Rick Kitagawa Email & Phone Number

Pasadena, Ca, Us

Remote

At Brainstorm Road I create a culture of mutual support and belonging for people who are working towards shipping their dream projects. I co-facilitate live events, write evergreen prompts to inspire action and forward motion, and develop additional product offerings and brand positioning with the co-founders.

Anaheim, California, United States

Community Manager for the DesignerCon Discord and the Vincents digital membership product, hosting and planning events, managing the Discord server, and assisting vendors and attendees for the largest designer toy convention in the United States.

Pasadena, Ca

Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Spotlight Trust, a consultancy and training organization that is changing the future of work through building Trust-Centered Leadership.Develops practical, measurable frameworks, curricula, and training engagements that teach tactical soft skills including empathy, building belonging, vulnerability, and creating culture. Co-hosts the weekly In Trust podcast and co-authored The Future Is Trust: Embracing the Era of Trust-Centered Leadership.

Remote

CodeBreakers is a vibrant online space for youth and young adults (ages 13-23) who are members of historically underrepresented and/or racially minoritized groups. Together we explore identity and expand capacity for reaching personal, educational and professional goals. To learn more about our 1:1 Virtual Sessions and Peer Support Community, visit www.codebreakerscommunity.com

Worldwide

My practice focuses on leaders struggling to feel confident in their roles, creatives struggling with their careers, and small businesses/entrepreneurs looking to get their business off the ground.By providing a safe environment, propelling questions, and practical frameworks, I help clients unlock their hidden potential and solutions to what are holding them back in life leading to clarity in their goals, relationships, businesses, and lives.

San Francisco Bay Area

·Paints for galleries in the San Francisco Bay Area in multiple styles.·Provides illustrations to client specifications using thumbnails and roughs to convey ideas beforefinalizing assets.·Uses traditional and digital (Photoshop, Illustration, InDesign, Dreamweaver) to provideillustrations and web graphics sized and formatted to specs.·Paints live for various events and entertainment venues.

San Francisco Bay Area

• Monkey + Seal is the collaboration between Bay Area fine artists/illustrators Rick Kitagawa and Eve Skylar.• Handles logistics, booth design, and inventory for vending at large conventions, trade shows, and industry events.

Virtual (Worldwide)

The altMBA is an intensive, 4-week online workshop created by Seth Godin for managers, leaders, and high-performing individuals of all kinds who want to level up, lead, and become effective agents of change. In my role as Cohort Coach, I have coached CEOs, founders, and leaders from the US, Asia, and Australia, pushing them to make the change in themselves that empowers them to make a larger impact in their work, find happiness, and allows them to see a new way forward.As a Head Coach, I oversaw the Cohort Coach teams and provided support for the provost and focused on training and support for the coach team.I served as the Interim Director of Student Experience (DSX), responsible for leading the Head Coach team while in session and building coach culture. Directly reports to the Chief Learning Officer and CEO. In this role I built out an inclusive hiring system for future FT hires, revised course curricula, and created numerous policies and safeguards around community management.

· Creates engaging, entertaining, and educational product demonstrations for high quality artist materials from Jacquard with a focus on screen printing inks, but also ranging from fabric dyes to paints to cyanotype.· Provides in-depth knowledge of art materials and classical techniques to a wide demographic of artists using storytelling as a vehicle with a focus on meeting attendees' learning goals.· Travels the greater Bay Area to various art material stores, universities, and artist events to represent Jacquard as the premier manufacturer of textile dyes, inks, and paints.

San Francisco Bay Area

· Creates engaging, entertaining, and educational product demonstrations for high quality artist materials from Sennelier, Fabriano, Charbonnel, Raphael, Cretacolor, and Isabey. · Provides in-depth knowledge of art materials and classical techniques to a wide demographic of artists using storytelling as a vehicle.· Travels the greater Bay Area to various art material stores, universities, and artist events to represent Savoir Faire and its brands as professional grade art materials.

•Taught classes of 19-21 students about professional business practices for a wide variety of art majors including illustration, fine art, fashion, game design, new media, and sound design.*Taught classes how to write a business plan, validate their MVP, find their audience, articulate their value, and build a sustainable business.•Presented information in compelling mediums and modalities on topics such as: verbal and written communication, resume building, conducting industry research, contract writing, negotiation, networking, social media marketing, and interview skills.•Researched current trends in marketing, business, art dealing, and psychology to provide cutting-edge information to supplement existing curricula.

San Francisco Bay Area

• Fostered strategic partnerships with other youth organizations via email, phone, and in-person.• Organized logistics of WritersCorps Spring events schedule, including booking of venues andtalent, soliciting donations, and procuring refreshments.• Organized the Poetry Projection Festival, including soliciting film submissions, working with theAV staff of the venue, and preproduction of the films.• Overlooked marketing of the Poetry Projection Festival, including partnerships with filmorganizations and schools, and printed advertisements.

San Francisco Bay Area

•Brought screen printing company to profitability. •Exhibited live silkscreen printing for promotional opportunities to various Fortune 500 companies.•Taught Beginning Silkscreen workshops to a wide range of 18+ students.•Managed relationships with contractors, vendors, independent contractors, and media contacts.

San Francisco Bay Area

• Organizes, research, markets, and books demonstrations of Crescent product at art supply stores, organizations, schools, and trade events. • Chosen to represent Crescent at NAMTA, Miami Art Week.

San Francisco Bay Area

• Acted as liaison between artists, the gallery, and customers in all major sales transactions.• Marketed openings to help attract 200+ people on monthly show openings, including utilizingsocial media, email newsletters, and printed ads.• Organized 4-6 workshops per month at the gallery/collective studio space - hired models andoutside instructors, and updated the workshop webpage.• Directed all promotional materials for events, workshops, and gallery openings includingediting copy and sourcing print providers.• Curated monthly art openings - approached artists, created contracts, and ensured art wasproperly displayed, labelled, and priced.

Trained new Customer Service Associates on standard cash handling procedures, customer service standards, invitations, and inventory procedures.Trained new Assistant Managers in opening/closing procedures, invitations, and day-to-day operations.Manages inventory discrepancies and workshop supplies.Managed workshops for the local store, including running additional high-level workshops for bookbinding.Offered superior customer service and resolved staff-customer conflicts.

·Core member of the San Francisco Zine Fest committee.·Served as a representative onsite and performs adminstrational duties: tracks, receives, registersparticipants, and maintains important documents and fees.·Taught the Bookbinding Basics workshop and Intro to Silkscreen Workshop.·Recruited, organized, and implemented speakers program and workshops for the festival.

Performed various original works by emerging Asian American playwrights.

·Provided in-depth customer service to clients via phone and email.·Typeset custom wedding invitations and other wedding-related stationery, holiday cards, andoffered design advice to customers.·Acted as a liaison between customers and high-end stationers and design companies.·Worked with independent printers to ensure high standards of products and to ensure customersatisfaction.·Helped production team during tight deadlines retouching/resizing photos.·Reported to the Merchandising Manager and the CEO.·Handled 100+ design projects during the holiday season.

Provided high-level customer service, maintained database of custom invitation orders, trained retail associates on invitation services, implemented new procedures, and acted as primary contact between the local branch and the national invitations manager.

Top Ruckus Maker, Empathy, Leadership, And Changemaking

Activities and Societies: Abernathy Award Developed skills in marketing, sales, leadership, negotiation, problem-solving, and how.

Bfa2, Illustration, Concept Art, Graphic Design, Fine Art

Activities and Societies: • Founding Vice-President, Print Society • Spring Show participant, Fine Art - 2010 • Spring Show participant.

Ba, Integrative Biology, Asian American Studies

Activities and Societies: CalPIRG, Theatre Rice: Modern Asian American Theatre, Nikkei Student Union Culture Night Coursework included.