Cast Consulting
Cast Consulting
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 →

Yellow back.png

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

CAST Stripe Background Red.jpg

Minnesota Arts Advocacy Day captain, 2019. Photo credit: Anna Min

“Carl had a deeply thoughtful plan to guide us through the planning, preparing and facilitation of the retreat, he held the space in a supportive and flexible manner that allowed us to feel creative, safe, bold, and cared for. I highly recommend working with Carl.”
— Ash Hanson, Department of Public Transformation
Blue Back.png

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.

 
IMG_20210215_121104789.jpg

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.png

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 .png

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 →.

 
CAST Stripe Background Red.jpg

 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.

Blue Back.png

Current Clients

  • Minnesota CDFI Coalition, Board facilitation

  • Warroad RiverPlace, Board facilitation and operationalization support

  • Trilingua Cinema, Strategic & business planning

  • American Craft Council, Development strategy

  • Wonderlust Productions, Development strategy

  • Department of Public Transformation, Development & organizational strategy

  • ArtsMidwest, Grantee cohort retreat facilitation & strategic content creation

  • Theatre Novi Most, Board facilitation

RECENT CLIENTS

  • Sod House Theater, Development support

  • Ann Bancroft Foundation, Board retreat facilitation

  • University of Minnesota Department of Theater Arts & Dance, Professional development workshops

  • Southeast Minnesota Arts Council, Strategic facilitation and transition planning

  • Department of Public Transformation, Board retreat facilitation

  • Minnesota Alliance With Youth, VISTA training

  • Initiative Foundation, Strategic planning and visioning process

  • Lanesboro Arts, Board retreat facilitation

  • Northern Lights.mn, Board Retreat facilitation

  • Salzburg Global Seminar, Values articulation facilitation

  • Minnesota Music Coalition, Board Retreat facilitation

  • Umbrella Collective, Strategic facilitation and sunset planning

  • Minneapolis Public School Board, Advisory committee facilitation

  • ARTZ ID, Virtual networking facilitation

  • GreaterMSP, ConnextMSP Reimagining The Blueprint session facilitation

PAST CLIENTS

  • National Independent Venue Association, Emergency Relief Fund Committee Co-Chair

  • MinnPost, Leadership team facilitation

  • Salzburg Global Seminar, Convening project management

  • ARTZ ID, Workshop facilitation & strategic planning

  • Lanesboro Arts, Board retreat facilitation

  • Greenspring Media, Minnesota Monthly feature author

  • Red Eye Theater, Board retreat facilitation & strategy framework development

  • First Avenue Productions, LLC, Nonprofit research and consulting

  • Department of Public Transformation, Board retreat facilitation & strategy screen development

  • Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, InStudio Magazine feature author

  • The Rourke Museum & Art Gallery, Board retreat facilitation & governance planning

  • Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, Public meeting facilitation

  • Kate Lucas, Brand & communications strategy

  • Holly Hansen, Independent artist bio

  • Americans for the Arts, 2019 Convention Local Host Committee leadership

  • Dissonance, Nonprofit mission & vision establishment

  • Giant Steps, Panel facilitation

  • Charities Review Council, Annual fundraisier planning committee and panel facilitation

  • Americans for the Arts, Panel facilitation

  • Charities Review Council, Annual convention planning & panel facilitation

  • YNPN – Twin Cities, Strategic plan update & fundraising planning

CAST Stripe Background Blue.jpg