Laurel Butler

Laurel (she/her) is an educator, facilitator, organizer, and artist based in Los Angeles, CA on unceded Tonva/Kizh/Chumash/Tataviam land. She is the Director of Youth Programming for Everyday Arts, the Program Development Specialist for 4CLab, and a Doctoral student in Social Justice Leadership at Antioch University. As an independent arts education and social justice consultant, her current clients include the CalArts Community Arts Partnership, for whom she develops trainings in culturally-responsive and trauma-informed pedagogy; the New Mexico Arts & Justice Network, for whom she compiles research and resources for arts providers working with systems-impacted youth; and iLEAD Charter Schools, for whom she develops performing arts programs for pregnant and parenting teens. ​

Laurel received her M.A. in Theater Education and Community Outreach from the University of New Mexico in 2010. Since moving to California in 2011, she has served as Associate Director of UCLA’s Visual and Performing Arts Education program, Arts Education & Social Emotional Learning Specialist for the LA County Office of Education, Youth Development & Leadership Specialist for the Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network, Arts Education and Social-Emotional Learning Specialist for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Program Manager of the Young Artivists Lab at Inner-City Arts, Faculty Lecturer in the UCLA World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department, Youth Arts Manager and Education/Engagement Specialist at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Adjunct Professor in the Performing Arts and Social Justice Department at the University of San Francisco, Dance Teacher at St. James Episcopal School, Social Justice and Service Learning Instructor at Windward School, Multi-Arts Theater Director for the Idyllwild Arts Academy, and an educator for numerous organizations including the Hammer Museum, and the Women’s Center for Creative Work.

Laurel is a recipient of the 21st Century Fox Social Impact award, a Creative Capacity Fund Next Gen Award, an Arts for LA ACTIVATE Fellowship, and multiple grants from the California Arts Council. She has presented her work at the Allied Media Conference, the Create Justice Conference, the Arts in Corrections Conference, Beyond the Bars LA, and the National Convening for Teens in the Arts, and been published in several journals and online publications including Theater Topics, the Journal of Museum Education, and the National Teens-in-the-Arts Report.