Bio
Nick Butler is a creative technologist with over 15 years of working in the academic and creative realms. In 2003 Nick received his bachelor’s degree in computer science. Shortly after graduation he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in animation. From 2003 until 2005 Nick worked in the film, television, fashion, and design industries.
In 2007 Nick was hired as the digital media developer at Pacific Lutheran University’s Digital Media Center in Tacoma WA. The digital media center served as a test bed for the growing role of digital technologies in the classroom and curriculum. This position would launch him into a career in academia where he helped to bridge the gap between technology and operations. Since 2012 he has worked with the University of Washington, Pacific Lutheran University, Folsom Lake Community College, and California State University Sacramento where he serves as an information technology consultant. During his time across multiple institutions he has provided operational leadership, process improvement, and strategic change management.
Alongside his work in academia Nick has always had one foot in the creative realm. Since leaving highschool he has worked on personal creative projects. In 2012 Nick began teaching workshops at the Tacoma public library, which led to an invitation to serve on the Tacoma Arts Commission grant committee. There he had the opportunity to help guide the direction of arts funding for the city of Tacoma.
In 2002 Nick along with a college classmate established Turtledust Media. In 2012 Turtledust Media was accepted into the Spaceworks Program, a program which provided office space to creative businesses. Since relocating to Folsom California Turtledust Media now serves as the umbrella for all of Nick’s creative and design work. In 2021 things really began to pick up for Nick and Turtledust Media. In May of 2020 Nick was accepted into Adobe’s creative residency program. Later that year he won 10,000 dollars from Pepsi Co to fund his webcomic. He used the visibility and money to start a program called Black Animation Entrepreneurs, which focuses on the development, advocacy and support of black animation creatives.
In 2020 Nick became involved with the renaming efforts surrounding Black Miners Bar. This work made it clear to Nick the importance of recognizing the nuance of culture and history in assuring proper representation. It became apparent that there was lots more work to be done. His work with the Committee for Children on their annual anti-bullying campaign, Captain Compassion, is the first step toward his mission to teach others about how creativity can be used to bring about positive change.
