“All communities are made better by arts and music.” Kate Becker, the Creative Economy Strategist at Office of King County Executive Dow Constantine, has dedicated her career to developing a thriving creative economy. Passionate about the arts from an early age, Kate has had an inspirational rise from all-ages club promoter to founder of the Vera Project to our region’s key driver of economic policy for the creative arts. One of our most powerful leaders, Kate is traveling the country to evangelize the concept of a creative economy and to also learn from other cities. She shares some of the biggest challenges that artists and small businesses who support the arts community face in growing cities and how regional government can make a positive difference in supporting the arts.