Karla Deel joined ArtsKC in January 2025 and quickly grew into a full-time senior manager role, driven by a deep commitment to serving others in the arts and across Kansas City. 

She holds a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing and Media Arts from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, as well as a AA in Photography from the Art Institute of Atlanta. She is the author of Storied & Scandalous Kansas City: A History of Corruption, Mischief, and a Whole Lot of Booze (Globe Pequot Press, 2019). She was part of the 2020 Kansas City Artist INC cohort and completed Arquetopia Foundation Writers Residencies in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Naples, Italy. 

A longtime nonprofit board member, Karla has served the Young Friends of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Jackson County Historical Society, and the Friends of the Kansas City Public Library. She is currently President of the Advisory Board of the Mutual Musicians Foundation International, helping to preserve one of Kansas City’s most treasured jazz landmarks. 

Off the clock, she travels to concerts and retreats, writes poetry and nonfiction, grows food in her front yard, practices yoga, and cuddles her black cats. Most of all, she loves laughing until she cries with her husband, Jonathan, and daughter, Salem. 

EMAIL: kdeel@artkc.org