ECCF graduates class of Creative County Changemakers; seeks applicants for next session to begin in March

When Tori Darnell, co-chair of the Saugus Cultural Council, first moved to Saugus, her 5-year-old son had a question for her while they were exploring their new neighborhood.

“Where’s the art?”

“I realized then that if I wanted to change the relationship between art and Saugus, then a policy would be needed to support this point of view,” said Darnell. “It’s about creating a system that enables thoughtful, community-led art.”

This led Darnell to come up with “The Bridge,” a collaborative community art project celebrating the rich cultural identities and multigenerational stories of the Saugus community. The finished piece, created by combining individual squares of art made by community members, will be unveiled at the Saugus Community Festival this spring.

The Bridge, said Darnell, is meant to bring people together. And it was funded by a seed grant from ECCF’s Creative County Changemakers, an immersive leadership program empowering creative leaders to work together on building a more inclusive and sustainable arts and culture ecosystem across the region.

Darnell is one of four local leaders to recently graduate from the program.

Changemakers takes place each year from March through October. And over the course of eight months, participants, which often include activists, artists, nonprofit and community leaders, educators and small business owners, are immersed in facilitated and project-based learning, peer networking and leadership training. Each participant also receives a small grant to seed a community-based public arts project.

“This program has been helpful for me to really build that confidence to be able to say, ‘Yes, I can do this,” said Darnell.

The full list of 2025 Changemaker graduates includes:

KD Montgomery, Executive Director, Essex Shipbuilding Museum and Historical Society. Changemaker project: Build support to purchase adjacent property to expand museum offerings.

Cat DeBrocke, Founder and Executive Director, The Center Art + Community, Amesbury. Changemaker Project:Building public experience and education around the Wave mural to steward the future of Amesbury public art.

Aysim Hakioglu, Merrimac artist and organizer. Changemaker project: Early planning to establish an artist residency and maker space for connecting ideas and collective impact.

Tori Darnell, co-chair of the Saugus Cultural Council. Changemaker project: The Bridge, community-wide, collaborative art project.

“It’s been five years since we created this program,” said Creative County Program Director Karen Ristuben. “Quite a few people have come through it and it’s so exciting every year to see how each cohort bonds, learns from each other and goes on to do such powerful work.”

“This cohort has been spectacular,” said Danielle Coates-Connor, who co-facilitates the program with Ristuben and Lisa Miller-Gillespie, a 2021 Changemaker graduate and founder of Greater Lawrence Fellowship of the Arts.

Changemakers has graduated nearly 60 participants since its inception.

“Changemakers has really given me the space to pause and reflect not just on what I’m doing but why I am doing it,” said Montgomery. “It helped me to see the value of what I bring to Essex County, not just as a museum director but as a systems thinker, a collaborator and a cultural leader.”

[Check out the graduation of the 2025 cohort of Creative County Changemakers.]

ECCF and Creative County Now Recruiting for New Changemakers Cohort

Applications are now open for the 2026 CCI Changemakers leadership program.

“The Changemakers program is designed for local leaders deeply invested in arts, culture and community in Essex County,” said Ristuben. “It’s meant for people interested in growing their leadership skills alongside other creative civic leaders and building meaningful cross-sector connections.”

This eight-month experience, beginning in March 2026, will bring together up to 12 artists, organizers, municipal leaders, nonprofit professionals and creative business leaders from across Essex County. Through facilitated learning, peer exchange, coaching and project-based work, participants strengthen their ability to lead, collaborate, and create lasting community impact.

The Changemakers program includes: 

• Monthly learning modules with real-world case studies and problem-solving.
• Peer consultancies and cohort-based leadership development.
• One-to-one coaching and facilitated learning sessions.
• A capstone community project you design and implement.
• A certificate of completion and a mini-grant upon full participation.

Changemakers participants are individuals who:

• Represent the geographic and racial diversity of Essex County.
• Are committed to arts and culture as a driver of community well-being.
• Bring experience in arts, culture, or creative sector leadership.
• Are excited to collaborate across municipal, nonprofit, business, and philanthropic sectors.

“We are so excited to continue to grow this network of creative leaders that understand the importance and power of thinking regionally and strategically about arts and culture,” said Ristuben.

The Changemaker application deadline is Jan. 15, 2026. To learn more about Creative County, Changemakers and to apply to join the 2026 cohort, please visit eccf.org/arts-and-culture/.