Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Flo.
Cat, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
If I’m being honest, my story doesn’t really have a straight line.
I’ve always been someone who creates things, connects people, and finds a way to make something happen—even before I had the words for what that meant. I went to school for business, marketing, and early childhood development, but my real education came from saying yes to opportunities, building relationships, creating events, trying things that didn’t work, and figuring out what did.
I started out doing a little bit of everything: marketing, content, events, community work, education, and entrepreneurship. Somewhere along the way, I realized that the common thread wasn’t really the job—it was people. I loved bringing people together, helping someone turn an idea into something real, and creating spaces where people felt seen and connected.
That realization eventually led me to build my own creative work while also becoming deeply involved in the Southwest Florida arts and community scene. Today, I’m the Community Development and Membership Manager at Alliance for the Arts, where I get to focus on partnerships, membership, events, outreach, and creating stronger connections between the organization and the community.
But I don’t think I’ve “arrived” at some final version of myself. I’m still building. I’m still experimenting. I’m still learning what I want the next chapter to look like.
If anything, my story is about being willing to evolve. I’ve changed directions, started over, outgrown things, created things from scratch, and learned that you don’t have to have your entire life mapped out to be moving forward.
I think that’s probably the most Cat Flo thing about my story: I’m always creating, connecting, and becoming.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not. I don’t think anything worth building has ever been completely smooth, and my journey has had plenty of moments where I questioned whether I was actually on the right path.
There have been seasons where I had to start over, figure things out without a blueprint, and learn how to keep going when the thing I thought would work simply didn’t. I’ve had ideas fail, opportunities change, relationships shift, and moments where I felt like I was putting in a lot of work without seeing the results I wanted.
One of my biggest struggles has been learning that being capable of doing something doesn’t mean I’m supposed to do everything. I’ve always been the person who will step in, solve the problem, connect the dots, and figure it out. That can be a strength, but it can also become exhausting when you’re constantly carrying things that were never yours to carry.
I’ve also had to learn how to deal with comparison. When you’re building something publicly, it’s easy to look around and wonder why someone else seems further ahead. I’ve had to remind myself that my timeline is my timeline.
The hardest part of my journey hasn’t necessarily been failure. It’s been learning to trust myself after failure.
Now, I look at the difficult seasons differently. They taught me boundaries, resilience, patience, and—probably most importantly—how to keep creating even when things don’t look the way I imagined they would.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but it has made me much more intentional about where I’m going next.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My work has always lived somewhere between creativity, education, and community—and one of the parts of my work that I’m most proud of is working with children and adults who don’t always thrive in traditional environments.
My background in Early Childhood Development led me to work with children with different learning styles, behavioral challenges, and developmental needs, including children on the autism spectrum. Over time, that expanded into working with adults with disabilities as well. Art became one of the ways I could connect with people who sometimes struggled to communicate, focus, regulate their emotions, or feel comfortable in traditional learning environments.
I’ve learned that sometimes you have to stop asking, “How do I get them to learn this?” and start asking, “How does this person learn best?” That shift changes everything.
I specialize in creating experiences that are hands-on, creative, and adaptable. Whether I’m teaching an art project, building a program, coordinating an event, or connecting people within the community, I’m constantly thinking about how to make people feel included and capable of participating.
What I’m most proud of is seeing someone who initially doesn’t believe they can do something surprise themselves. It could be a child who finally engages in an activity, an adult who creates something they’re genuinely proud of, or someone who simply feels comfortable enough to participate when they normally wouldn’t.
I think what sets me apart is that I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. I’m willing to change the plan, get messy, try something completely different, and meet people where they are. I bring that same mindset into my community development work now.
At the end of the day, I’m not just interested in creating programs or events. I want to create spaces where people feel like there is a place for them here.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I think this answer should give credit without turning it into a generic “I couldn’t have done it without my team” response. Your story has a lot of people and communities behind it, so I’d make the bigger point that you’ve been shaped by the people who trusted you before you fully trusted yourself.
Absolutely. There are so many people who deserve credit, and honestly, I don’t think I would be where I am without the people who have believed in me at different points in my life.
I’ve had teachers, coworkers, mentors, friends, clients, parents, students, artists, and community members who have all taught me something. Some gave me an opportunity. Some trusted me with their children. Some trusted me with an event or an idea. Others simply showed up and reminded me that what I was doing mattered.
Working with children and adults with different abilities has probably taught me some of my most important lessons. My students have been some of my biggest teachers. They’ve taught me patience, creativity, flexibility, and that success doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Sometimes the biggest accomplishment is simply getting someone to feel comfortable enough to try.
I also have to give credit to the people who gave me room to grow professionally. Every organization, client, coworker, and community partner I’ve worked alongside has added another piece to what I do today. I’ve been fortunate to work with people who let me try things, make mistakes, come back with another idea, and keep growing.
And then there are the people in my corner personally—the ones who have listened to the crazy ideas, encouraged me when something didn’t work, celebrated the wins, and reminded me who I am when I was questioning myself.
I don’t really believe in the idea of building something completely on your own. Even when your name is on the work, there are always people behind the scenes who helped you become the person capable of doing it.
So if I had to give credit, I’d give it to the people who trusted me before I had everything figured out. They gave me opportunities, but more importantly, they gave me the confidence to keep creating my own.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://catflocreations.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamcatflo2.0/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamcatflo2.0/
