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Third Way Creative is a collaborative consulting studio based in Seattle, WA.

AMPLIFYING THE CIVIC IMAGINATION

We believe that arts, culture, and creativity are the tools needed to co-create and re-imagine civic life.

Areas of Practice

Cultural Policy 

Racial Equity 

Organizational Strategy 

Our Services 

  • Policy & Organizational Co-Design

  • Network & Leadership Development

  • Convening Design and Production 

  • Strategic Advising

  • Transition Support & Strategy 

Our Work Advances 

  • Empathy

  • Reciprocity

  • Cultural Self-Determination

  • Accountability

  • Systems Change

Who We Are 

Together, our consulting team has more than 50 years of combined experience building community-led programs, projects and policies centered on justice in the cultural, nonprofit, public, and creative sectors. 

Having met as colleagues in the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture, Randy Engstrom, Elisheba Johnson and Kristen Ramirez co-founded Third Way Creative in early 2021 to support intentional civic practices. Our work explores the possibilities and intersections of public imagination, civic narrative, racial equity, and belonging through arts, culture and creativity. Since our founding we have engaged additional partners and collaborators and worked on projects both nationally and internationally.

Our Areas of Expertise Include 

  • Cultural policy development and implementation

  • Strategic, cultural, and organizational planning

  • Creative facilitation & team-building

  • Inclusive community engagement

  • Cultural and civic organizing 

  • Generative convening production

Selected Clients

Our Team

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Randy Engstrom

Co-Founder & Principal

(He / Him)

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Elisheba Johnson

Co-Founder & Principal

(She / They)

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Kristen Ramirez

Co-Founder

(She / Her)

Case Studies

01

Creative Vitality Summit

02

Friends of Waterfront Park - Cultural Master Plan

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03

Reflection/Inflection Artist Response Project

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04

Creative Economy Strategic Plan

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05

Cultural Policy Action Lab

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06

Cultural Strategies for Downtown Revitalization

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07

Convening Project

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