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, BA
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.
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.