Co-Founders
Raised in Yelamu, Occupied Ramaytush Ohlone territory now known as San Francisco --we’re a collective of students, educators, cultural workers, and organizers invested in the leadership development of youth of color to lead movements for equity.
We apply our personal, professional, and academic experience to help cultivate the next generation of conscious culture keepers who lead with both traditional and communal forms of artistic expression. We believe that mentorship pipelines are a critical element to developing empowered identities.
our collective
Executive Director & Co-Founder
juana teresa tello, MPH
Juana is a culture keeper and freedom seeker whose skillset meets at the intersection of education, organizing, and the arts. Her profound experience guides this project, as a product of programs that provided outlets for her cultural, creative, and political expression. In 2008, she graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a double Bachelor’s in Latin American Studies and Education, while organizing with movements for racial, economic, educational, and environmental justice. In 2010, Juana organized to win Ethnic Studies in SFUSD while creating leadership pathways that connect the classroom with grassroots organizations. In 2019 she received her Masters in Public Health from San Francisco State University, sharpening her analysis on innovative models of youth development. As an emerging visual artist, she captures the essence of Bay Area culture and movements for self-determination through an urban Indigenous perspective. Her unique multidisciplinary perspective on conscious youth development aims to empower youth as protagonists of their own liberation.
Lead Youth Program Staff & Co-Founder
violet vasquez, AA
Violeta is a youth leader and spoken word artist from Lakeview and Bayview communities, with deep roots across the city. For nearly a decade, she has gained experience in a variety of social justice programs. She is dedicated to cultivating leadership and skills among her peers which have evolved her understanding of systemic injustice and resilience. While pursuing higher education at City College of San Francisco, she contributed to developing a youth-centered approach to our program mentorship model. She facilitates programs and creates curriculum to encourage self-expression and solidarity with asset-based approaches to invoke healing and empowerment, and both the individual and community levels. Violeta is the result of many contributions made by family including community members, nonprofit organizations, and Ethnic Studies.
Artist & Co-Founder
reza harris, JD
Reza is a hip-hop artist raised in Lakeview. Beginning in high school as a client for at-risk youth programs, he accumulated experience working for various community-based organizations for over a decade. In addition to his professional experience as a counselor, case manager, and program leader, he’s an MC, producer, and graffiti artist known to the international underground community as “Dregs One.” In 2015, he completed his B.A. in Africana Studies at San Francisco State University, while also minoring in Race and Resistance Studies. In 2019 Reza graduated from UC Davis School of Law to gain legal resources and professional expertise.
Social Worker & Youth Co-Founder
Lorren dangerfield, Bss
Lorren is a youth leader who was raised in the Bay Area, predominantly in the Bayview. She graduated from Sonoma State University with a double Bachelor’s with distinction in Sociology and American Multicultural Studies, with a concentration in Africana Studies. Lorren has over a decade of combined experience working with youth and young adults throughout their development via cultural programming, personal development, case management, and college success. She is one of the most dedicated, self-motivated, community orientated people on this team. Her dedication goes beyond her family's involvement in this program, she is modest and kind to say the least and transcends barriers and obstacles with grace and persistence.
Visual Artist & Program Staff
Maximillian Martilla, BFA
Max is a fine artist and muralist who graduated in 2011 from the San Francisco Art Institute with a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and has since worked heavily with Precita Eyes Muralists as well as other organizations and schools across the Bay Area. His work as a community muralist allows him to bring youth’s voices to the walls of San Francisco’s streets, schools, parks and beyond. Max recognizes the power of mural making and team building which empowers youth by giving them control over their own visual landscape. His studio paintings reflect these endeavors and a sense of community through a blend of portraiture, abstract landscape and collage.
Musical Artist & Program Staff
Sachiel Rosen, BS
Sachiel is a cultural worker and youth organizer committed to building a movement founded in creative expression, agency, and grassroots organizing. He’s heavily immersed in Hip-Hop culture as a source of healing while utilizing it as a tool to develop critical awareness for social justice and equity. Sachiel is a music producer and beat-maker, who curates projects utilizing music, rhythm, and culture. He mentors the next generation teaching the radical history of Hip Hop while promoting critical thinking about its roots and worldwide influence. He facilitates programs teaching new skills such as Beat-Making, DJing, Break Dancing, Emceeing, and Muralism. Sachiel understands that both organizing and cultural work can be used to create empowered identities and build community.