Cultural Catalysts with Alison McNeil
Cultural Catalysts with Alison McNeil
Podcast Description
Welcome to Cultural Catalysts with Alison McNeil—the podcast that celebrates the creative visionaries working behind the scenes in arts and entertainment. This podcast uplifts the voices of producers, publicists, directors, and other behind-the-scenes creatives who shape culture but don’t always get the spotlight.
From the challenges of building sustainable careers to the triumphs of crafting unforgettable artistic moments, Cultural Catalysts dives deep into the inspiring lives of those who make the magic happen. If you’re curious about the people driving creativity and innovation in the arts, this podcast is for you.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores themes related to the arts industry, including sustainable career paths, artistic innovation, and advocacy for creative professionals. Episodes highlight specific stories such as Nyle Washington’s strategies for impactful publicity in entertainment and Sharon Ingram’s advocacy for music rights leaders.
Welcome to Cultural Catalysts with Alison McNeil—the podcast that celebrates the creative visionaries working behind the scenes in arts and entertainment. This podcast uplifts the voices of producers, publicists, directors, and other behind-the-scenes creatives who shape culture but don’t always get the spotlight.
From the challenges of building sustainable careers to the triumphs of crafting unforgettable artistic moments, Cultural Catalysts dives deep into the inspiring lives of those who make the magic happen. If you’re curious about the people driving creativity and innovation in the arts, this podcast is for you.
🌐 MCE Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcearts
🌐 Impact Roadmap™: The Art of Describing Your Impact: http://mceimpactroadmap.com
Consultant, strategist, and CJAM Consulting Principal Candace Jackson joins Cultural Catalysts for this season’s final episode to trace how an operations and HR leader inside arts organizations became a designer of what she now calls “executive management consulting.” She shares how believing in serendipity and deja vu as confirmation helped her recognize when she was on the right path, including the “accident” of shortening her too-long business name—Candace Jackson Arts and Management Consulting—into CJAM at a client’s request so it would fit on a check. Candace unpacks early missteps in setting her hourly and day rates based on her last salary, before realizing she needed to price in overhead, insurance, and employer taxes, and reflects on being repeatedly tapped as an interim executive director by boards navigating leadership transitions.
Candace’s experiences clarified that she no longer wanted to stay inside the organizational frame permanently and instead wanted to enter as an external partner who can stabilize, support, and then step back out through CJAM’s executive management consulting model—combining interim leadership, executive searches, and deep partnerships with leadership teams. Throughout the episode, Candace talks about naming and claiming her lane, treating “accidents” as alignment, and building a consulting practice that centers clarity, structure, and care for the people doing the work.
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