Art With Heart

ART WITH HEART STAFF

Founder/Executive Director Steffanie Lorig left her successful and award-winning design career to become the founding director of Art with Heart in order to focus her talents and heart on helping children in crisis. Before doing this, she enjoyed working at Hornall Anderson Design Works, designing for clients such as Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Harcourt, Nordstrom’s and other high-profile companies. She is the visionary and co-author of Oodles of Doodles, a therapeutic activity book for hospitalized children and Chill & Spill, a healing journal for teens. She co-wrote a children’s picture book with her husband entitled Such a Silly Baby (Chronicle 2008). Her work has been recognized by the Society for the Arts in HealthCare, Make A Wish Foundation, Lance Armstrong Foundation and Starlight Starbright Foundation as well as Communication Arts Magazine, CarePages.com and Family Circle Magazine. She enjoys bettering the world – one child at a time. And, when she can, she also enjoys organic gardening, writing stories, and exploring the world with her family.

Development Director, Doris Wong-Estridge, joined the Art with Heart staff in March 2008, following an eight-year tenure at Powerful Schools. Prior to this, she served as Development Director at Cancer Lifeline and the Bush School. She served as Assistant Development Director at Seattle Central Community College, as well as in all areas of development at KCTS TV. Throughout her more than 25 years in the development field, she has had the good fortune of being part of organizations that have given her the opportunity to exercise her strong interest in and advocacy of children’s issues and the empowerment of children. During her three-year hiatus from the development arena in the mid-90’s, Doris served as the education consultant for the first, and subsequently the largest online children’s site, FreeZone. Doris is a lifelong Seattleite and graduate of the University of Washington.

Administrative Assistant & Volunteer Coordinator, Zandi Salstrom, joined Art with Heart in August 2007 after nearly 6 years of work in Alternative Health Care Administration. She received her undergraduate degree in Health Psychology from Bastyr University in 2003, and after two successful quarters of studying Art Therapy at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she is transferring to the Art Therapy graduate program at Seattle’s Antioch University. As the need for Arts educational programs increases, she is committed to assisting under-served populations access the healing power of art. Her volunteer work with children’s literacy and creativity has continued to fuel her passion for art, education, health care, and cultural diversity. She is deeply influenced by patterns in nature, including human behavior, numbers, and designs and is a wonderful addition to the Art with Heart team.

Contract Trainer, Annie McCall, MA, LMHC, received her Master’s degree in pyschology from New York University in 2000. She joined Art with Heart as a Trainer in 2005, teaching school counselors how to use Chill & Spill in group settings and as a tool for managing school crisis. She also provides training and ongoing support for volunteer artists in the Art Buddy program. She is a contributor to the Chill & Spill Therapist’s Companion, and co-author of the Art Buddy Training Manual. Annie has a private practice providing one-on-one and group treatment to adolescents, adults, and families. She specializes in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and treatment of self-harm and suicidal behavior, and is co-founder of Youth and Family DBT of Seattle. She is also a research therapist at the University of Washington, working with suicidal and heroin-addicted clients. Prior to studying psychology, Annie taught high school English, which forever solidified her love and respect for teenagers.

Intern, Satori Laurel graduated from Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts Theater Program in the spring of 2005. Having done her Senior Thesis on Art Therapy, she became more aware of how her path with art could be channeled into healing work. Being an advocate for children, along with previous experience teaching Dance and Theater, Satori began to fuse the world of performance and healing arts by teaching Creative Movement and Yoga to kids in many different learning and community settings. Realizing the potential for even more understanding in the realm of healing, she began a personal study of varying Energy Work and Energy Psychology modalities, receiving certifications in both fields through local teachers and intensive trainings. Currently, Satori has a flourishing private healing practice that serves individuals in the Seattle community. Satori’s journey to Art with Heart has been a fascinating testament to what happens when you truly put art right in the center of your heart.