 She became the regional coordinator, editor of "The Animator" and coordinator of the Northwest Film and Video Festival at the Northwest Film Center at the Portland Art Museum from 1978 to 1983.Gene Youngblood, one of the jurors of the Northwest Film and Video Festival, encouraged her to apply to Cal Arts, which she did in 1983.In 1988, Priestley founded ASIFA-Northwest with Marilyn Zornado.