Meet Our Team

Michelle Fujii is a taiko artist, teaching artist, and co-director of Unit Souzou, creates contemporary work rooted in the art forms of taiko and Japanese folk dance. As a teaching artist, Michelle builds community through drumming, empowering students to express their strong voices and identities. 

Michelle has been an active leader in the North American taiko community. She serves on the board of Arts Northwest and co-chaired Women & Taiko. Additionally, she is a Jubilation Foundation Teaching Artist, recipient of the Lilla Jewel Award, an Oregon Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellow, and a Miller Foundation Spark Awardee.

When viewing Wilson’s artwork — whether it is a tiny book or a sweeping land installation — there is a sense of thoughtful lightness that leads to a feeling of connectedness: to oneself, to others, and to the planet that sustains us. Before earning her MFA from the University of Oregon, she worked with Chicago Public Art Group, where her passion for community art projects was sparked. She currently offers workshops on creativity as a coping tool. She is a founding member of Kinship Teaching Artists and a recent Oregon Arts Commission Grant recipient. She lives in Portland, OR.

Subashini Ganesan-Forbes is a choreographer, curator, arts administrator, Chair of the Oregon Arts Commission, and former Creative Laureate of Portland. A contemporary Bharatanatyam artist, her works highlight nuanced and universal emotive expressions. In 2012, Subashini founded New Expressive Works, a vibrant venue serving diverse independent artists through residencies, artist conversations, and performance seasons. In 2021, She is Adjunct Professor at Pacific University and a member of the Friends of the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center. She also serves on the Boards of the Portland Parks Foundation (Vice Chair) and the James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation.

Maia is a teaching artist, facilitator and performer who combines their experience in theatre, education, arts administration, and trauma informed practices to provide workshops and custom coaching.

They have worked as a teaching artist with organizations like Seattle Children’s Theatre and Profile Theatre Project, and independently leading arts programs for preschool through adult. 

As an actor they’ve recently performed with Salt and Sage and Hand2Mouth Theatre in Portland, Oregon. They are proud to have been part of Convergence for the Oregon Origins Project and their portrayal of Marc Rothko in Crave Theatre’s production of Red.

Tristan Boesch is an actor, teaching artist, and arts administrator from the Pacific Northwest. His background in education was preceded by several years of performing in theater and film, which is still a vital part of his life. At Northwest Children’s Theater, Tristan has served as a Resident Teaching Artist and Assistant Program Manager. He is a proud graduate of California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in Acting, where he also launched his teaching career via the Community Arts Partnership.

Pat Moran is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist from Portland, Oregon. He’s a director, playwright, dramaturg, actor, teaching artist, and producer, specializing in creating and developing theatre for young and multigenerational audiences. He’s also a program manager at Northwest Children’s Theater. He has worked with Cal Shakes, Action/Adventure Theatre, Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, Oregon Children’s Theatre, CoHo Productions, Hand2Mouth, Milagro Theatre, Shaking the Tree Theater, Arts for Learning NW, Theatre Vertigo, Kickstand Comedy, Sight Educational Theatre, and more, as well as teaching, directing, and performing at schools and educational programs throughout the Northwest.