After 20 years with Spirit & Place, I find myself both reflective and deeply hopeful.
When I began this work, I could not have imagined the scale of what Spirit & Place would become or how profoundly it would shape my understanding of leadership, community and the quiet, persistent work of bringing people together across differences. As I prepare to retire, I carry with me not only memories of festivals and conversations, partnerships and projects, but also lessons that feel urgently relevant in our world today.
One of the most important truths I’ve learned is that connection is not a slogan. It is a practice.
It does not happen simply because people gather. Real connection requires intention, structure, patience and the willingness to stay present even when agreement is impossible. Over the years, Spirit & Place has become a space where difficult conversations are not avoided but held with care. From Powerful Conversations on Race to community-driven innovation projects, I have witnessed what becomes possible when people are invited not just to speak, but to listen.
“Curiosity, I’ve learned, is a form of courage.”
To remain open, to suspend judgment, to ask better questions, to stay engaged when conversations feel uncomfortable requires bravery. In community work, curiosity often becomes the bridge between division and understanding. It is also the foundation of trust. And trust cannot be extracted. It must be built.
Spirit & Place has never treated communities as audiences. Our most meaningful work has grown through long-term partnerships with artists, scholars, faith leaders, neighborhood organizations and civic institutions. Since its founding in 1996, Spirit & Place has presented more than 1,600 events, partnered with over 800 organizations and engaged nearly 375,000 people. Those numbers matter, but what matters most is the relational infrastructure behind them and the belief that communities are collaborators, not consumers.
Partnership, in this sense, is sacred work.
It requires sharing power, taking risks, and staying at the table when things become complicated. Work at the intersection of arts, humanities, religion, and civic life is never tidy. Risk is inevitable. But risk without care is reckless, and care without risk leads to stagnation. The work that truly matters is held with integrity.
I am especially honored that Spirit & Place is launching the Pam Blevins Hinkle Creative Catalyst Fund.
This fund represents something I have long believed: that creative, community-rooted ideas should never be limited by access to resources. By providing additional support for festival events, capacity-building opportunities, and partner-led programming, the Creative Catalyst Fund invests directly in the people and organizations who make Spirit & Place what it is. Knowing that this fund will continue to empower community partners long after my tenure is deeply meaningful to me.
As I step away from leadership, I do so with full confidence in the future of Spirit & Place.
Erin K. Kelley, who steps into the role of executive director, brings extraordinary vision, steady leadership and deep community care to this work. For nearly a decade, Erin has helped shape Spirit & Place’s programming and partnerships, collaborated with hundreds of organizations and led meaningful shifts toward greater equity and accessibility, including the move from partner fees to partner stipends. She listens first, builds trust and centers community in every decision. Spirit & Place is in exceptionally good hands.
“For me, retirement does not mean retreat.”
I look forward to entering a full-time creative practice as a song leader, composer and ritual artist who continues to explore the ways music, storytelling and shared experience help us make meaning together. I carry forward the values that Spirit & Place has taught me: curiosity, courage, care and the belief that community is not something we inherit but is something we build.
Above all, I leave with gratitude.
Gratitude for colleagues who challenged and inspired me. Gratitude for partners who trusted us with their stories and visions. Gratitude for a city that continues to wrestle with hard questions while imagining new possibilities.
If my years at Spirit & Place have taught me anything, it is this: listening is a form of leadership, and connection. And real connection remains one of the most powerful tools we have.
As Spirit & Place enters its next chapter, I am confident its role as a vital space for dialogue, creativity and civic imagination will only deepen. I am grateful to have been part of its story.
