Kenzie Slottow (she/they)
Design Thinking Facilitator

01. introduction

For Kenzie, sustainability, theatre, music, design, technology, and collaboration are conduits for compassion and connection. They like to mash types of art together, push the concept of impossible, learn, teach, and build community. They use performance art to make people feel seen, heard, and inspired. 

02. experience

With a unique background in classical music, composition, technology, and improv, Kenzie has a common thread in all of her work — connection and co-creation. They produce cross-disciplinary and interactive shows that highlight connections between art forms and people, as well as performing original and improvised music on flute, guitar, keyboard, and vocals. They spent several years working as a design researcher and product development manager for Amara.org, a subtitling software product of the Participatory Culture Foundation.  In 2020, they facilitated and co-developed curriculum for CU Boulder’s business school’s course The Purpose Project, which focused on bringing design thinking leadership to social, environmental, and health challenges. As a facilitator, they use improv and music as a means to make us listen deeply to ourselves and others, trust and support each other, and lean on each other’s strengths. Everything is connected - through sharing design frameworks and collaboration skills, they hope to empower others to co-create community-driven solutions to climate change and social inequity, and to empathize better with their fellow humans in the process.

03. education

• University of Texas, Master of Music, Flute Performance

• University of Michigan, Bachelor of Music, Flute Performance

04. what sustains kenzie

Learning new skills. Traveling and learning about other cultures and ways of life. Creating something that could only exist with the unique perspectives of the people involved. Connecting deeply with friends and strangers. Queer, nonbinary characters in film and TV.

05. favorite natural element

Kenzie feels most connected to water in nature. It makes them feel calm and part of the world, and reminds them to flow through life and that they’ve only got a little bit of control over it, but if they go with the current and steer a little they will get somewhere new.