Gage Academy of Art is proud to announce that Communications Director Erin M. Schadt ’99 will receive Honorable Mention for the Communicator of the Year Award this October. The award is given out each year by the Association for Women in Communications (AWC), Seattle Professional Chapter, to individuals in the Puget Sound area who have created a significant community impact through communications excellence and leadership.
The AWC says Schadt’s “body of work exemplifies the ability of creative communications to build an organization both internally and with its constituent communities.” The selection committee cites, as well, her success in growing enrollment even during difficult economic times, and increasing the visibility of Gage and the importance of fine visual arts education.
This year’s Communicator of the Year is KIRO radio journalist Dave Ross, whose grassroots leadership effort restored funding for Seattle’s Lake Union Fourth of July fireworks show. Past winners include Lori Matsukawa of KING5 news, Marsha Savery, of the Seattle Aquarium Society, and Mindy Cameron of The Seattle Times.
Schadt has led communications at Gage in Seattle since 2007, and was previously managing editor at the international engineering society SPIE in Bellingham, Wash. She is an experienced writer and editor for a variety of media including magazines, websites, and newspapers. Schadt earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., and an associate of arts from Clinton Community College in Clinton, Iowa.
About Gage Academy of Art:
Gage Academy of Art is a non-profit art academy offering classical instruction in the principles of drawing, painting and sculpting. Gage offers a wide variety of classes, workshops, ateliers and more for artists of all ages and abilities. Gage Academy of Art won the 2007 Governor’s Arts Award for excellence in art education. For more information about Gage Academy of Art, visit www.GageAcademy.org.