People

Staff

Raúl J. Alcantar, Programs Assistant, is a Bay Area transplant originally from Los Angeles. He began working with 826 in the fall of 2010 through the BAYAC AmeriCorps program. Raúl earned his degree in American Studies with a concentration on education and ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He has years of hands-on experience working with youth development and social justice programs. He enjoys cooking, engaging youth in food justice, and being active in his community.

Justin Carder, Pirate Store Manager and Publishing Director, wears a beard most of the time. He claims it puts the fish in the fish theater at ease. We think it’s because he can’t keep track of his razor. The truth? No one may ever know. But here are some things we do know: Justin started as a volunteer at 826 in 2006; in addition to being the bearded-or-sometimes-not bearded head of the pirate store, he is the coordinator of the Writing & Publishing Apprentices workshop, editor of The 826 Quarterly, and he’s circumnavigated the United States in a Ford F-150 sixteen-passenger van at least six times.

Emilie Coulson, Director of Education, was an 826 volunteer for two years before joining our staff in the fall of 2008. She has worked with English language learners of all ages and in many locations, including the Wisconsin Migrant Education Project, the Farnham Writers’ Center, and the Mid-Maine Regional Adult Community Education Center. She graduated from Colby College with a BA in English, and has published poetry and co-written a musical that takes place in her hometown in Wisconsin.

Anne Farrah, Development Director, is a fifth-generation San Franciscan. Prior to joining us here at 826, she did development and community-relations work for a variety of organizations, always focusing on children- and youth-related issues including education, training, and mental health. She earned a BA in English Literature and Political Science from Loyola Marymount University, and is a life-long lover of books and drinker of tea. She aspires to be an aspiring poet.

Jorge Eduardo Garcia, Programs Director, commutes from Oakland by swimming the cold waters of the bay with a swimmer’s satchel full of oranges. Besides addressing scurvy in the pirate community of the Oakland/San Francisco maritime channel, he has spent fourteen years working as an organizer, educator, teacher, case manager, advocate and mentor to Oakland youth of all ages. His BA in Sociology was earned at Claremont McKenna College, and his DJ title in backyards, ballrooms, and cafes from LA to the Bay. He tinkers, laughs, and volunteers at the EastSide Arts Alliance, an Oakland cultural arts center and performance space of which he is a founding member.

Lauren Hall, Programs Coordinator,was born and raised in the south — Arkansas mostly — and studied Social Justice and American Studies at Hendrix College. Before moving to the Bay Area, she worked with a nonprofit in Little Rock called The Women’s Project where she wrote grant proposals and coordinated a summer program for young women focusing on self-sufficiency, team-building, and creative expression. An essay that emerged from her work was published in the Journal of Social Policy and Lessons from the Field: Organizing in Rural Communities. Lauren has been deeply involved with 826  since the fall of 2005, serving as a Programs and Development Coordinator and later as the Development Director for both 826 Valencia and 826 National. Lauren is the editor of 826 National’s I Live Real Close to Where You Used to Live: Kids’ Letters to Michelle Obama, and serves as a board member for the Bay Area Girls Rock Camp.

Yalie Kamara, Volunteer and Events Coordinator, was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, California. She is a first-generation American who believes in education, the power of self-expression, fresh fruits, and her mother’s couscous. She was a recipient of 826 Valencia’s 2003 Nathan Jillson Memorial Scholarship and has since earned a BA, double majoring in Creative Writing and Languages from the University of California, Riverside and an MA in French from Middlebury College. Prior to working with 826 Valencia, Yalie both studied and taught in Brazil and France.

Leigh Lehman, Executive Director, has been with 826 Valencia since 2005, serving as Programs Director, Development Director, and now Executive Director. Previously, she worked as a middle- and high-school language arts teacher in Louisiana and Massachusetts, an EFL instructor in Northern Thailand, and an online education course developer and project manager here in the Bay Area. She holds a BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University. She has two young children and, thankfully, they both think pirates are pretty cool.

María Inés Montes, Design Director, has a BFA in graphic design from California College of the Arts and nearly ten years of experience working for various advertising and design firms. Before coming to 826, she was the Art Director at Carol H. Williams Advertising in Oakland, where she directed mail campaigns, promotional materials, signage, and web sites.

Valrie Sanders, Finance and Operations Manager, has worked with a variety of for-profit and nonprofit organizations, ranging from arts and media to social and environmental justice issues. She has eleven solid years of experience in fiscal management and administration. Along with developing her career in finance and administration, she has spent the last eighteen years pursuing her artistic career as a dancer. Valrie is currently a member of Dimensions Dance Theater in Oakland and the ballet instructor for Dimensions’ Rites of Passage Program.

Miranda Tsang, Programs Coordinator, is a San Francisco native who earned her BA in English and Sociology/Anthropology with a focus in creative writing at Middlebury College. If you’re wondering where she went to high school, it was St. Ignatius College Preparatory. Miranda has helped out at a marketing company in Madrid, attended the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference for poetry, and archived oral histories for the Vermont Folklife Center. She edits a widely-distributed and well-known newsletter in her spare time. Miranda started at 826 Valencia as an intern in 2008.

Board of Directors

Michael Beckwith is a principal at Maverick Capital, a global investment firm founded in 1993, where he is the Sector Head overseeing the firm’s global industrial and energy investments. Michael rejoined Maverick in 2009 after serving as General Partner of Sequoia Capital, LLP. Michael originally joined Maverick in 2004 after serving as a Senior Vice President at Andor Capital Management and having worked at Robertson Stephens in equity research. Prior to working in the investment world, Michael was the associate director of the Summerbridge AmeriCorps Teaching Program – a federally-funded program that was part of Summerbridge National (re-named Breakthrough Collaborative). Michael received a B.A. from Middlebury College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Michael is currently a Board Member at Central Montana Resources, a privately-held natural resources company.

Barb Bersche is the former president and a partner of McSweeney’s Publishing, LLP. Prior to McSweeney’s, Barb was the art director for Universal Access, a global telecommunications company. She also previously served as the production, circulation, and marketing director for Aspen Magazine. Barb is a founding board member of 826 Valencia, an officer for the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation, and a member of the Marin County Search and Rescue/Mountain Rescue team.

Brian Gray, President, is a professor at UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, where he teaches classes on environmental law, water resources, property rights and environmental regulation, and the American West. He has been awarded both the Hastings Outstanding Professor Award and the William Rutter Award for Excellence in Teaching. Brian received his BA in economics from Pomona College and his JD from UC Berkeley. He has provided pro bono legal representation to a variety of environmental groups, served on the boards of directors of the Berkeley Law Foundation and the Natural Heritage Institute, and chaired the California State Bar Committee on the Environment. Brian has been an after-school tutor at 826 Valencia since 2004, and he also serves on the 826 National board.

Matt Middlebrook has served as a political and communications strategist, working closely with elected and corporate leaders including United States Senator Dianne Feinstein, whom he served for many years both as a campaign and Senate aide and as her Deputy State Director. Following his tenure with Feinstein, Matt became a campaign consultant and among other campaigns managed Jim Hahn’s successful election as Mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. Matt served as a Deputy Mayor in Los Angeles from 2001-2003 before returning to San Francisco. Upon returning to the Bay Area, Matt became a Senior Vice President with the international public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard, leading the Bay Area’s public affairs group. In 2004, he joined the real estate development company Caruso Affiliated as Vice President for Government Relations, overseeing communication and political strategies to attain approvals for new projects. Matt graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Matt frequently volunteers at the 826 Writers’ Room at James Lick Middle School.

Thomas Mike, Treasurer, co-founded TriSpan Partners in 2006 after spending two years at WR Hambrecht + Co where he was a Senior Vice President in the Technology Banking Group. Prior to joining WR Hambrecht + Co in 2004, Thomas was a Vice President in the Systems Banking Group at SoundView Technology Group, a technology focused investment bank that was acquired by Charles Schwab & Co. Prior to SoundView, Thomas was an Associate at Wit Capital, an investment bank that went public in 1999 and ultimately merged with SoundView Technology Group. Before joining Wit Capital, Thomas was a Corporate Finance Analyst at Salomon Smith Barney focused on the Educational Services sector. Thomas holds an AB degree in Economics from Harvard University.

Olive Mitra came to the United States from Calcutta, India and grew up in western New York where he began to develop a love for music, art, theater and literature. After attending Oberlin College and then receiving a MA in Poetry from the University of Rochester, Olive came out to San Francisco to be a musician. Olive plays extensively throughout the Bay Area with several bands and has composed scores for short films, silent films, and an original musical, along with music directing for Killing My Lobster and playing with the Shotgun Players. In 2004, he received his teaching credential and a Masters in Teaching from the New College of California. He currently works at the June Jordan School for Equity, a revolutionary public school in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood teaching English literature, economics, and creative writing. In 2006, responding to a lack of arts instruction at the school, Olive cofounded the June Jordan School for Equity arts program. In the spring of 2011, Olive was the collaborating teacher with 826 Valencia’s Young Authors’ Book Project and is currently piloting a creative writing course in conjunction with 826 Valencia.

Abner Morales was born in Antigua, Guatemala and grew up in Los Angeles. After graduating from Portland State University with an English BA, Abner worked as an assistant to the Migrant Education Program of Oregon. He has served as a Spanish-English interpreter for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and in legal clinics provided by the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the San Francisco Bar Association. Since signing up in 2002, Abner has played every possible volunteer role, including translator, tutor, and events team member. Abner has also been a long-time volunteer orientation leader helping hundreds of volunteers feel welcome in the 826 community. He has been at the heart of the Straight-Up News, our student newspaper at Everett Middle School, since 2007 and offers Spanish and English editorial assistant to the students.

Alexandra Quinn, Secretary, is a freelance development and public relations consultant in the arts. She has worked in arts and education administration for nearly two decades. While working in the communications department at the de Young Museum, she established the first press programs for high-school journalists and encouraged access to all student media outlets. Alexandra has also served as education curator at the Sonoma County Museum, founding program coordinator of The Oxbow School in Napa, and program associate at the Academy of American Poets in New York. Alexandra is co-author of Zen Architecture: The Building Process as Practice, a book about Paul Discoe’s work; and translator of Candy Story, a novel by Marie Redonnet. Alexandra holds a degree in European Studies from Barnard College.

Mary Schaefer, Vice President, is a Vice President for BlackRock iShares, responsible for the institutional marketing channel strategy for pensions, foundations, endowments, and consultants. Mary earned a BA in Journalism from San Francisco State University. She is also a member of CAN, a career advisory network for alumni students at Summer Search San Francisco. Additionally, Mary serves as the Chair of the Program Committee at the Commonwealth Club, and is a former board member/current member of the Bay Area chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association. Mary has volunteered at 826 Valencia since 2003.

Vendela Vida is a workshop teacher at 826 Valencia. She received her MFA in writing from Columbia University, and she is the author of The Lovers, Girls on the Verge, And Now You Can Go, and Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. Vendela founded the award-winning Believer magazine, and she co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film Away We Go.

826 Valencia Co-Founders

Nínive Calegari is a veteran public school teacher and served as the Executive Director of 826 Valencia until 2007 and the CEO of 826 National until 2010. Before teaching in her family’s hometown in Mexico, Nínive worked at Leadership High School, San Francisco’s first charter school, where she also served on the Board of Directors. She holds a Masters of Education in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Nínive, along with two co-authors, published Teachers Have it Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers. In 2007, Nínive was awarded the ‘Daring Dozen’ award from the George Lucas Foundation, recognizing her for effective work in education.

Dave Eggers is the author of seven books including A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and What is the What. He is the editor of McSweeney’s and co-editor of the Voice of Witness series, which is designed to illuminate contemporary human crises through oral history. In 2002, with Ninive Calegari, he co-founded 826 Valencia. He has co-written two screenplays, including 2009′s Where the Wild Things Are. He was named one of TIME Magazine‘s 100 Most Influential People in 2005, and received the 2007 Heinz Award and the 2008 TED prize. His most recent book, Zeitoun, received the 2010 American Book Award.

The staff at 826 Valencia is small compared to the output. There’s absolutely no way we could create hundreds of publications and serve thousands of students annually without a legion of volunteers. This group of superstars works in all realms, from tutoring to fundraising and beyond. They range in age, background, and expertise but all have a shared passion for our work with young people. Here is a sampling of profiles from some of our true-blue regulars.

Jon Adams is a freelance illustrator, designer, and writer who prefers making stuff to sleeping. He’s the creator of Truth Serum – the Eisner-nominated series of graphic novels and a weekly comic which you can read at citycyclops.com. He’s also done work for clients like Wired, McSweeney’s, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Check out his portfolio at hisportfolio.com

Candace Chen began volunteering at 826 Valencia during the summer of 2005 and has been an after-school tutor on Tuesdays for several years. Her favorite subject to tutor is math and she loves rereading her favorite books from childhood with the kids. She is finishing a PhD in history at University of California, Berkeley, and she enjoys baking, crafts, and music.

Burt Meyer is an after-school and summer program volunteer, and was wondering what he would do when he retired from a career as an attorney. Since his mother always wanted him to be a teacher and he had helped two daughters with their homework, he jumped at the opportunity to join 826 as a volunteer in 2004. It was a wise choice and has been a wonderful experience. However, since the last math class Burt took was in 1957, he has some difficulty tutoring fifth grade and above in math. On the brighter side this deficiency has enabled him to meet and converse with the many talented younger tutors who do understand math. Together with the students, Burt is developing a knowledge of math and other contemporary school subjects.

Risa Nye is a Bay Area native. Risa has a Master’s in counseling from the University of California at Berkeley, which she managed to get while raising two small children and producing a third. She is the proud co-editor of Writin’ on Empty: Parents Reveal the Upside, Downside, and Everything in Between When Children Leave the Nest, which, for one brief, shining week, made the San Francisco Chronicle’s Bay Area Best Sellers list. Her granddaughter, Madeleine, is the best grandchild ever.

Amie E. Nenninger loves reading, writing, and problem solving, and she puts these skills to use daily as an educational and developmental tutor and 826 volunteer. Amie graduated from the University of Illinois, spent a year volunteering in schools with AmeriCorps, and studied Australian literature as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. She has been at 826 Valencia since the days when Karl was king, and she enjoys training junior detectives and spreading the good work of 826 to far-flung states across the nation.

Soraya Okuda first got involved with 826 when she was graduating high school, as an intern in the summer of 2009. 826′s unique model of helping kids with literacy/writing/general creativity somehow appealed to a great majority of her interests. She is a full-time student and part-time pirate store representative, and she will cheerfully sell you sand. She loves long walks on the beach, lemons, learning, helping children and senior citizens, and all things 826. Her goal in life is to be a happy, motorcycle-riding, adorable old lady (preferably with teeth).

Tim Ratanapreukskul was born in Los Angeles but has led a multi-regional lifestyle since high school. When Tim was a teenager, he lived and studied in Japan, and went on to live in various parts of the East Coast. The promise of higher education brought him to the Rhode Island School of Design where he studied apparel and graphic design in his undergrad and architecture for his master’s degree. Although Tim is artistically inclined, he has admittedly terrible taste in music. About a year ago, Tim came to San Francisco’s Mission district for the sunshine, but since then has discovered so much more to love about the neighborhood: free yoga, homemade bikes, mandated composting and recycling, cheap Mexican food, the Muni’s J-line, and 826 Valencia.

Karen Wagstaffe is a big fan of 826 Valencia and of all the amazing people who work and volunteer here. Recently semi-retired from her days as the stay-at-home mom of Michael, Emily, Matthew, and Megan, and happily adjusting to an empty nest, she also has a faint recollection of having been a lawyer a couple of decades ago. She has served a stint or two as Mrs. Blue, and since 2005 has come in on Mondays to help Leigh and the other folks in the back office with just about anything.