University Advancement’s Welch ’20 Earns Nod From DesignPhiladelphia

Sydney Welch '20, philanthropic giving officer at Arcadia, was nominated for DesignPhiladelphia's Artist Collaborator of the Year award for her work with the Makers Table, a collaborative dinner series she co-founded to connect artists, entrepreneurs, and other creatives.

From her first professional experiences as an Arcadia student to her work today as an entrepreneur, author, and University employee, Welch's career has been shaped by collaboration.

As a student, she held an apprenticeship with Arts Event & Marketing Coordinator and Muralist David Guinn through Arcadia's Public Art Project, where she discovered an interest in project management.

"David really empowered me to lean into what I was best at, rather than trying to make me fit into the box of what most students were doing," Welch said. "I think this really showed me that the best collaborative relationships allow each person to work on and play to their strengths, and when everyone does that, the outcome is the best it can be."

That lesson has continued to influence Welch's work with the Makers Table, which grew from her love of hosting, her co-founder Alex Moncayo's experience in styling and events, and the research Welch conducted for her book, "The Art of Collaboration."

"When I started writing my book senior year at Arcadia, I was reaching out to all sorts of really talented artists and entrepreneurs who I looked up to and wanted to be like," Welch said. "Interviewing them is how my research and book really came together, and so the idea that I am now someone I could have interviewed for my book is really amazing."

This nomination only reinforces Welch's goals of bringing people together.

"Knowing that my work is being recognized among so many other talented professionals is exciting and makes me eager to keep going so we can help expose more people to the power of collaboration," she said.

Welch brings that collaborative mindset back to Arcadia, where her experiences building the Makers Table have informed her approach to building relationships with donors and members of the Arcadia community.

"Hospitality is at the core of both," she said. "Hosting dinners, helping connect people, and socializing in a room full of strangers are aspects of the Makers Table that have made me a better gift officer. My work as a gift officer has helped me learn that different people are motivated by different things, and that ensuring people feel good about whatever they are contributing is really critical for long-lasting relationships. It's important to see the whole person, not just what they are giving or offering."

For Welch, the connections between her time as an Arcadia student and her current work extend beyond the mural apprenticeship.

"I think my time at Arcadia, with the mural apprenticeship, studying abroad, and writing my thesis really gave me tangible skills that have translated directly to what I do now: confidence, communication, independence, flexibility, resilience," Welch said. "Without all of those skills, I wouldn't be able to have success with the pathways I've chosen in these early years of my career."

Welch's commitment to collaboration has created connections that sometimes bridge Welch's work at Arcadia and the Makers Table.

"It's been really exciting when the work overlaps, and some of the relationships from the Makers Table have ended up supporting some of my work at Arcadia and vice versa," she said. "A lot of times, the way a community grows is by introducing and connecting people. There is nothing better than seeing two people you introduced become friends or collaborators."

Vote for Welch as DesignPhiladelphia's 2026 Artist Collaborator of the Year here by Sept. 11, 2026.