“Having personally viewed Streetside in the classroom, I believe it is a wonderful program that brings not only knowledge, but joy and deep levels of engagement.”

— Susan Stauter, Artistic Director, San Francisco Unified School District

ADMINISTRATIVE

Linda Johnson, Executive Director
Linda Johnson has been involved with agencies that serve youth for over fifteen years. Prior to beginning her work as Executive Director of Streetside Stories in 2001, Linda worked with at-risk youth in a youth crisis shelter and a drop-in community center. As a program director for Mercy Housing California, she developed and oversaw programs for youth and families before moving into fund development. She holds a BA in English from Ohio State University and an MSW from the University of Iowa.
linda-at-streetside-dot-org

Melissa Wong Renati, Administrative Coordinator
A native San Franciscan and graduate of Lowell High School and U.C. Berkeley, Melissa performs with Opera Piccola (“Small Works”) in their original musical folk tales series, and has also taught in their theme residency programs. She also taught Theater Arts/Creative Movement for Performing Arts Workshop’s (PAW) and Richmond District After School Collaborative’s (RDASC) programs at SFUSD elementary schools. A singer/actor, she performed and toured in France, Santa Fe, NM, and California venues with Word for Word Performing Arts Company’s production of Amy Tan’s Immortal Heart. She has also performed with TheatreWorks, George Coates Performance Works, Asian American Theater Company’s New Works Incubator Program; and has sung at the Classical Music Festival in Newport, RI, at the Summer Arts Festival in Fairbanks, AK, and at the Bracebridge Dinner pageants at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. Melissa is currently cantor/song leader at Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.
melissa-at-streetside-dot-org

DEVELOPMENT, OUTREACH AND MARKETING

Page McBee, Outreach Coordinator
Page is a long time writer-in-residence at San Francisco's School of the Arts (SOTA). She has co-curated and co-organized the San Francisco event series "Go." as well as the Pittsburgh arm of the reading series, "K'vetsh." In 2008, Page served as the Literary Arts Curator for SFUSD's district-wide Young at Art event. Page has worked with youth at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, the Academic Talent Development Program at UC-Berkeley, and at the Academy of Arts and Sciences in San Francisco. Page's writing can be found in multiple print and online publications, as well as on her website. Page holds an MFA in creative writing from San Francisco State, and a BFA in creative writing from Emerson College.
page-at-streetside-dot-org

Beverly Estrellas Mislang, AmeriCorps VISTA Fundraising Associate
Beverly is excited to join Streetside Stories as an AmeriCorps VISTA Member. In college, she worked with Downtown Los Angeles youth as a mentor and tutor. She also served as a director of an outreach organization aimed at providing educationally disadvantaged students with the tools and resources to navigate their way into higher education. With a background in organizing programs to build young people’s critical thinking skills and community consciousness, she is drawn to Streetside’s breadth of creative and empowering programs. Prior to joining AmeriCorps, she interned with the development team at Habitot Children’s Museum and served as a volunteer fundraiser with the Tibetan Aid Project. Beverly holds a BA in History and Political Science, with a concentration in International Relations from UCLA. Her interests include learning Arabic, blogging, and hiking.
beverly-at-streetside-dot-org

Shannon Petrello, Development Director
Shannon is grateful to her family and teachers for nurturing her love of creative expression. After studying at the Joffrey Ballet and Alvin Ailey schools, she earned a BA in Film from UC Berkeley, and an MFA from Southern Ilinois University. Her thesis on representations o f gender roles and war received awards both locally and abroad. Her work with non-profits includes direct service, fundraising, and program management. Shannon is inspired by Streetside’s work to keep storytelling alive and exciting for young people. She also serves as the art editor for Tea Party, a progressive arts and culture magazine, teaches photography at UC Berkeley’s art studio, and is an avid birdwatcher. 
shannon-at-streetside-dot-org

Gina Rosales, AmeriCorps VISTA Outreach Associate
Gina has been working with youth in after-school programs for the past 4 years. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Philosophy and a minor in Education, through which she volunteered and helped coordinate literacy programs such as DUSTY (Digital Underground Storytelling Through Youth) and Cubnet. Gina is also highly engaged with the Bay Area hip-hop dance community. She has been a company dancer with Funkanometry SF for the past 6 years and has performed nationally and internationally in Colombia and the Philippines. In 2006, she was appointed Executive Director of Funkanometry SF, and in 2008 she co-founded the Funkbrella Dance Academy, a nonprofit performing arts organization. She is also the producer of “The Sockhop,” a professional hip-hop dance showcase in SF.
gina-at-streetside-dot-org

PROGRAMS

Chrissy Anderson-Zavala, Co-Deputy Director, In-School Programs
Chrissy is a Xicana writer from Salinas, California. She studied and taught poetry in June Jordan’s Poetry for the People at UC Berkeley, where she graduated with a dual degree in English Literature and Peace and Conflict Studies. In Salinas, she tutored young people with a focus on youth activism and community violence prevention. She worked with WritersCorps for three years. She also worked as a teaching artist and teacher coach with the Performing Arts Workshop. She received her Master of Arts degree in Education with a concentration in Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from Stanford University. She was a recipient of the SF Arts Commission 2009 Cultural Equity Individual Artist grant.
chrissy-at-streetside-dot-org

Tara Dorabji, Co-Deputy Director, Community Programs
Tara Dorabji came to Streetside Stories in 2005. She brings with her several years of grassroots organizing experience with Tri-Valley Cares in Livermore. Tara graduated with honors in Environmental Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She is a dedicated social justice activist who works on peace, disarmament, environmental and education issues. Tara is a spoken word poet. She’s also worked with youth teaching organic gardening and developed youth programs and curriculum.
tara-at-streetside-dot-org

José Arriaga, Community Programs Artist Facilitator
José is a filmmaker, editor, and teaching artist. Based in San Francisco, José is a freelance editor, cutting and assisting on various feature, short, and documentary films in addition to television and commercial productions. At Streetside Stories, he has produced hundreds of short films by Bay Area youth, and he has also produced international short films by Colombian youth with Viajes Personales/Personal Journey’s. In 2007, Arriaga, a first-generation Mexican-American, edited Viajes Personales, a short documentary and video workshop series that visited marginalized Afro-descendant communities in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Venezuela. Arriaga also operated assistant camera and was a workshop facilitator for the project, which was sponsored by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and the Inter-American Foundation.
jose-at-streetside-dot-org

Maria Candelaria, Storytelling Exchange Artist Facilitator
Maria is excited to be part of Streetside this year. For many years, she has worked as an educator in the San Francisco Unified School District and as a recreational counselor and arts facilitator at the Randall Museum. She holds a BA in Sociology from UC Berkeley. She is a long-time member of the critically acclaimed El Teatro Campesino, producing, directing, and acting in many of their classic plays, as well as facilitating theater workshops and classes. As an actor, Maria has performed with many Bay Area theater companies, including Intersection for the Arts, Word for Word, Thick Description, Shotgun Players, Aurora Theatre and in several commercial and independent films.
maria-at-streetside-dot-org

Aristel de la Cruz, Community Programs Artist Facilitator
Aristel was born and raised in San Francisco. He attended San Francisco State University and has received his Masters in Education with an emphasis in Equity and Social Justice. He has worked closely with students of all ages and backgrounds throughout San Francisco as a teacher, tutor, and community worker. He is also heavily involved with using hip hop whether as a emcee, producer, or event organizer in cultivating critical consciousness and community engagement among all people.
aristel-at-streetside-dot-org

Noelle de la Paz, Teacher Coach
Noelle joined Streetside in 2007 and is excited every year continue to serve young people in the Bay Area. She was born and raised in San Francisco, and earned her degree in American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz where she was involved in student-initiated outreach and mulitcultural theater. Over the past seven years she has been doing youth programming in an array of creative and academic settings with elementary- to high school-aged youth. Always inspired by the act of writing and its ability to empower communities, Noelle also works at Aunt Lute Books, a small independent press that has been publishing women's literature since 1982.
noelle-at-streetside-dot-org

Tiffany Golden, Community Programs Artist Facilitator
Tiffany Golden has been working with youth for ten years as an instructor. Her
passion for youth development began after she graduated from the Academy
of Art University. She divides her time between Streetside Stories and
making feature films. Tiffany deeply believes in the healing power of art
and expression, and is grateful to be a part of Streetside Stories.
tiffany-at-streetside-dot-org

Chelsea Rae Klein, Tech Tales Artist Facilitator
Chelsea holds a degree in Journalism with an emphasis on Documentary Photography and has been a working documentarian and fine art photographer for many years. Chelsea has been a published contributor to numerous publications including The Oakland Tribune and Photographer’s Forum. Chelsea has also been a dedicated youth-worker for nearly a decade, committed to social justice and empowerment of marginalized communities, using photography and the arts as a platform for change. She is the founder of Through the Lens Project, a not-for-profit program that offers free and subsidized workshops to non-profit organizations and underserved individuals in digital media, writing, and photography. She is also the founder and editor of Descry Magazine, a visual art publication developed to support the visibility of emerging photographers and artists. Chelsea lives and works in San Francisco and believes in a holistic and integrated approach to community, self-empowerment, and the arts.
chelsea-at-streetside-dot-org

Cecilia Ottinger Long, Master Teaching Artist, Storytelling Exchange
Cecilia has an extensive background in education, ranging from policy research and lobbying to teaching and tutoring. Cecilia is also an academic coach with the East Bay Center for Performing Arts. Cecilia's passion is singing jazz and acting. She has produced two CDs and performs regularly at several clubs in the Bay area. She has also performed at clubs and jazz festivals internationally. Cecilia is also an inspirational vocalist and performs at several Unity and Religious Science churches in the Bay Area. She is currently working on a one-woman show and CD, and conducts jazz performance workshops. As an actress, Cecilia has performed with George Coates Theater Works and the Ross Valley Players. She holds a Master's in Public Administration from George Washington University and a Bachelors' in Social Welfare from the University of DC.
cecilia-at-streetside-dot-org

Julian Martinez, Tech Tales Artist Facilitator
Julian is an artist, writer, and is cofounder and director of a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of precolumbian history and culture throughout North and South America. Weaving ties to indigenous communities throughout the western
hemisphere, Julian participates and oversees various projects that demonstrate life as art. Julian holds B.A.s in Ethnic Studies and Xicana/o studies from UC Berkeley. He has worked with youth programs for seven years. His goal is to help young people enhance the the art of living, along with their enthusiasm and energy.
julian-at-streetside-dot-org

Erika Padilla-Morales, Media Arts Coach
Erika is a blatina boricua with a passion for music, the arts, and their ability to galvanize communities. She's been involved in Bay Area CBOs since 1998, starting with Destiny Arts Center. In 2000, she was introduced to Web development as a student at the Bay Area Video Coalition's MediaLink, and a year later she was hired by MediaLink to provide technology training to low-income adults in transition, preparing them to work in the technology sector. From 2002 - 2006, she worked with San Francisco's young women with GirlSource as a Technology Educator and Technology director through the Technology & Leadership Program, serving as program facilitator, youth mentor, web developer, and media producer. During the past two years she also volunteered with Streetside’s Tech Tales program. Erika considers it a dream come true to continue to work in the digital inclusion movement as Streetside staff with the Digital Teachers program, as well as through her continued involvement with the Full Circle Fund Technology Circle, and Oakland H.E.R.O.E.S Read-Aloud Day. When she's not working with youth she loves to explore people's stories in audio form, plunge down rapids river rafting, and dance barefoot to salsa.
erika-at-streetside-dot-org

Pedro Reyes, Community Programs Artist Facilitator
Pedro recently graduated from New College of California, where he earned his teaching credential with a BCLAD in Spanish and is an alumni of San Francisco State University . He has worked with organizations such as CARE, Barrios Unidos, HOMEY, New College Of California, East Oakland Community High School, and FLASHPOINTS, as well as radio shows like La Onda Bajita on KPFA and Free Radio Santa Cruz 101.1FM.
pedro-at-streetside-dot-org

Karla Robinson, Community Programs Artist Facilitator
Karla Robinson is an artist/activist who uses autobiographical writing and theatre as a tool to encourage people to reflect on their lives and tell their own stories in their own words. For the past 12 years she has facilitated theatre and writing workshops to all ages including work with WritersCorps (program of the San Francisco Arts Commission), The Red Ladder Theatre Company (the outreach company of the San Jose Rep), Each One, Reach One (a playwriting program for incarcerated youth) and the SISTERS Program (a holistic substance abuse program at SF County Jail). In addition, Karla is a doula and has facilitated rites of passage workshops for women and girls. She works with with Starfish Theatreworks writing and performing original work. She is a founding member of The Herstories Projects and has been seen in its productions of TAPESTRY and Bone Songs: Echoes of the Unknown Mother.
karla-at-streetside-dot-org

Ashley Simmons, Community Programs Artist Facilitator
Ashley is ecstatic to join Streetside Stories this year. Previously she has worked as a teaching artist at the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the Carmel Ballet Academy, and The Unusual Suspects with incarcerated youth in Fresno. She received a BA in Theater as Social Action from California State University Monterey Bay and is a passionate director and actor. Ashley has been an activist for five years on women’s rights, anti-war, and immigrant’s rights struggles.
ashley-at-streetside-dot-org

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