Leigh Lehman, Executive Director, joined our staff in 2005 as a Programs Director, and became Development Director in 2006. As of June 2007, she serves as the Executive Director of 826 Valencia. She has seven years of experience as a middle and high school English teacher in Louisiana and Massachusetts. She also taught EFL in Northern Thailand for two years. After moving to the Bay Area in 2000, she wrote and edited online courses and resources for K-12 teachers at Classroom Connect. She holds a BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University.
Marisa Gedney, Programs Coordinator, first became involved with 826 Valencia this past year in the Writers' Room at Everett Middle School. For the 2006-2007 school year, she was an Americorps volunteer at the Mission Beacon Center at Everett. Like other Beacon Centers around the city, the Mission Beacon is a community center that offers after-school programming not only for Everett students but also for elementary and high school students in the area. Because her hours at Beacon were mostly after school, and because she loved writing, Marisa began to go to the Writers' Room during the day to work with students on projects like the Straight-Up News.
Lauren Hall, Development and Programs Coordinator, comes to the Bay Area from Arkansas, where she earned a BA in American Studies from Hendrix College. Before coming to 826, Lauren participated in a collaborative book project about social justice and community organizing with the Virginia Organizing Party and her essay was chosen for publication in the Journal of Social Policy in the fall of 2007. She also worked as a development intern at The Women's Project, a small nonprofit in Little Rock, Arkansas, which cultivated her interest in nonprofit fundraising.
Jory John, Programs Manager, has worked as a journalist, copyeditor, freelance writer and cartoonist. He has written for both daily and weekly newspapers. For six years, Jory also wrote for the internationally syndicated comic strip "Dennis the Menace," while marketing his own original comic strip to 15 independent newspapers. In addition, Jory worked for 10 years at Camp Winnarainbow, a performing arts camp for children, teaching songwriting, journalism, guitar and juggling. In his free time, Jory has co-created a t-shirt business and humor website which is updated daily. He majored in journalism at California State University, Chico with an emphasis on news-editorial and was twice named its weekly newspaper's "Best Columnist of the Year."
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.
Erin Neeley, Educational Programs Director, is an English and theater teacher who received her teaching credential from Western Michigan University. She became an 826 volunteer in 2002 and joined our staff in September 2004. Erin is dedicated to theatre in education, social justice reform theater, and working with underserved populations. Prior to joining the staff here at 826, Erin served as an educational programs director for elders, and was once a semi-professional wrestler.
Anna Ura, Pirate Store Director, was raised in Los Angeles by hippies. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has since been an art teacher to middle through high school children, the Editorial Designer for a newspaper, and a working artist. She enjoys painting, reading, being outside and spending quality time with pirate enthusiasts.
Laura Yamaguchi, Programs Assistant, majored in Spanish Literature and minored in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego. As a student, she was involved with campus organizing through the student organization Queer People of Color (QPOC), dedicated to empowering students and outreaching to under-resourced high school students in the greater San Diego County. Her association with the Student Affirmative Action Committee brought her to work for UCSD's OASIS Summer Bridge Program, where she was a discussion facilitator for Summer BridgeÕs social-justice based "Contemporary Issues" curriculum. Finally, Laura held a labor organizing internship as part of the Center for Third World Organizing's Movement Activist Apprenticeship Program.
Nínive Calegari is the cofounder of 826 Valencia and the CEO of 826 National. She is a veteran public school teacher who has had ten years of classroom experience. 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 an MED in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. Ninive was coauthor of Teachers Have it Easy: the Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers. She was also the recipient of Edutopia's 2007 Daring Dozen award, and was appointed to the San Francisco Arts Commission in the spring of 2008.
Joel Arquillos, Director of National Programs, completed eight years as a teacher at Galileo Academy of Science & Technology in San Francisco, where he served as an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) teacher, the school's Associated Student Body Director, and Director of Creative Arts & Media. He is a member of the Bay Area Writing Project and the National Writing Project where he has presented a number of workshops on learning in digital spaces and blogging. Before teaching in public schools, Joel worked for the nonprofit Sonoma County Independent Living Skills as director for a day-program serving adults with severe emotional and behavioral issues.