This session will empower you to design the creative career you envision. You will begin by defining your objectives, then work through strategic planning techniques such as the SMART Goal-Setting and SWOT Analysis. You will walk away with action steps that align with your goals and a replicable decision-making framework that prioritizes your vision of success.

Facilitator Kelly Olshan is a Learning Program Officer for the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). A practicing visual artist, she is passionate about providing career development resources for creative practitioners. At NYFA, she oversees professional development programs for artists of all disciplines globally, including the Artist as Entrepreneur program and NYFA Coaching. Previously, she served as program manager for the Queens Council on the Arts and authored the book How You Can Commission Art.

As a practicing artist, her work has been exhibited nationally, including in a recent solo public art exhibition, Traverse, in NYC’s Garment District, and forthcoming solo museum show at Long Island Children’s Museum in 2026. She serves as a frequent panelist for NYC’s Percent for Art Program as well as on the Advisory Committee of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Public Art program. She has been an artist in residence with Chashama, and serves on the board of Greenpoint Open Studios. She holds an MA in Arts Administration from Columbia University.