Anthony Jackson, Board Co-Chair
Director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre
Region: East Bay | County: Alameda | City: Berkeley

Anthony Jackson (he/him) currently serves as the Director of the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre. In this role he oversees all of Berkeley Rep’s educational programming. Before coming to Berkeley Rep, he worked in the community engagement department at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., teaching in all of its education programs and managing community partnerships and training programs.  Anthony is a multi disciplinary theatre artist. As an actor he has toured the U.S. and has performed with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Olney Theatre, Arena Stage, and other regional theatres. As director and theatre deviser, he has traveled to India and Croatia as a guest artist with the U.S. Department of State. Anthony has also presented workshops at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, Theatre Communications Group Conference, as well as the Southeastern Theatre Conference. In 2019 he was selected to be a member of the artEquity cohort.

Aimee Espiritu, Board Co-Chair
Founder of Espiritu Consulting
Region: San Francisco | County: San Francisco | City: San Francisco

Aimee Espiritu, M. Ed (she/they) launched Espiritu Consulting in October 2017 based on her 10 years of experience providing Management in the Arts as well as Strategic Planning and Partnerships, for non-profit organizations and school districts. Prior to this, Aimee was an Arts Educator and Administrator for 14 years with a primary focus of engaging young people in classrooms, museums and arts programs through creative youth development, curriculum design, exhibit development, and peer-to-peer training.

Ashleigh Worley
Director of Education & Community Engagement at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Region: North Bay | County: Sonoma | City: Santa Rosa

Ashleigh Worley (she/her) currently serves as the Director of Education & Community Engagement at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, sitting on DEI, Marketing, and Strategic Board committees. In addition to her work at LBC, she is the co-chair of the Sonoma County Arts Education Alliance Steering Committee. Ashleigh specializes in arts integration, curriculum creation, and program development, also holding teaching credentials in California and North Carolina. In April 2020 she started Education Leaders of Arts Organizations (ELAO) of Sonoma County and is a co-author of 2019 Sonoma County Arts Education Framework. The North Bay Business Journal highlighted Ashleigh in April 2021 as one of their 40 Business Leaders Under 40.

Chinchin Hsu
Program Manager at Performing Arts Workshop
Region: San Francisco | County: San Francisco | City: San Francisco

Chinchin (she/her/她), was born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She has trained in modern, contemporary, Chinese martial art, Chinese ballet, Tai-chi, improvisation ballet, and dance composition. In 2008, Chinchin moved to San Francisco and has danced with many local and international dance makers. Chinchin joined Performing Arts Workshop in 2008 as a teaching artist teaching movement arts like Kong Fu, Tai Chi and creative movements, and later became an artist mentor supporting other teaching artists; in 2020, Chinchin became the artist mentor manager assisting the structural development, artist learning and growth events, and as part of anti-racist committee. Chinchin is currently the program manager at Performing Arts Workshop. With the rounded experience from being in the studio, classroom, and administrative offices, Chinchin shares the voice and knowledge of an active dance maker, a teaching artist, and a program manager. Chinchin is a foodaholic, karaoke hugger, and family lover when she is not working.

Gabriela Yoque
Media, Arts, and Culture Director at RYSE Youth Center
Region: Richmond | County: West Contra Costa | City: Richmond

Gabriela Yoque (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and activist whose work is grounded in community, identity, and healing. With a BA in Studio Arts and Computer Science and an MFA in Printmaking, Gabriela brings a multimedia approach to their artistic and educational practice. Currently serving as the Media, Arts, & Culture Director at RYSE, they oversee programming across video, music, performing arts, and visual arts — both onsite and offsite — while also contributing to the field of creative youth development and community arts leadership.

Gabriela has taught in local high schools and supported teaching artists and young people across the East Bay, using the arts as a tool for self-expression, identity development, generational healing, and social justice education. They are passionate about creating spaces where young people can take risks in their self-expression, be vulnerable, and grow. At the core of their work is a commitment to building inclusive, liberatory environments where youth are empowered to lead, question, and create boldly.

Kadin Nutt
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Dream Art Industries
Region: North Bay | County: Napa | City: American Canyon

Kadin Nutt (he/him), is an artist, entrepreneur, and arts advocate from American Canyon. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dream Art Industries, a community-driven resource where emerging artists come to network, get discovered, and find opportunities. As an artist, his focus is on literary arts and spends a large chunk of his time working on narratives, novels, and screenplays. He sees art as a gift and is humbled at the opportunity to serve and pay it forward through advocacy, creativity, and innovation.

Kelsey Rieger Olsen
K-12 Manager of Curriculum and Instruction at San José Museum of Art
Region: South Bay/Peninsula | County: Santa Clara | City: San Jose

Kelsey Rieger (she/her) is an educator, administrator, and arts advocate. In 2023, she joined San José Museum of Art as the K-12 Manager of Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to this role, Kelsey worked at arts education organizations in the Peninsula at Community School of Music and Arts as the Senior Arts Program Manager, and with the North Bay organization Youth in Arts as the Program Director. She has spent over a decade cultivating educational resources and accessibility initiatives in arts nonprofits, museums, and community gallery settings for visitors and contemporary artists of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. She is dedicated to co-constructing infrastructure for equitable arts access in schools and in the community, prioritizing the ongoing need for creativity as a developmental tool to advance youth and adult agency in the classroom, at home, and in shared civic spaces.

Kimberly Vernon
Teaching Artist and Santa Clara Arts Now Leader
Region: South Bay | County: Santa Clara | City: Santa Clara

Kimberly Vernon (she/they) is an artist, arts educator, and arts advocate born and raised in the South Bay. A magna cum laude graduate from California State University Fullerton, Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Theatre Arts and Cinema Television Arts as well as a minor in American Studies. She’s worked for numerous performing arts organizations throughout California including Vanguard Music and Performing Arts, Audacity Performing Arts Project, Starting Arts, Center Theatre Group LA, and Children’s Musical Theatre San Jose. Currently, Kimberly works as a Performer Educator with Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre, where she helps serve hundreds of schools throughout Northern California through utilizing theatre as a medium to educate youth about their health.

Lauren Tannous
Program Director for Leap Arts in Education
Region: San Francisco | County: San Francisco | City: San Francisco

Lauren Tannous (she/her) grew up on the San Francisco Bay Peninsula. Lauren serves as the Program Director for Leap Arts in Education where she utilizes her passion for educational equity, social justice, and arts education to keeps students at the center of her work. Additionally, Lauren has worked as a professional theatre technician, stage director, and teaching artist with YPTMTC, Bay Area ETC, the San Mateo Union High School District, and various other companies for over ten years. Bringing with her years of experience working with Special Education, after school programs, recreational arts programs, and educational theatre, Lauren is excited to be joining the Arts Education Alliance (AEA) of the Bay Area. Lauren currently resides in Oakland with her husband and two dachshunds.

Mina Mangewala
Hayward Unified School District Visual and Performing Art Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA)
Region: East Bay | County: Alameda | City: Hayward

Mina Mangewala (she/her) is a Visual and Performing Art Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) in the Hayward Unified School District. Prior to work as a VAPA TOSA, Mina was an elementary classroom teacher for 19 years. Her primary focus as the Visual and Performing Arts TOSA for Hayward Unified is working towards creating more equitable arts opportunities for all of Hayward students. Mina also works with elementary school teachers on ways to more deeply integrate arts into their curriculum. She has passion for all things dance, especially dances and music of the African Diaspora, and brings that into her work as an educator and leader for arts education.

Patricia Zamora
Community Engagement Specialist at the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST)
Region: San Francisco | County: San Francisco | City: San Francisco

Patricia Zamora (she/her) is a Community Artist, who honors her traditions, culture, family, and community as part of her creative social practice. Her aspiration is for personal, collective, and ancestral healing that leads to larger systemic change. She is a Circle-Keeper and founded the first Restorative Based Peer Jury Program for the Chicago Public Schools. Her previous experience includes: Director of Citywide Creative Arts at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco; Advisory Board – Arts Education Alliance for the Bay Area; and Community Artist Intern for Southern Exposure and Mission Girls. She currently works for the Community Arts Stabilization Trust as a Community Engagement Specialist in the Bay Area and is the Lead Staff for SF Dreaming Spaces. Currently, she is an Alumni and Facilitator for A PLACE OF HER OWN (PLACE) in the Bay Area and in the Central Valley at 7 Generations Coming Home art & cultural space for families and community.

Shanna Bowie
Director of Community Programs at Pacific Center
Region: East Bay | County: Alameda | City: Berkeley

Shanna Bowie (she/her) is the Director of Community Programs at Pacific Center, where she works to create a safe environment where community can thrive. She holds a BA in Africana Studies from Brown University. After moving to the Bay Area over 15 years ago, Shanna has worked with young people through arts programs including Youth Art Exchange, Oakland School for the Arts, and most recently, Destiny Arts Center.

In addition to her work in arts, education, and advocacy, Shanna is a podcaster and writer. Through shelter-in-place, she put those skills to work hosting the Creating Connections panel series to discuss a range of community issues including equity, consent and bodily autonomy, and youth leadership around the globe.

Shanna loves museums, dance parties, and superheroes (not necessarily in that order).