Brooke Pickett

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Brooke Pickett is Director of Strategic Partnerships at KID smART. In this role, she leads partnership development and resource-building efforts that advance equitable access to arts education and deepen KID smART’s relationships across the cultural and social justice ecosystem.

Brooke brings over a decade of experience in youth-centered nonprofit leadership, arts education, and community-based development. She previously served as Executive Director of a New Orleans youth writing organization, where she expanded programs, strengthened evaluation practices, and worked alongside young people to amplify their voices through creative expression. Her work has consistently focused on equity, access, and the belief that young people deserve meaningful opportunities to tell their own stories.

In addition to her organizational leadership, Brooke co-founder a consulting practice that supported arts, cultural, and social justice organizations with strategic planning, fundraising, and partnership development. She has worked with a range of community-based organizations to build sustainable systems, strengthen narrative power, and mobilize resources in service of social change.

Brooke is also a practicing contemporary artist whose work has been exhibited nationally and featured in publications including The New York Times, Frieze, and Art Papers. Her artistic practice informs her approach to leadership, grounding her work in creativity, collaboration, and imagination as tools for transformation.

She holds a BA in both Literature and Painting, a MFA in Painting, and has pursued ongoing training in nonprofit leadership, arts administration, and community-centered practices. Brooke is deeply committed to ensuring that all young people in New Orleans have access to the creative resources they need to thrive.