Carissa Stolting is Co-Founder of Unmanageable and an artist and event manager working at the intersection of visionary music and social justice. She is the founder of Left Bank Artists, a management company built on deep partnership and long-term strategy, whose roster has included internationally celebrated and Grammy Award–winning musicians like Abigail Washburn, Rachel Grimes, Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla, and others whose work bridges tradition, experimentation, and global dialogue. Across nearly two decades, Carissa has built an international music-industry network rooted in trust and creative advocacy—connecting artists based in the American South with audiences and collaborators worldwide. 

Inspired by the innovative visions of artists on the Left Bank management roster, Carissa is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Unmanageable Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports ambitious, large-scale creative projects connecting across history, discipline, culture, and community. Unmanageable has raised over 5M for artists and their creative works, and has helped artists realize complex, boundary-pushing works through inventive fundraising, producing, and project management models.

Carissa previously served as Managing Director of the internationally renowned Big Ears Festival (2018–2019) and began her career in music at AC Entertainment, working closely with founder Ashley Capps on landmark concerts and festivals including Bonnaroo, Moogfest, and Forecastle. Her production work includes co-producing Circle Round Home with Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, serving as Festival Manager for Rhiannon Giddens’ inaugural Biscuits & Banjos festival, and co-producing an annual retreat for civically engaged artists at Rancho La Puerta in Baja California.

Carissa is a board member of experimental chamber ensemble chatterbird, and an advisory board member of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures at University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Carissa holds an M.A. in French & Linguistics and was a French Lecturer before she began working in the music industry.

Celine Thackston

Celine is Co-Founder and Development Strategist for Unmanageable, supporting fundraising and organizational planning. A skilled fundraiser, she has helped to raise millions of dollars each year for a range of nonprofit organizations and individual artists. Clients have included major cultural organizations, human services nonprofits providing aid at both regional and national levels, grassroots groups, social justice institutions, an internationally-recognized music festival, and more. In addition to her work with Unmanageable, Celine serves as the Executive Director of the Hello in There Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by the family of John Prine to celebrate his legacy and generous spirit through community giving. She holds a DMA in Music Performance from the University of Oregon, with supporting studies in Arts Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management. Celine has served as a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts, South Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, New Music USA, and Metro Nashville’s Community Enhancement Fund.

Octavia Yearwood

Octavia Yearwood is Special Projects Director for Unmanageable, working to envision, build, and implement artist-driven projects that ensure artists have the resources needed in order to build and sustain careers. Yearwood is a true maven. She is a native New Yorker who has found success as an award-winning conceptual artist, producer, and life coach. Over the last 15 years, she has produced and curated for The Institute of Contemporary Art, The HistoryMiami Museum, The Bass Museum, The City of Miami Beach, The Soho House, AppleTV, and OUTTV. Yearwood has made her mark in various art mediums from film, to art curation and book publishing. Yearwood was named “Best Author in Miami” by the Miami New Times (2018) and was recognized as an Emerging Arts Leader by Americans for the Arts (2016) and one of the top 40 under 40 Black Leaders by Legacy magazine (2016). Yearwood was the recipient of an Ellie from Oolite Arts (2019) and named Knights Arts Champion by The Knight Foundation (2019), Knight New Work awardee (2019/2020), and Art in Public Places awardee by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs (2022). Her debut docuseries on Black trans Women, "The Tranz Form", was picked in 2020 up by AppleTV and OUTtv. Her self-published book "How The Hell Did You DO That?!” is in 50 MDC Libraries, and her publishing house’s recent release, “Gracias Madre”, from emerging author Tara Benmeleh, is available at the Perez Art Museum. Yearwood's passion is empowering others to win, no matter what that looks like to them. She is known for creating opportunities for others to matter in the community and for self-actualization. Yearwood's motto: Create dope things while elevating unheard voices.