Meet Our New Team Members

We are incredibly excited to officially announce the addition of Stacey Rekkedahl and Summer Dio to the PAFAC team!

Stacey is our new Gallery and Programs Director. Prior to diving into the gallery world, she was a full time teaching artist in an elementary school for several years. Stacey received her BFA in cast metals and K-12 Art Education Degree from the University of Wyoming and her Masters in Studio Practices for Art Educators from Columbia University. She has shown her folk art across the country and recently curated and exhibited her work in New York City.

Summer joins us as our Event Coordinator. Summer is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller. She brings a background in Anthropology, Sustainable Tourism, Documentary Studies, six years as an Academic Library Specialist, and experience in photography instruction, exhibitions, publication, and film festivals. The Olympic Peninsula’s wildness and natural beauty brought her to Port Angeles, where Summer loves to sail, free dive, paddle board, support ocean conservation efforts, and be on or in salt water as much as possible. P.S. You’ll also find her volunteering at Feiro Marine Life Center!

We asked our new co-workers to share some fun facts about themselves, and they did not disappoint! Here are a few tidbits that will help you get to know them:

Stacey:

• At age 18 she came out to Port Angeles to visit her sister who was a Wilderness Ranger in the Olympic National Forest. She says, “I fell in love with the Northwest and told my family I was going to live here one day, and now I am!”
• Used to be a sponsored athlete for llama racing, which is a crazy Colorado sport where you run with a pack llama (don’t believe her? Check it out!)
• Has never lived by the water and is looking forward to being a surfer
• Favorite animal is a jackalope, which can only be found in a remote town outside of Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Summer:

• Dreams of living full-time at sea, sailing the world
• Loves cooking up delicious food with simple ingredients
• Will never pass up an opportunity to hang out with good people and good food in great spaces
• Grew up in Hawaii and on the west coast, tends to call anywhere on the Pacific Ocean home
• Total science fiction nerd

The PAFAC has had lots of help over the past few years to get us to where we are now. We’d like to acknowledge and thank Lindsey Shepherd, who has been our interim Gallery and Programs Director for the past year; and Ariel Zimman, who stepped in as Events Coordinator for our Fall Festival and Wintertide Festival in 2023. Lindsey will continue to work with us through the summer to support a smooth transition of gallery exhibitions. Ariel will be focusing on her own artistic work, but you can expect to see her back as a teaching artist at PAFAC in the near future.

We are delighted to have Stacey and Summer on our team and are looking forward to a great year with the benefit of their passion and skills. If you see these two around, please introduce yourself and extend a warm welcome as they get to know the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center community.

Check Our Leadership page for staff contact information.