Spotlighting Our Supporters—A Conversation with Anne Crowley

Longtime Hilltop Artists donor, Anne Crowley will turn 79 in November, and she’s still asking the question that has guided much of her life: “Where can I have the most impact?”

“These are trying times we’re all living through,” she said recently over coffee. “It’s easy to feel powerless, and so we have to act collectively. We’ve got to support one another where we can.”

For Anne, that support manifests as a committed practice of giving back.

She learned early that community can change the course of a person’s life. After moving to the West Coast on her own, she found a network in Seattle that helped her understand what it means for people to truly show up for one another—and how powerful it can be to help someone else.

Make my gift to Hilltop Artists!

Reinvesting in community became a through-line in her life. Anne began volunteering with a crisis clinic in the early 1980s, became a victim advocate, and eventually went to law school at age 39 because she wanted a stronger voice in systems that she felt often didn’t effectively represent women and survivors’ best interests. Her advocacy background led her to the City of Tacoma Attorney’s Office, where she spent years as the lead domestic violence prosecutor.

After a career dedicated to empowering those rebuilding from deep harm, Anne realized she wanted to invest earlier. She wanted to contribute to something that helped young people build confidence, connection, and belonging before they reached a breaking point. When the Tacoma women’s advocacy center she’d supported for years closed its doors, she thought carefully about where to put her energy next.

“I’ve spent my life working with people who need so much healing,” she says. “I wanted to do something to feed the fire on the front end.”

She didn’t have to look far.

Donate to the spring fundraiser!

Anne recognized something deeply familiar in Hilltop Artists: frontline advocacy built on trust; young people building community by doing challenging, focused work together; and supportive adult mentors who share their lived experiences.

She also saw a refuge for kids who don’t fit into standard boxes. “Traditional schools don’t always offer ways for nontraditional learners to engage,” she said, noting that the hot shop changes that by being a place where kids can experiment, work with their hands, and start to embrace failure as part of the learning process.

She’s particularly impressed with how seriously students’ ideas are taken by their Teaching Artist mentors, and with just how young many of those students are. The level of foundational confidence she sees being built, she reflects, is why she keeps showing up both as a donor and as a volunteer.

“Hilltop Artists gives kids the gift of creativity and power,” she says. “The level of care, mentorship, and support I see here…that’s what gives me hope.”

Yes, I want to make a donation!