Faculty and Staff Directory

Karen Bystrom

Adjunct Professor
Fine Arts, MFA in Arts Leadership

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

Email

bystromk@seattleu.edu

Teaching and Research Interests

Marketing the Arts

Biography

Karen L. Bystrom, ABC, is the Director of Communications for Cornish College of the Arts. She has led marketing and communications teams for ACT (A Contemporary Theatre), Seattle’s Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Pacific Science Center, United Way of King County, Seattle Repertory Theatre, University of Washington’s Meany Hall for the Performing Arts and The Empty Space Theatre. As a consultant and project manager, she has worked with Group Health Cooperative, Beyond the Threshold: Seattle International Dance Festival, Giant Magnet, Intiman Theatre, Camp Fire Boys & Girls, Washington State Department of Information Services, UW School of Drama, Seattle Symphony and Centrum Arts & Creative Education. She earned her B.A. in Theatre Management from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon and also studied communications, theatre and business at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. She is a member of the Downtown Seattle Association’s Marketing Committee and was a founding member of the Market the Arts Task Force. She has also served on marketing committees with the Seattle/King County/Kitsap County American Red Cross and Seattle Center. A long-time member of the International Association of Business Communicators, she earned the organization’s professional accreditation (ABC – Accredited Business Communicator) in 2000. She has served at all levels of IABC volunteer leadership, including several years as president of the Seattle chapter and one year as director of the Pacific Plains Region, representing the six-state region on the international board.