Carolina McCready, workshop consultant
First concert: Beach Boys 1984
All time favorite TV show: Remington Steele
Earliest pop culture memory: “Growing up, you could always find me with a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys book. Mysteries and choose your own adventures have inspired my passion for following my curiosity and digging out the story.”
Carolina has spent most of her career working on social enterprise projects that bring communities of color together through projects like the Chiva Bus and Cothinkk. In 2014, Carolina co-produced El Bailazo, a live charity concert featuring music from northern Mexico that benefitted El Centro. This first-time event sold grossed nearly $20,000 for El Centro, and Carolina managed more than 50 Spanish and English-speaking volunteers and created templates the organization has since replicated for successful fundraising efforts.
From 2014–2018, Carolina co-produced the annual Dia De Los Muertos Festival in Hendersonville, NC, a fusion of Mexican and mountain culture in Western North Carolina. This event brought together over 750 community members to enjoy food, music, games and activities that built solidarity and developed a new shared tradition.
Carolina also served for many years on the steering committee of the Asheville Grown Business Alliance, where she brought her talents in organizational development to grow a grassroots effort to keep local resources in the local economy. When facilitating large groups, Carolina tries to channel the mantra of her guru, Rogelio from Jane the Virgin: inhala, exhala…