We asked some brilliant folks from the community to talk to us about how they think about risk and the role risk has played in their lives and careers.

Tanya Ward | Writer; Co-Founder, Englewood Arts Collective

The decision to live and work as a creative is a huge risk. Artists and creatives face some pretty unique struggles that deeply affect their work and personal lives. One of the biggest challenges is the ever-present uncertainty that making art as a profession brings. Unlike the more traditional crafts, creative work does not guarantee financial stability or a clear path to advancement ever. To be an artist is to be a risk-taker and a dreamer – and to be determined to DO it. Without a 401k and 2 weeks PTO, and a 5pm end time. This work requires balance between passion and life’s requirements to make a good living. When it’s good, it’s great, but feast can become elusive when famine is staring you in the face. Read more>>

Winona L. Thomas | Coach & Entrepreneur

At the start of my personal and professional journey, I never considered risk or saw myself as a risk taker. I didn’t fully grasp what risk entailed until after nine years at a healthcare organization, when I realized I needed to make a significant career change. I left my stable job with benefits to join a temporary agency that placed me at my dream company. That leap of faith opened my eyes to what risk truly meant and revealed my identity as a risk taker. Read more>>

Val Tomich | High School Social Studies Teacher and Artist

In 2020, I discovered just how much I wanted—and needed—to take creative risks. It started small, simply by sharing my work on social media. At the time, everything else in my life was centered around safety and security. For the first time, I was consumed by fears of mortality, both my own and my family’s. Art became an escape from these anxieties, awakening a creative spark I had long ignored. I craved these risks—ones I could control—during a time when so much felt out of my hands. Read more>>