January 26th, 2017 @7pm
Workshop Brewing Co, Traverse City, MI

Fulfillament is a storytelling event where five local community leaders and entrepreneurs will take the stage to tell their journey of how they found fulfillment through vocation- the inside story. Each storyteller will issue a challenge for the audience to do something to find fulfillment in their own lives. A $500 grant is awarded to an audience member with a good idea that needs some help to get it started. 

TICKETS: $9 online or $10 at the door
Doors at 5:30 for folks who want to order dinner/drinks before hand! (awesome custom menu for the eve!)
7PM event starts

Fulfillament is created and hosted by Chelsea Bay Dennis of The Conscious Entrepreneur and Shea Petaja.

STORYTELLERS
Troy DeShano, Artist
Erin Anderson Whiting, Parallel 45 Theatre
Brad Kik, Crosshatch
Leah Bagdon McCallum, U.S. Senator Regional Director
Christopher Stefanciw, Musician and Baker

ERIN ANDERSON WHITING, PARALLEL 45

Erin grew up surrounded by cherry farms near Elk Rapids, but left to pursue an adventure at Interlochen Arts Academy, where she majored in Creative Writing and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Her journey continued in New York City, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree focused in Middle Eastern History from Sarah Lawrence College and later stayed to work in the publishing industry. Eventually, she found her way back to northern Michigan, spending 6 years as Charitable Giving Specialist at the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, protecting the natural beauty that called her home in the first place. She then returned to Interlochen Center for the Arts for a 5-year stint as a Charitable Gift Officer for the US West Coast before leaving to work full time as Executive Director of Parallel 45 Theatre, the company she co-founded in 2010. Her 14-year career in nonprofit fundraising and development allows her to direct philanthropy to Parallel 45 and manage its general operations, nurturing the dream of a professional theatre in northern Michigan into reality. The author of Look About You: A Magical Childhood in Michigan’s Wild Places, Erin is also the co-owner of Mr. Music DJ & Event Services and a proud board member of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology.

“All good art allows us to look at the world without division and, instead, concentrate on what connects us. We need that right now. The opportunity to see the world through another person’s lens is an enormous gift. By collaborating with artists from around the world—and just down the street—we can pass that gift to our community. I never imagined I’d make a living asking people for charitable donations, or running a theatre company, but here I am. Grateful. Art sometimes seems like a luxury and, in many ways, it IS, but that doesn’t mean it’s frivolous. It helps us live lives that are richer, more thoughtful, more inclusive, and more respectful of what it means to be human.” 

BRAD KIK, CROSSHATCH CENTER FOR ART & ECOLOGY

Brad Kik is the co-founder and co-director of Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology. Brad’s varied background—film study, environmental activism, graphic design, community organizing, traditional music, ecology and permaculture—plays a key role in directing the intention behind Crosshatch’s work in the community. Brad also serves on a number of boards reflecting Crosshatch’s diverse approach to community building: Earthwork Music, a collective of Michigan musicians; Grass River Natural Area, a 1000+ acre wetland preserve in Antrim County, Michigan, near where Brad calls home; and the Alliance of Artist Communities (AAC), who support and advocate for artist residency programs. Brad also acts as the co-chair of the ecological residencies cohort for the AAC, and helps convene and present their Emerging Programs Institute each year. brad@crosshatch.org

“I founded Crosshatch in part to create a laboratory for community building. The purpose isn’t just to build a suite of meaningful programs, but to remain curious about how to work the levers that move communities toward deep and long lasting change. In a way, Crosshatch is my lifelong art project.”

LEAH BAGDON MCCALLUM, U.S. SENATOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR

Leah is a waitress, turned grant writer, turned proud government employee. She charted her career path based on her mission to improve the quality of life for all around her. –A goal that may sounda little vanilla, but that is absolutely her truth.  Leah has channeled her entrepreneurial spirit into whatever makes people and places around her thrive. Whether building Chicago’s Prentice Women’s Hospital,  or saving the Detroit Zoo, or helping Goodwill provide housing, jobs and food for folks in our region, or her current role with one of Michigan’s terrific U.S. Senators, – Leah believes that she can make her backyard better. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Traverse City DDA, and on Munson’s Community Health Committee. She’s done some neat stuff, but her gig as a mom to two great kids is what makes her most proud (and tired).

“I don’t worry about things that I cannot change. However, I believe that anybody can do whatever they put their mind to. So, in between these two guiding principles, I don’t do a lot of sitting still. “

CHRISTOPHER STEFANCIW, MUSICIAN, BAKER

Christopher is a musician, artist, writer, teacher and practitioner of yoga and meditation.  He is also a professional baker and cook.  In the previous decade Chris spent three years overseas in England at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts studying composition, performance, and the unhinging of personal paradigms.  Moving back across the great pond to the U.S. while attempting to land in California, he found himself nestling in to the mountains surrounding Provo, Utah.  It was here that he co-managed Maestro’s Gelato Cafe with brother and founder Alex Stefanciw.  Recipes were created, treats and savories were eaten.  More recently weaving his way back to Traverse City to reconnect with his family and place of birth, Chris continued to process his life in Utah through music and lyric.  He now works with the Cowell Family Cancer Center, Taproot Cider House, Yen Yoga and Fitness, and Source.

“I seek a deeper understanding of my personal relationship with the unfolding of the Unknown through my actions within and without.  In allowing myself to simply Be while in the presence of others or in solitude I trust that a healing moment will indeed present itself and be felt.”

TROY DESHANO, ILLUSTRATOR AND DESIGNER

Troy is an artist and designer based out of Traverse City, Michigan. After spending much of his twenties battling cancer, Troy found himself sharing stories of his personal trials through art and design via his blog Strong Odors. As a result Troy launched his freelance design and illustration business Ten Point Studio in 2009, has exhibited fine art in galleries around Michigan as well as Chicago and Minneapolis, and has also gained international recognition for his collaborative design projects FUTURALBUM and Old & New Project. Troy also serves on staff at Michigan Legacy Art Park, and has been a happy husband and proud parent for the past 17 years.

Chelsea and Shea are the co-creators of Fulfillament, a live storytelling event featuring local community leaders who share their journey towards fulfillment through vocation that will challenge you to come alive.

CHELSEA BAY DENNIS, Co-creator & Co-host

“My mission in life is to use what I’m good at and passionate about for good, and to inspire others to do what makes them come alive and make a difference in the world.”  Chelsea is a graphic designer, creative consultant, life coach, speaker and conscious entrepreneur. Through her company C.Bay Design she offers branding, design, creative consulting and coaching specifically for environmentally and socially responsible companies and organizations. She has designed for iconic TC brands such as The Workshop, Yen Yoga, The Redheads, Left Foot Charley, Esch Road Foods, Just Good Chocolate and countless others. Through her newest venture,The Conscious Entrepreneur, she is a life coach and consultant for individuals looking to create or find meaningful work that is aligned with their values, strengths, and what makes them come alive – from the inside out. Her coaching empowers others to make ideas happen, be successful and make a difference. Having lived and traveled around the world, Chelsea is a native of Traverse City.

SHEA PETAJA, Co-creator & Co-host

Shea, as a creative and a life coach, she is a self-proclaimed relational strategist who connects with people for a purpose.  Shea is endlessly curious about people and has dedicated her life’s work to preserving the art of conversation and engagement, which is the foundation of her one-on-one coaching work. A recovering evangelical, she brings spiritual undertones to her writing, thinking and humor.  As a writer, she has contributed to Kinfolk, The Life Artist, Culture Keeper and her own blog.  By day she is an intraprenuer as Director of Marketing & Business Development for a financial firm where she also produces and co-hosts a weekly radio show.  You will find her most alive when she is conversing with YOU! Quote to live by: “Be curious, not judgmental.” -Walt Whitman

EVENT SPONSORS:  The Shrub Soda Company, MacUpdate, Inspired Summit, Prout Financial Design, Oryana Food Co-op, Choice Energy, 14th Street Chiropractic, Anavon Technology Group, Taproot Cider House