Kai Arun, Tasveer

Kai is an Operations intern at the newly-opened Tasveer Film Center. He is a second-year Economics and Film Studies major at the University of Washington - Seattle. He is honored to be able to combine his skills and experience in film studies, production, and programming, along with his education in economics, to help get TFC up and running. He looks forward to learning more about the business and technical side of running a movie theatre, particularly an independent, nonprofit one.

Marlee Berens, Northwest Folklife

Marlee is the Performer Experience Intern with Northwest Folklife. She recently graduated from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa with a B.A. in Communications, and a B.S. in Fashion Design and Merchandising, and has since relocated to Seattle to pursue a career in the live music industry. Last year, she participated in Bumberworks (Bumbershoot’s workforce development program) and has subsequently begun working with various venues and event spaces across Seattle, including the Crocodile, Showbox, Cannonball Arts/L1 and AXIS Pioneer Square. Marlee looks forward to broadening her understanding of festival programming and logistics, and working with the Folklife team to foster community through mutual love of the arts.

Amber Calderon, Northwest Folklife

Amber is the Foodways Apprentice at Northwest Folklife. She is an undergraduate senior at the University of Washington studying Geography and Community, Environment, and Planning, with a strong commitment to equity-centered planning, community engagement, and environmental justice. She brings hands-on experience in fostering environmental awareness and stewardship through intergenerational community events, curriculum development, and public programming. In this role, she looks forward to deepening her understanding of how a love of arts and storytelling can be blended with sustainability initiatives to support cultural exchange and cultivate more inclusive places. Amber is excited to contribute to Northwest Folklife through the coordination of food reuse initiatives, sustainability programming, and multicultural food demonstrations that celebrate and reflect the diverse communities of the Northwest

Hannah Estifanos, Seattle Center Cultural Programs

Hannah is an intern at the Seattle Center Cultural Programs office. She’s a graduate from Western Washington University with a B.A. in Political Science and minor in Communications Studies. From her experience growing up in the Eritrean community of Seattle, Hannah is passionate about fostering community through meaningful cultural events and festivals. She is also interested in the intersection of cultural representation and advocacy within the Pacific Northwest.

Hannah is excited to support the coordination of the Let’s Play SEA '26 activation, Festál, and Winterfest at the Seattle Center, hoping to highlight the diversity within our city and strengthen connections across cultures.

Destiny Poole, Velocity Dance Center

Destiny Poole is the Velocity Programming Intern. They are a multi disciplinary creative, creating within the art of dance, photography, videography, fashion, and writing. Within the last ten years Destiny has worked in retail and hospitality and with those skills and love of the arts have made a pivot to deepen their love of the arts and pursue their dreams! Destiny started dancing at the age of 8 and was a competitive dancer throughout high school. Destiny is excited to take those next steps with Velocity & CCWD through this internship. Gaining hands-on experience through Velocity programs such as SFD+I and OUT THERE.

When Destiny is not working you can find them with their two cats Lorelei + Finn, getting coffee with friends, thrifting, and galavanting and dancing around the PNW!

Elyse Guiterrez, Northwest Folklife

Elyse is the Vendor & Sponsorship Experience Intern at Northwest Folklife. She is an undergraduate senior at the University of Washington pursuing a B.A. in Community, Environment, and Planning, with academic interests at the intersection of sustainability, business, and large-scale events. She is especially interested in the role that live events play in fostering connection, cultural exchange, and shared community experiences. Her prior work as a food vendor coordinator for festivals, combined with a strong curiosity about event operations that make these gatherings possible, led her to this role. At Northwest Folklife, Elyse supports the coordination, curation, and management of corporate vendors and sponsors, while continuing to learn about event operations and advancing sustainable practices within the built environment.

Jordan Hubbard, Northwest Folklife

Jordan is the Special Programs Intern at Northwest Folklife. She has her Associate’s in Business from Olympic College and is in the process of applying to transfer to a 4-year university for her Bachelor’s in Business Administration, with an emphasis on music business. Her close friends have their own recording studio in Bremerton, WA. She spends a lot of time in the local Puget Sound music scene by supporting the studio. She strives to be a force for change in a modern world that is trading live, authentic art for technology and convenience. Her goal is to build a career cultivating the growth of local artists and live music every day. At Northwest Folklife, Jordan is helping to coordinate special programs such as Threads of the People, Fiber Arts, the Maker’s Space, Artist Interviews, and more. She is excited to delve further into the world of festivals and to connect with new communities through live events.

Zahrah Jamil, Tasveer

Zahrah is an Operations Intern for Marketing & Design at Tasveer Film Center, a new cinema in Columbia City, Seattle. As a Seattle University graduate in Graphic Design, she brings both design fluency and a results-driven mindset — from building brand identities to welcoming visitors at the Frye Art Museum in First Hill.

Rooted in Capitol Hill, Zahrah has woven herself into Seattle's creative fabric through art markets at Cal Anderson Park, community events like Cutiefest, and a personal fiber arts practice drawing from her heritage. She is eager to leverage her experience in design, brand development, and community engagement to grow Tasveer Film Center's presence in Seattle.

Minuet McCarthy, Northwest Folklife

Minuet McCarthy is the Production and Operations Intern with Northwest Folklife. She is an Arizona State University graduate with a B.A in Community Advocacy and Social Policy with a minor in Art History. Minuet started out as a social worker then transitioned to working with various venues and festivals such as The Crocodile, Cannonball Arts/L1 and Bumbershoot. She is passionate about the intersection between the arts, advocacy, and community and her recent focus has been on fostering connection through independent art & live music events across Seattle. Minuet looks forward to broadening her understanding of festival production and operations with Northwest Folklife.

Juan Posada, Northwest Folklife

I am a musician working at the Northwest Folklife Archives helping with digitization and community outreach work. This work excites me as I like old media formats and I can connect the work to my academic aspirations at the University of Washington as a major of Ethnomusicology.

I make music, on my computer and in my hands, and I have some stuff coming out under the name Yan Pol. I like finding new (to me, at least) music through Bandcamp and deep dives through particular labels.

Ariana Zhu, Northwest Folklife

Ariana has always been drawn to the intersection between art, music, and communities. She's filmed documentaries, organized TEDxYouth events, run music competitions and live performances, and helped her rock band go viral on the Chinese internet. She double majored in Cognitive Science and Art at Rice University, then went on to complete a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction + Design at the University of Washington. Along the way, she realized that what she cares about most is using design, storytelling, and community to connect people, whether that’s in digital spaces or in real life. A practicing UX Designer now based in Seattle, she is always looking for ways to bring those two worlds closer together.

For the 55th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival, Ariana is coordinating the Smithsonian convenings as part of the historic Of the People: Festival of Festivals collaboration. She believes creative communities thrive when they can see and learn from each other, and she is thrilled to help build the kind of space where that can happen.