My name is Ali Marcus. It’s nice to meet you.

I have been writing songs for thirty years. As a professional songwriter, I have twelve years of experience touring and performing across America. I’ve written, recorded, produced, and engineered eight albums of original music, and a few other folk music compilations and arrangements beyond that. I spent some years running a community song circle among some of Seattle’s most inventive songwriters, and I have taught guitar, piano, and songwriting for over 16 years in Seattle, Anacortes, and Issaquah.

I have a double degree in Music and 20th Century Art from the University of Virginia, where I focused on musicology, composition, post-war art and architecture, folklore, and the American origins of folk, country, and blues music. I studied classical piano for 14 years. Early in my career, I spent some time working as a music journalist, as well as working at major record labels and recording studios.

I also have worked in nonprofit strategy and leadership for more than fifteen years, as a consultant, a board member, and an organizational leader. These days, this mainly shows up in my work at Art Commons, an artist-led nonprofit that works to increase opportunity for artists in Issaquah and surrounding areas. I also work with clients on all manner of nonprofit work, including fundraising, strategic planning, board facilitation, and more.