Francisca Garcia, NWFL Board of Directors 2019-2022
Francisca at the 2022 First Look celebration with fellow Board members Shannon Dudley, Harvey Niebulski and Mary Sanford as well as Directors Benjamin Hunter and Reese Tanimura
With great sadness, we announce that Northwest Folklife’s Board President, Francisca Flores Garcia, passed away on July 25th, 2022. We will forever have the deepest appreciation for her fierce commitment to the arts and cultural communities of the region and celebrate her legacy of joyful leadership and stewardship.
So many of us have personal stories and memories of our time with Francisca. She was a deep listener, a passionate organizer, and a loyal friend. It is a testament to her character that those shared moments of laughter, inspiration, creativity, solace, and nurturing will continue to reverberate and enrich our lives long into the future.
Since 2015, Francisca served as a Community Coordinator and was a crucial partner in the 2018 Cultural Focus: Echoes of Aztlán Committee. She joined the Board of Directors in 2019 and started the Social Equality Committee to cement and bolster the values of equity, inclusiveness, and social impact in Folklife’s Board governance. She was elected to fill the Presidency in January of 2022. While her tenure in the official position was brief, the strength of her convictions and the spirit of her ideas will endure. Like the rest of the world, Northwest Folklife sits on the precipice of new beginnings; sowing innovation alongside well-rooted practice and taking the opportunity to reflect upon, reimagine, and rebuild our role in a thriving cultural ecosystem. Francisca was always exhilarated to engage in those hard, but exciting conversations to enact change and embolden emerging ideas.
Francisca's work stretched far beyond the institution of Northwest Folklife - she was a pillar, madre, tía y hermana to many in the community, and the embodiment of the vibrancy that is a culture bearer. Throughout her life, Francisca exemplified all that Folklife strives to be as a conjoiner of people, stories, laughter, and the myriad cultures in our community. We are forever grateful to Francisca for her service, and above all, her indelible presence.
Our hearts are with her family, friends, and colleagues that share in the grief of this loss as well as the joy of having had the privilege to know her.
To add wishes, stories, and special sentiments to her memorial, please follow the Dignity Memorial Link.
Francisca emceeing the Folklorico showcase with Joyas Mestizas - 51st Annual Northwest Folklife Festival, Armory Court Stage (May 2022)
2018 Cutural Focus Committee - Echoes of Aztlán and Beyond: Mexican American and Chicana/o Roots in the Northwest: (Back Row L-R) Kelli Faryar, Bárbara Rodríguez-González, Jim Cantú, Ixtlixochitl White Hawk, Adrian Olivas (Front Row L-R) Jake Prendez, Edgardo Garcia, Luna Garcia, Francisca Garcia