KT Hawbaker
Communications Manager, Builders Vision
Originally from rural Iowa, KT (they/them/theirs) is a storyteller and recovering journalist who serves as the Communications Manager at Builders Vision. An organizer at heart, KT loves using stories to support BV's mission and build the platform's internal and external communities.
Social justice and creativity frequently overlap in KT's career. They have worked as an Arts & Entertainment Writer for the Chicago Tribune, where they were the first openly genderqueer staffer in the paper's history. They were also a Marketing Manager with Emerald City Theatre, the only local theatre company to serve all of the city's 50 wards.
Most recently, KT was the Communications Associate with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, where their strategic communications helped uplift and pass several bills protecting the rights of survivors.
KT graduated with honors from the University of Iowa, where they earned their B.A.'s in Creative Writing and Gender Studies; they then went on to receive their Masters in New Arts Journalism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
In their spare time, KT enjoys baking, The Real Housewives, and reading celebrity memoirs. KT doesn't have spare time, however, because they are chasing after a toddler and infant.