TESTIMONIALS
"Kristen is a great community partner and a joy to work with. She’s been supporting our nonprofit of homeless artists since 2014 and participated in our block party concert this past summer utilizing her storytelling skills. The best part about Kristen is her willingness to listen and grow from those around her, particularly when it comes to diversity and inclusion. In true activist fashion, Kristen always realizes there’s still more to learn and prioritizes centering a variety of voices and people in her life."
Nicole Brandt Minyard, Founder, Executive Director for Poverty and the Arts
​
"Kristen is exceptional at listening to people and transforming their perspectives into powerful needs to improve our communities. I have worked with Kristen for three years as we work to listen to people who live and work along the Nolensville Pike corridor in Nashville to make the case for safer ways to walk, bicycle and use public transportation, celebrating people who live in South Nashville (with our city's most diverse neighborhoods) and maintaining - even welcoming more - development of diverse businesses owned by people of color and immigrants to Nashville. She is committed to any work she takes on, does it well and passes on her wisdom to others who seek her advice."
-Rochelle Carpenter, Envision Nolensville Pike Collaborative and Conexion Americas
​
"I can't imagine the Nashville arts community with Kristen Chapman Gibbons' voice and presence. Her humor, her vulnerability, her bold and defiant spirit—all of this inspires me and makes me grateful to have her in my orbit. She is dedicated to making a difference through art and storytelling."
Susannah Felts, Co-founder and Co-director of The Porch
​
"abrasiveMedia worked with Kristen for over a year as she has taught classes, led workshops, and hosted events. Kristen’s responsibilities with our organization included program development, event planning, teaching, and speaking. Over the time that I have known Kristen, she has consistently performed her duties with competence and often goes the extra mile, doing more than expected.
Kristen excels at community building and utilizing her gifts with storytelling to encourage and empower others to tell their own stories. A recent attendee to one of Kristen’s workshops with us told me directly, 'Kristen not only gave me important instruction on telling my story and how that relates to my own work, but her class was the best therapy I’ve ever received.'"
Audra Almond-Harvey, Executive Director, abrasiveMedia
​
"Kristen is fire! She brings the dynamic storytelling of a roaring flame but also brings art to the community and cares for people with the warmth and comfort of a quiet fire--the kind the world especially needs right now."
Ciona Rouse, poet & teaching artist
​
"Kristen is an incredible leader who has a talent for building bridges between artists and neighborhoods who greatly benefit from their art. I highly recommend her for any project needing thoughtful leadership, collaboration, and creativity."
Jacob Weiss, Director, Playing By Air Productions
​
"Kristen is one of the kindest, most welcoming souls I have ever met. I had the honor of working with her over my summer break and she has had such a large positive impact on me. She guided me through something very new to me, my first job. Me and one of my closest friends, both high school freshman at the time, heard about something called Opportunity Now and submitted our resumes and we got responses from Kristen about an arts education program. We were curious and we decided to accept and we started one of the best experiences of our lives. We learned so much on how to be a good person and how to have a positive impact on people all from all walks of life. With Kristen we had our first taste of freedom and we learned so much from it as we had our first jobs. Kristen helped me become a better person and she taught me how to go after whatever my ambitions are and I thank her for that. Kristen taught me more about my world in a month than I have learned in all of the years I’ve been at school. It was such an honor to meet her and I am so grateful that I did. She changed my life for the better."
Noor Aziz
​