Hi folks! I'm Adrian sending out the signal that Sara Tea would love some additional support & a great gift on her bday! With your support she's been able to navigate these past few years to higher ground with her chronic health setbacks & the fog has been clearing to find balance with the amount of energy she has & where her passion lies. As you may know a major part of her career since the late 90s has been in radio/audio & music but when it came to recording she abandoned following that path around 2007 due to lack of spaces where women could get support to properly pursue audio in environments that didn't include hazing & harassment. Since the lockdown her family, friends (and health team) encouraged her to revisit the pieces of herself left behind along the way & we found a great zone of interest in audio engineering while regularly attending Women in Audio Conferences ( https://womensaudiomission.org/ ) as well as resources with Soundgirls ( https://soundgirls.org/ ) and Omni Sound Project ( https://www.omnisoundproject.com/ ) . In these spaces she found an incredible community but also met many similar folks cut from the same fabric. These spaces have filled a void but also sparked a passion which resulted in her releasing music again for the first time in 15 years, while simultaneously chomping at the bit to begin producing & helping others create their own sounds.

In a completely self funded (and produced) project she released her first EP in over 15 years which ended up entering the NACC (North American College Radio Charts) as the ONLY new female artist over 40 which felt incredibly encouraging to continue the pursuit around producing but also audio engineering overall on the backend. Even on her bad health days, with all the losses these past few years she's still be able to still create from bed with a computer & these skills she's learning will last a lifetime in a realm she's already felt supported in but also thrived.

Her interest in furthering audio education goes beyond her own work & producing but also educating & lifting up other marginalized folks in music as well. She's interested in increasing the percentage of women & non binary folks in audio engineering, sound, DJing & beyond. The statistics need to shift & she's now part of communities that are active in changing those numbers & have been mentoring women in music for quite a few years. Stats & research here, it's clear the numbers need to change: https://pitchfork.com/news/women-and-nonbinary-producers-and-engineers-vastly-underrepresented-in-2022s-top-songs-new-study-finds/

This it the first spark she's had since high school to formally pursue education & aftering digging through variou audio programs she was able to find a space that meets her requirements of

1. A space for folks with some experience vs total beginners

2. A compact program (a week long) vs longer term programs she doesn't have the energy for

3. Spaces centered around women

4. Small groups where support & questions can be answered, but also without judgement.

Sara has been regularly visiting Nashville these past few years building relationships with other folks in production & audio where she found out about the Empowering Women in Audio Clinic ( https://azaleamusic.com/ewia ) The next one is October 9-13th 2023 & this is a fundraiser to get her there!

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Breakdown of expenses from Sara focusing on clinic cost, housing & travel expenses:

$1,197.00 to attend Women in Audio clinic (early bird pricing )

$700 for 7 night stay*

$250 for transport/gas expenses**

TOTAL: $2147.00

*$90 + taxes x 7 nights extended stay hotel

**I’ll be driving down over the course of two days with my van which allows me a spot to regroup, store my full supply food/meds, etc.

The $ will cover basic expenses & anything over we’ll put towards food & additional travel expenses!

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We understand that times can be challenging, and there are numerous causes deserving of your attention. Every contribution, no matter what, will make a meaningful difference in Sara’s journey & grateful for any support you can offer which includes even just simply sharing the GofundMe or just supporting Sara with words of encouragement in this next chapter.