K12 Arts Learning Advisor, Clemmons Family Farm

I am a biracial artist and educator from VT with a lifelong passion for social justice and equity, and helping others. I use visual and literary arts to express, advocate and educate (for) myself and others.

Kiana Del (she/they) is a vocalist, radio host, and educator hailing from the valleys of Carrollton, KY. She uses music to tell the story of our complex humanity, and to foster a safe space for others to create freely without the barrier of judgment. She is the Engagement Manager for Music Education and 90.5 WUOL afternoon host at Louisville Public Media by day and can be found performing her own music with her band Kiana & the Sun Kings by night. She demonstrates her activism by dedicating her time to local arts non-profits who she believes are stirring up good trouble… This includes sitting on multiple boards including the Fund for the Arts, as the Director of Communications for the Louisville Jazz Initiative, and as the current Hadley Creatives Program Coordinator. Kiana strives to continue weaving the importance of community and connection into her music-making.

Kickstand Comedy

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Kisha Vaughan has been a vibrant presence in Seattle’s hip-hop dance scene for more than 20 years. As the creative director of Dope Girl Movement, she develops platforms to showcase the artistic essence of hip-hop dance, celebrating its uniqueness while providing local dancers with visibility and professional opportunities.

Her choreography has been featured at major festivals, dance shows, and competitions, including Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival, her self-produced show House Party at MOB Studios, and singer Brittany Davis’ TikTok campaign and live performance at the Paramount Theatre with Stone Gossard’s Loosegroove Records.

A former backup dancer for Macklemore, Vaughan has toured across the U.S. and Canada, performing on Showtime at the Apollo, Conan O’Brien, MTV, and the Billboard Music Awards. She has taught throughout the Pacific Northwest, works as a fitness coach, and serves as a Lululemon ambassador. Vaughn was honored as a 2025 Seattle Office of Arts & Culture CityArtist award recipient.

She also hosts Booties & Bottles, her signature fundraiser blending hip-hop dance, joy, and community.

Discipline: Literature

Kit Julianto, Yooti, is an enrolled member of the Shoshone Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation and a descendent of the Navajo Nation. He holds a BFA in Studio Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts of Santa Fe, New Mexico (2010) and a MFA in Secondary Education from the Grand Canyon University (2018). He is an Art teacher for grades Pre-K to 12th at the Owyhee Combined School in the Elko County School District. Kit is a powwow singer and Native American Flute player, and works in different mediums and techniques that include pottery, drawing, sculpting, carving, and is mostly known for painting with acrylics. His works reflect upon Native American culture, music, tradition, and storytelling, through various mediums, vibrant colors, and texture.
I am very honored and humbled to receive the WESTAF BIPOC Award. I look forward to creating more art and sharing with my community and expanding my connections.
Thank you very much, this is a great blessing.
-Kit

Kitka, Inc.

Kodiak Arts Council

Kootenai Heritage Council, Inc.

Discipline: Multidisciplinary

Discipline: Dance

Tuifa’asisina Korina Seiuli Lee currently resides in American Samoa but hails from the mighty villages of Apia, Faleasi’u, Papauta, Solosolo, Papa Sataua and Sa’asa’ai Savai’i. Her life has always been infused with the Samoan performing arts for many years. Proudly coming from the musically renowned Le Au Salamo Family where she holds the High Chief Title of Tuifa’asisina. Tuifa’asisina serves as founder, owner, director and choreographer of Le Taupou Manaia Academy of Traditional Samoan Dance, Music & Arts in Pago Pago, American Samoa, Auckland, New Zealand, & Apia, Samoa. In the pageantry realm, she is co-gounder of Manaia Events est. 2016, which, for eight consecutive years, has managed the Miss Samoa Pageant, and has helped numerous former Miss Samoa, Miss American Samoa, Miss Samoa Utah, and Miss Pacific Islands contestants in the Talent and Traditional Attire Category. Tuifa’asisina has also choreographed numerous opening numbers for Miss Samoa, Miss American Samoa, and the Miss Pacific Islands pageants. Tuifa’asisina is the owner and manager of Measina Samoa Creations in American Samoa. This past year, Tuifa’asisina showcased 20 traditional laei samoa designs at the Utah Pacific Fashion Show. She is also a Certified Fitness Professional for the American Council on Exercise, and a mother to her beautiful daughter Lorrina. One of Tuifa’asisina’s greatest accomplishments as a Master Tuiga Fafau artist, is creating a one of a kind 3-stick tuiga in which the lave is covered with plain u’a and hand painted with natural dyes on a siapo-mamanu by Tupito Gadalla – the late Mary Pritchard’s granddaughter. This intricate tuiga fafau is now housed at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand.

Kriss Jackson-Harper (they/he) is a Seattle-based interdisciplinary artist, educator and cultural strategist whose work bridges storytelling, identity and public health. As founder and executive director of Positively Positive Education Productions (Posi Pos Music), Jackson-Harper leads trauma-informed programs and creative projects centering Black, queer, trans and HIV-positive experiences.

Their Posi Pos Media Lab: Trans Joy & Black Queer Survivor Storytelling Hub amplifies underrepresented voices through arts writing, photography and digital publishing. Previous projects include “HIV Stigma 101 & 102,” “Polysecure… But What About Us?,” and “From Pain to Power,” produced with Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4Culture and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture. Their work bridges creative direction, education and advocacy, transforming lived experience into public dialogue and systemic critique.

Jackson-Harper holds a bachelor’s in sociology from Washington State University and a graduate degree from the University of Washington’s IslandWood program. They also conducted ethnographic research on HIV stigma with UNAIDS and the University of Ghana.

Kristal D. Rupard is a multidisciplinary artist and a member of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington. She began her career in development and quality assurance testing before moving into the visual arts, where she now focuses on sculpture and woodworking.

Her work draws from her cultural heritage and explores identity, transformation and the natural world. Using traditional techniques, Rupard creates pieces that reflect ancestral stories and lived experience. Her art has been featured in regional exhibitions and is recognized for its detailed craftsmanship and strong sense of narrative.

Rupard holds a fine arts degree from the University of Washington, where she developed her technical skills and creative vision. Through her work, she seeks to strengthen connections to her roots and make a lasting impact in her community.

Born to the Yeʼii Diné Táchiiʼnii clan. Born for Béésh bichʼaii clan. Always a bit out there, but never boring; Kris Pfeiffer is a dedicated musician, leader, artist and linguist who is passionate about a wide array of fields. First getting his taste and love of all things life has to offer as a child on the Navajo Nation, he accredits his grandmother and mother for igniting that passion of all things Diné. Basketry, culinary arts, music, language, he was never shy of setting his aspirations high and consistently was encouraged to seek a higher education, climb the ladder of success, seeking out knowledge to questions he had. He loves to draw with chalk pastels, play the piano, cook, and share his Navajo (Diné) language and culture with everyone. He is an accomplished hoop dancer and current student at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.