Kate Lesta ✨
  • about
  • Consulting
  • CURRICULUM VITAE
  • portfolio + gigography
  • dj mixes
  • contact
  • Holiday Bake Sale

CURRICULUM VITAE
[email protected]  www.katelesta.com 

SKILLS 

Bookkeeping: Quickbooks Online & Desktop
• Full Charge Bookkeeping including general ledger, payroll, budget management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, reporting, preparation for tax filings, client on-boarding, maintaining financial records
Project management: Asana, Basecamp, Teamgantt

• Project scheduling, strategic planning & analysis for interdepartmental deadlines, goals & resources
Administration: Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Airtable, When I Work, Shiftboard, FilemakerPro
• Calendar management & scheduling, office correspondence, digital & physical filing, typing 45 WPM
Communication:  Proficient in all communication platforms including Slack, Zoom, Discord
• Excellent interpersonal communication, critical thinker, problem solver, compassionate team player

EDUCATION
​

Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP) Essentials Program - Nonprofit CPA Alliance 
​Quickbooks Certified ProAdvisor 
Financial Accounting Fundamentals - Darden School of Business, University of Virginia 
Morna International College - Ibiza, Spain

SELECTED WORK EXPERIENCE

Full-Charge Bookkeeper & Consultant                                        2021 – Current
Certified Quickbooks ProAdvisor, Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional 
Bookkeeping for
 small, independent businesses, nonprofits and impact-based organizations, including general ledger, payroll, budget management, project tracking, accounts payable, accounts receivable, reporting, end of year preparations & maintaining financial records


Freelance Creative Producer & Project Manager                       2006 – Current
Remote
  • Project management, production & consultation, from concept to completion & everything between 
  • Self-managed multiple, simultaneous contracts across various time zones with quality & integrity  

Finance & Administration Manager                                            2020 - 2023
Board Member                                                                              2009 - 2023
The Bunker New York, NYC
  • Collaboratively formed 501c3 status for established community music & arts organization
  • Cooperated on regular artistic exchange, co-designed programming in NYC, Boulder, Krakow and Montreal
  • Joined staff in 2020 to support long term growth and sustainability

Festival & Event Operations Manager / Curator                       2006 – 2020 
Frameline Film Festival San Francisco, CA  
Interdimensional Transmissions Detroit, MI         
Biennial of the Americas Denver, CO                                                                                
Vice Verse Collaborative Tour United States & Europe
Noise Pop Industries San Francisco, CA         
Decibel Festival Seattle, WA   
Communikey Boulder, CO
Gays Hate Techno  Northern California            
Unsound New York, NY   
Recombinant Festival San Francisco, CA 
+++ Many more       
  • Successfully implemented finance management systems for festivals, programs & events, empowering managers & teams to shift from “shoebox bookkeeping” with ease
  • Managed all box office & ticketing operations with $500K income, tracked sales, prepared deposits including cash with multiple venues operating simultaneously for 30K person audience
  • Created production documents, oversaw & scheduled staff, volunteer & artist teams, managed calendars & pre production meetings across multiple time zones, all from a remote office    
  • Curated interdisciplinary programming, spotlighting emergent, cutting edge creative practitioners, developed in both collaborative & independent situations, while keeping programs within budget    ​

Program Manager                                                                           2016 – 2017
Gray Area Foundation for the Arts - Oakland Fire Fund, San Francisco, CA
  • Collaboratively designed & executed an unprecedented disaster relief qualification plan for disbursement of $1.3M, ensuring funds reach marginalized, at-risk & under-represented individuals
  • Managed 200+ cases in Zendesk while assessing needs of affected community & strategizing funds
  • Created secure filing system for claimants in Dropbox, processed / prepared receipts of donation & tax documentation for donors, & tracked income & expenses in Xero
  • Allocated $250K in seed funding & recruited leadership for long-term, grassroots resiliency program

Creative & Managing Director, Co-Founder                               2003 – 2016
Communikey Boulder, CO
  • Managed all festival & event production functions including budgets, general ledger, accounts payable & receivable, payroll, reconciliation, reporting, tax preparation with CPA
  • Succeeded in grant writing, strategic & sponsor partnerships as well as proposal development 
  • Cultivated a happy, resilient, & inspired non-hierarchical team of 80 volunteers who co-created community focused arts projects, encouraging collaborative decision making, skill sharing & individual career or personal development
  • Provided full service processing for performing artist visa applications, streamlined bureaucratic procedures to ensure work permits for countless traveling musicians 

Project & Operations Manager                                                     2015 – 2016
Meow Wolf Santa Fe, NM 
  • Managed $440K material & labor budget & 75 person team, tracking expenses, submitting payroll / accounts payables to CPA while coordinating timeline of changing deadlines with construction contractors & city inspectors to complete project to building code
  • Upon opening of the new facility, established operating staff schedule, set up point-of-sale, payroll & record keeping of 100+ employees, vendors, accounts payable & receivable, worked directly with the CPA to maintain accounting in Quickbooks Desktop & filing tax credit applications
  • Implemented the first health benefits package offered to employees 

General Manager                                                                            2003 – 2010
Espresso Roma Cafe, Boulder, CO
  • Oversaw inventory, ordering, stocking, controlled food & labor costs, submitted payroll to corporate office, processed accounts payable & all staff management 
  • Managed cash register & credit card system including merchant service provider relations, reconciled sales daily & prepared bank deposits  
  • Maintained an inclusive, welcoming environment for staff & customers alike 

I acknowledge that I reside on lands belonging to the Pomo, Kashaya, Wappo, Me-wuk and Ohlone peoples. I honor these lands and their longstanding stewards. ​

Say Hi 👋🏾​

Copyright © 2025
  • about
  • Consulting
  • CURRICULUM VITAE
  • portfolio + gigography
  • dj mixes
  • contact
  • Holiday Bake Sale