD$20,750 in follow-on funding.
• Curated Ivy City Voice, a community exhibition and three-part public programme for DC Public Library, developed with Empower DC, Friends of Crummell School and Ivy City residents to amplify the history and voices of a historically disenfranchised African American community and its decades-long campaign to transform the abandoned Crummell School into a community recreation centre.

Co-Founder at Arts X Action (2017 – 2019)

• Co-founded an artist collective producing public exhibitions, festivals, performances and participatory arts projects; collaborated with a local street-art collective to create a live community mural and coordinated artists, community partners, performers and event infrastructure.
• Produced Arts X Action Garden Nights, multidisciplinary outdoor arts festivals drawing up to 700 attendees, intentionally creating accessible first exhibition, vending and performance opportunities for emerging artists, many of whom went on to establish sustained professional arts practices.
• Designed and facilitated public workshops on community-led arts programming and served on the Arts Advisory Board for the national and DC Poor People's Campaign, supporting arts programming, public art builds and volunteer coordination during its 40-day launch.
• Co-developed monthly Artist Town Halls with four other artist collectives, regularly convening approximately 50 artists to build relationships, collaborations and professional opportunities.

Lead Organiser at Black Lives Matter DC (2016 – 2020)

• Led public programmes, political education, fundraisers and community events, while coordinating partnerships across local and national grassroots organisations.
• Served as the BLM Global Network's on-site representative at Standing Rock, a major Indigenous-led movement, building relationships with movement elders and leaders during a two-week national solidarity delegation.
• Produced the three-day Water Is Life Expo, bringing together Black organisers, street artists, Standing Rock elders and leaders from Flint, Michigan's predominantly Black community, to explore connections between Indigenous sovereignty, racial justice, water protection and environmental injustice.
• Helped lead a seven-organisation, multiracial DC coalition, facilitating shared strategy, meetings, public engagement and campaigns; co-founded Money Pot, which distributed USD$150,000 over two years to organisers of colour and community-led initiatives.

Program Manager at The Advocacy Project (2014 – 2016)

• Managed the organisation's international Peace Fellowship programme, recruiting, training and supporting graduate fellows matched with community-based organisations across 15+ countries; designed fellowship training and worked closely with fellows and in-country partners to develop locally led peacebuilding, advocacy and community projects.
• Managed the Advocacy Quilts programme and travelling exhibitions, working with international community partners and U.S.-based quilters to bring community-created textile narratives to public audiences; curated and installed a 12-quilt exhibition attended by 700+ people and represented the programme through exhibitions, gallery events and public talks.
• Helped lead a small international nonprofit, managing USD$300,000+ in programme funds and the work of fellows, interns and contractors, with responsibilities spanning budgets, fundraising, reporting, board relations, communications, partnerships and organisational operations.

Master’s in International Peace Studies – United Nations University for Peace Costa Rica (2013 – 2014)

Peacebuilders Fellow in Field research in Ethiopia – Middlebury Institute of International Studies (2014 – 2014)

Bachelor of Arts in Peace Studies Major, Theology Minor – Whitworth University USA (2006– 2010)

Certificate in Community Engagement – Stellenbosch University South Africa (2009 – 2009)