Zully Adler, PhD, is the Director of Further Triennial, which will debut across Bay Area museums and art spaces in 2027. Adler’s curatorial projects often focus on art and counterculture in California, including Mythos, Psyche, Eros: Jess & California, co-curated with Nancy Lim at the SFMOMA, and the music anthology Lost Coast: Some Visionary Music from California. He is the recipient of the Watson Fellowship, the Marshall Scholarship, the Shorenstein Research Fellowship, and the Clarendon Scholarship at the University of Oxford.
Félicie Albert is Director of the Jupiter Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She uses powerful lasers to create new sources of high-energy particles and x-rays for science experiments and societal applications. She received a PECASE in 2019 and a DOE Early Career Research Program Award in 2016. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and Optica, and serves as Chair of the APS Division of Plasma Physics.
Isis Asare is the founder and CEO of Sistah Scifi (www.sistahscifi.com), the first Black-owned sci-fi and fantasy bookstore in the U.S, and Executive Director of SFWA. She is the former Executive Director of Aunt Lute Books and holds degrees from Stanford, Columbia Business School, and Harvard University.
Edgar Auslander is a senior technology executive, entrepreneur, and investor with 35+ years of experience building companies and originating landmark partnerships across AI, AR/VR, semiconductors, and wearables – most notably as the originator of Meta’s EssilorLuxottica partnership and the product definition of the Ray-Ban Meta AI smart glasses. He co-founded Texas Instruments’ Wireless Business Unit (grown to $5B+ revenue), served as a Kauffman Fellow VC at VantagePoint Venture Partners, held board seats at QuickLogic and The AR Alliance, and served as SVP at IXI Mobile (SPAC exit) and founded Menlo Business Partners (menlobp.com). A Senior Member of IEEE, he teaches Management of Change and Business Negotiating at UC Berkeley Extension, lectures at Haas School of Business and Stanford, and holds an MBA from Columbia, and an MEEng from Cornell.
Terah Bajjalieh is a California winemaker, sommelier, and founder of Terah Wine Co., crafting intentional wines that champion underrepresented Mediterranean varietals and organic farming practices. With 14 harvests across five countries and a Master’s degree in Enology from France, she brings a global perspective to California winemaking. Her wines—described by the New York Times as “superb” and recognized in Wine Enthusiast’s Future 40 Tastemakers 2024—are vibrant, textured, and built for connection. As a female, LGBTQ+, Arab American winemaker, Terah is committed to elevating lesser-known voices and varietals in the wine industry.
Harmonic Drift invites all ages into a hands-on sound playground built from found and recycled objects. With light facilitation and lots of freedom, participants explore texture, rhythm, and resonance through junk-made instruments. No musical experience needed—just curiosity, listening, and a willingness to play.
Annie is a interdisciplinary research scientist working in kelp forest restoration for the non-profit organization, Reef Check, for the last four years. Previously, she has lived and worked in Australia, working in marine conservation and waterway management.
JD Beltran is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, writer, and creative infrastructuralist.
Beltran’s artwork has been exhibited worldwide including at the Walker Art Center and the International Film Festival Rotterdam, and she has achieved grants from Artadia, Skowegan, and the Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation. Beltran also has served on the SF Arts Commission for over 16 years, founded the Center for Creative Sustainability, and is the Co-Founder, with author Dave Eggers, of the free art residency & arts hub Art + Water.
Krishna Mohan Bhatt is one of the leading sitar virtuosos of our time, carrying forward the Maihar-Senia lineage of Ustad Allauddin Khan as a disciple of the legendary Pandit Ravi Shankar. His music is known for its lyrical depth and expressive beauty, blending vocal nuance with instrumental virtuosity. Critics have praised his performances for their “extraordinary richness and definition…great melodic beauty” (The New York Times) and “exceptional craftsmanship and artistry” (San Francisco Chronicle). A prolific composer and cultural ambassador, he has collaborated with artists including Zakir Hussain, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Kronos Quartet, and Terry Riley. Honored with the Gunijan Award by the President of India, Bhatt continues to perform and teach internationally from India and New York.
Eric Blaze is a Parisian record store owner, artist, DJ, label manager, and internationally renowned music producer who lived nearly twenty years in New York. There, he made a name for himself at A1 Records and Academy Records, two of the city’s most respected vinyl shops, and produced numerous legendary artists such as KRS-One, La Mafia K’1 Fry, D.I.T.C, Infamous Mobb, and many others.
Déborah Blocker (ENS Ulm, L 1990) is Professor of French and an affiliated faculty in Italian Studies at University of California Berkeley. She is affiliated with the Designated Emphasis (DE) in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, with the Berkeley Centre for the Study of Religion (BCSR), with the Doctoral Degree in Romance Languages and Literatures, and with the Department of Italian Studies.
She is also a founding member of the Groupe de Recherches Interdisciplinaires sur l’Histoire du Littéraire or GRIHL (EHESS/Paris). She specializes in the social and political history of literary practices in early modern Europe, with a particular interest in theater, philological practices, academies, poetics and the history of aesthetics. The history of the book, manuscript culture and paleography are also part of her fields of expertise and play an important role in her teaching.
George Brooks is an award-winning saxophonist and composer, acclaimed for successfully bridging the worlds of jazz and Indian classical music. A long time associate of Terry Riley and Krishna Bhatt, Brooks is the founder of Summit with Zakir Hussain; Bombay Jazz with Ronu Majumdar and Larry Coryell; Raga Bop Trio with Steve Smith and Prasanna; Kirwani Quartet with Hariprasad Chaurasia and Elements with Kala Ramnath and Gwyneth Wentink. His albums, “Lasting Impression”, “Night Spinner”, “Summit” and “Spirit and Spice”, are regarded as groundbreaking work in the realm where jazz and Indian classical music intersect.
Angela Carrier is a mother and cultural producer whose work centers diasporic narratives through the arts. Angela has held leadership roles at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, California Historical Society and Brava! For Women in the Arts. Currently a Senior Program Manager at the San Francisco Arts Commission, she stewards equity-focused public art initiatives, facilitates community dialogue around civic memory, and supports artists reimagining how legacy is represented in public space.
Dr. Cerioli is Chief Scientist and cofounder of everyoneAI, a nonprofit focused on anticipating, educating, and assessing AI’s risks and opportunities for children. Her work examines how AI intersects with cognitive and socioemotional development.
With the Paris Peace Forum, she helped launch the iRAISE Alliance, a global coalition of governments, technology companies, researchers, and NGOs working to align AI with healthy brain development.
everyone.AI is a global nonprofit dedicated to ensuring Artificial Intelligence serves children, adolescents, and young adults (0–25) whose brains are still developing. We bring together researchers, governments, industry leaders, and educators to anticipate AI’s risks and opportunities through a child-centered, science-based lens. Through research, education, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, we promote ethical, developmentally aligned AI design and use.
everyone.AI co-leads the international alliance iRAISE with the Paris Peace Forum to advance beneficial, children-first AI worldwide.
Amanda Chaudhary is a composer, bandleader, electronic musician, jazz keyboardist, and visual/sound artist. She blends experimental electronic sounds with jazz, funk, dance music and other idiomatic styles into her visually captivating performances. She is also the author of the popular blog CatSynth and its companion video channel CatSynth TV, where she discusses music, art, culture, and of course, cats.
Leigh Crow is the iconic face behind the world’s first drag king Elvis impersonator, Elvis Herselvis! Leigh has performed in hundreds of historic music venues, bars, and stages all over the world. You may have seen her as Captain Kirk in the hit smash Star Trek Live! Whether she’s commanding the Enterprise or croonin’ to make you swoon, Leigh Crow knows how to show you a good time.
Ruby Vixen is a three-ring circus in the shape of a woman! A multi-faceted entertainer, designer and singer, she’s performed all over the bay for the last 16 years. When she’s not performing in cabarets and dance halls she is the co-lead singer (with her fabulous partner Leigh Crow) of the Queer Country music sensation Velvetta! Sass, style, and queer-camp sensibilities are the hallmarks of this sensational Vixen.
Al-Juthoor (“roots” in Arabic) is a Dabke dance group centered in Arab and Palestinian culture and resistance. Rooted in olive groves and villages, our art is inspired by the struggle and steadfastness of those who remain in the land despite ongoing dispossession. Our songs and movements carry our people’s stories, both of celebration and resistance to oppression and settler colonialism. Al-Juthoor Dabke aims to empower our community and youth to take pride in our heritage and culture. Through our work in the diaspora, we collaborate with Indigenous peoples and communities of all backgrounds who use art as a tool for justice and liberation.
Sabine de Maussion is a cultural strategist. A former French Cultural Attaché and Director of Villa Albertine San Francisco, she previously worked at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and held cultural leadership roles across Europe and the Middle East. She pursued doctoral research at Goldsmiths, University of London, and has taught in curatorial and visual studies. She co-founded the award-winning education technology startup MakerBrane and now advises cultural organizations internationally at the intersection of arts, education, and innovation.
Mario Del Pero is Professor of International History at the Centre d’Histoire of Sciences Po, Paris, where he teaches courses on U.S. history, twentieth- and twenty-first-century global history, and transatlantic relations. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI) in Milan.
He has been named 2026/7 Kissinger Chair at the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress. He is the author of numerous scholarly books and articles. In 2025, he published Buio Americano. Gli Stati Uniti e il Mondo nell’Era Trump (Il Mulino) and In the Shadow of the Vatican (Cambridge University Press). He is also regular columnist for the Italian daily newspapers Il Domani and Il Giornale di Brescia. His opinion pieces have appeared in major international outlets, including The Washington Post, Le Monde, The Guardian, Le Figaro, and Los Angeles Times.
Jennifer (Jen) Dionne is a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and, by courtesy, of Radiology at Stanford. She is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, deputy director of Q-NEXT (a DOE National Quantum Initiative), and co-founder of Pumpkinseed, a company developing quantum sensors to understand and optimize the immune system. From 2020-2023, Jen served as Stanford’s Inaugural Vice Provost of Shared Facilities, raising capital to modernize instrumentation, fund experiential education, foster staff development, and support new and existing users of the shared facilities.
Kaleb Duarte is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice engages sculpture, performance, and community collaboration to examine histories of labor, migration, and belonging. Migrating from northern Mexico at an early age, he was raised in the farmworking rural communities of California’s Central Valley, experiences that continue to shape his work. His projects often take the form of temporary, site-responsive installations built from construction materials such as earth, cement, scaffolding, and objects suggesting provisional shelter. Through improvised rituals and the creation of objects as social platforms, Duarte addresses the material and metaphysical disconnection of contemporary life, pointing to the erosion of ancestral practices of gathering and collective memory. He co-founded EDELO (En Donde Era la ONU / Where the United Nations Used to Be), an experimental, now nomadic residency that has supported collaborative projects such as Zapantera Negra, bringing Zapatista aesthetics into dialogue with the visual language of the Black Panther Party through workshops, murals, performances, and exhibitions.
laura elaine ellis has curated and facilitated community conversations for numerous events including: Dance Discourse Project (2016); Walking Distance Dance Festival – Soul to Soul: a response to Baldwin & Coates (2018); Black Choreographers Festival: Here & Now’s Q & As (2016 – present); SF Dance Film Festival’s Q & As (2017-present) – valuing the space and time for meaningful discourse and community connection.
Tom Esposito is an astronomer with 15+ years of experience who leads the science operations for San Francisco startup SkyMapper in its mission to observe “all the sky, all the time”. At the SETI Institute & UC Berkeley, he manages far-reaching citizen science programs that include NASA-funded exoplanet discoveries and monitoring supernova explosions and uses world-class telescopes to directly image forming planetary systems.
Featuring Bay Area artists Carlos Aguirre (aka Infinite), Keith Pinto, Tommy Shepherd (aka Emcee Soulati), and Dan Wolf, hip hop theater collective Felonious has been a force in the Bay Area theater and music scene for more than 25 years. In the wake of Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary, THE BAG tells a poignant and electrifying story about the sacrifices you make for your art. THE BAG aims to create an audio and theatrical experience that pushes the boundaries of live performance and immerses audiences in the narrative.
Jan Freiwald is the Executive Director of the Reef Check Foundation, an international nonprofit dedicated to the conservation of tropical coral reefs and temperate kelp forests. Under his leadership, Reef Check has expanded its kelp monitoring programs to new regions along the north America west coast and in Chile and he launched the Dive into Science initiative serving tribal and underserved communities. He holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UC Santa Cruz and has deep expertise in reef community ecology, citizen science, and marine conservation.
DeMarcello “Cello” Funes is a dynamic and versatile stage performer originally from West Oakland, California. Trained at the Prescott Circus Theatre, Cello has developed a wide range of performance skills, including juggling, clowning, hambone body percussion, African drumming, and West African stilt dancing.
He continued to expand his artistry with Circus Bella, refining his stage presence and acrobatic talents. Cello’s background in stage acting, musical theatre, and improvisation was shaped through his drama studies at the Oakland School for the Arts, located in the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Oakland.
In addition to performing, Cello is a passionate educator. He teaches circus arts, clowning, and physical comedy at Circus Center SF, where he also serves as Community Engagement Associate of Performance.
Héloïse Garry is an artist working at the intersection of music, performance, and technology, drawing on a background as a classically trained pianist and later as a composer and technologist working across Paris, San Francisco, New York, and East Asia. She designs performance systems in which machine-learning models transform voice, movement, and embodied interaction into dynamic instruments, positioning AI not as a tool, but as an active collaborator in musical creation. Her research and performances have been presented at SFMOMA, SXSW, ICMC, NIME, the Audio Engineering Society, and Stanford University, contributing to ongoing conversations about how emerging technologies reshape musical practice and performance.
Chris Grady, trumpet, has been performing and recording music in the San Francisco Bay area for more than 35 years. Chris has studied at San Francisco State University and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has performed and recorded with many bay area groups and artists including Tom Waits, Jewel, Beth Custer, The Grassy Knoll, The Guadalajara based band “SUTRA”, and the Club Foot Orchestra among many others. Chris has a solo project featured on i-tunes and Pandora music stations entitled “On It.” Currently Chris teaches, records, and performs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Kalie Granier is a French interdisciplinary artist based in Santa Cruz, California, whose work explores the intersections of human and non-human worlds, ancestral stories, and contemporary narratives. She collaborates with scientists, environmentalists, and Indigenous communities, creating art rooted in ecological consciousness through video, installation, and earth-based materials. Kalie co-founded Loud Spring, a European-American art collective fostering locally rooted, globally minded cultural initiatives. She holds a Master of Arts (MA) from ESAG, Penninghen School of Visual Art in Paris. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she regularly lectures at institutions including UCSC, San Diego University, and Santa Clara University.
Amanda Guest is the founder and Executive Director of the award-winning non-profit community radio station BFF.fm, broadcasting from San Francisco’s Mission District. Since 2013, Amanda has grown BFF.fm from its original line-up of 5 programs to a community of more than 150 DJs and volunteers. She has also developed deep ties within the local music scene and has given countless bands, artists, and local activists a platform.
Nikhil Gujral is a youth advocate, TEDx and international speaker, USA Debate Development team member, and youth ambassador for Everyone.AI, AI Collective, and iRAISE. In these roles, he works on advancing conversations around AI literacy, ethical AI, and AI regulation, including delivering speeches and engaging directly with diplomats and scientists on youth perspectives in AI policy. Through the intersection of technology, policy, and youth engagement, he brings young perspectives into conversations that shape how ideas are understood and acted upon.
Cyrus has been organizing events around sustainable transportation for the past five years, including the Bay Area Transit Funeral in 2023, and serving as a campaign leader on San Francisco’s Prop L in 2024, a measure that sought to invest in public transit by taxing ride hail companies. He believes that sustainable transportation is not only the key to reaching net-zero emissions, but creates a much happier, more accessible world for all.
Jeff Hancock is the Harry and Norman Chandler Professor of Communication at Stanford University and Founding Director of the Stanford Social Media Lab and Director of the Stanford Tech, Impact & Policy Center. A leading expert on the psychology of social technology, Professor Hancock studies the impact of social media and AI technology on social dynamics, well-being, and trust.
Oakland-raised writer Pendarvis Harshaw is a journalist for KQED Arts, where he covers music, prisons, politics and all things impacting his Northern Californian community.
Eman Hashimi, one of today’s most sought-after Afghan percussionists, is widely recognized as the future of Afghan tabla. Born into the celebrated Hashimi musical family of Kabul’s historic Kharabat quarter, he is the son of legendary maestro Ustad Toryalai Hashimi, a pioneer of Afghan tabla. Eman has performed at the Kennedy Center, San Francisco World Music Festival, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and beyond, collaborating across genres from Afghan and Indian classical music to jazz, folk, and world traditions.
Paul Hayes’ sculpture installations, puppets, and performances have been featured at Bay Area venues, galleries, and events for over 20 years.
Notable examples include the Exploratorium, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the Museum of Craft and Design, and Raining Chainsaws, the collective & art space he co-founded in SF.
We are an energetic, passionate group of seniors playing Japanese taiko drums. It’s an exciting sound that goes to the heart, body and soul. We have performed for 20 years at a variety of venues including Asian art museum, Bottlerock, San Quentin and many private corporations.
Celia Hodent holds a PhD in cognitive psychology and specializes in cognitive psychology and user experience (UX). She is known for applying cognitive science to game design and interactive systems, including serving as UX Director on Fortnite. She has spoken widely on how cognitive biases shape human behavior, decision-making, and ethical design. Hodent is the author of several critically acclaimed books on psychology and video games, including The Gamer’s Brain, The Psychology of Video Games, What UX is Really About.
Kristen Jacobson is a public sector arts leader committed to cultural equity and investment. As Director of Grants for the Arts for the City of San Francisco, she oversees $14 million in annual public funding supporting cultural workers and organizations. Kristen brings a background in arts education and civic partnership, having led Youth in Arts as Executive Director and expanded Prop 28 implementation across school districts. At Alonzo King LINES Ballet, she led education strategy, expanding access and deepening impact. She spent over a decade in Chicago as a teaching artist and community arts worker, most notably with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Kristen believes the arts are essential to civic life and must be at the center of how cities imagine equity, belonging, and progress.
David James is a San Francisco-born-and-based composer, guitarist, vocalist and bandleader who has been a recording and performing member of Spearhead, The Coup, Afrofunk Experience, and the Beth Custer Ensemble, among others. He currently leads the ensemble GPS, which recently released its second album, “Mission Rebel No. 1”.
Jenessa Joffe is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, producer, and mother who is passionate about creating social change through comedic, kid-focused content. Jenessa earned a BA in East Asian Studies from Wesleyan University and an MFA in Directing from the American Film Institute Conservatory. A frequent collaborator with Kristina Wong – including directing the web series Radical Cram School – Jenessa’s video works have gone viral, won awards, and screened for audiences worldwide.
Ellie Lopez is a storyteller from Tracy, CA. Her poetry has been featured in numerous publications most recently Mobile Data Mag and KALW’s BAY POETS.
Mukethe Kawinzi is a shepherd and regenerative land steward. Her writing illuminates the pathos and splendor of the natural world, race in rural spaces, the peculiar wit of livestock animals, and the pains and pleasures of contemporary farm labor.
Josiah Luis Alderete is the curator and host of the monthly Latine reading series Speaking Axolotl and KALW’s Bay Poets series. He tends the portal known as Medicina Para Pesadillas Bookstore y Galeria on 24th Street in San Pancho, Califas.
Oussama Khatib is a roboticist and a professor of computer science at Stanford University, and a Fellow of the IEEE. Received his PhD from Sup’Aero (1980), He is Professor of CS at Stanford University and Director of SRC. His research is in robotics, haptics, AI, and human motion.
He is President of IFRR and recipient of the IEEE Pioneering Award, and Technical Field Award. He is Knight of the French National Order of Merit and a member of the United Sates National Academy of Engineering. Professor Khatib is recipient of the 2024 Great Arab Minds Award.
Jo Kreiter is a choreographer and site artist with a background in political science. She engages physical innovation and the political conflicts we live within. Her tools include coalition building, an unklikely use of place, an intersectional feminist lens and a body-based push against the constraints of gravity. Via Flyaway Productions, Jo has spent 30 years creating public art with people marginalized by race, class, gender and the criminal legal system.
Dhaya is the host of KQED’s “Dating with Dhaya” a competitive funny quiz show where contestants hope to find love. She is the host of The Moth.
Her stand up comedy album Dhayatribe debuted #1 on Apple Music. She has appeared on NPR, PBS, and Comedy Central.
She is an MIT graduate and a huge nerd.
Christine Lashaw is the Director of Visual Arts for Liberation with Empowerment Avenue(EA). With over 20 years’ experience as a senior museum leader, her speciality is collaboration with people marginalized by race, class, and the criminal legal system, bringing communities together through the arts, storytelling and shared experience. She began co-leading EA with co-founder Rahsaan Thomas in 2021. She continues to collaborate with artists currently inside prisons across the country by empowering them to use their art to survive and preparing them for art careers.
Victor Le Masne is a GRAMMY®-winning French composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist whose work moves fluidly across classical music, jazz, electronic, metal, and pop. A leading figure of French Touch, he reached a global audience as Composer and Musical Director of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2025, he released a critically acclaimed tribute to Maurice Ravel for Deutsche Grammophon’s Recomposed series. Deeply interested in musical genealogy and cultural transmission, Le Masne’s work explores how sound travels across time, geography, and social history.
Instagram | @victor_le_masne
Dr. Soyoung Lee is The Barbara Bass Bakar Director of CEO of the Asian Art Museum. Prior, she served as the Chief Curator at the Harvard Art Museums for eight years, and the first-ever curator of Korean art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 15 years, transforming the scope and impact of Korean art and culture. She received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University.
Kim Askew and Amy Helmes are the co-hosts of Lost Ladies of Lit, a weekly podcast dedicated to forgotten women writers and their “lost” literary classics. Now in its fifth year, the program hosts academics, literary critics and publishing industry experts to discuss the best books by women who’ve been too-long overlooked.
Duo Gadjo’s music is inspired by the sounds of the 20’s and 30’s, when jazz was the thing and Paris was the place to be. Their style is generally called ‘French Cafe’ or ‘Gypsy Jazz’ as pioneered by the French Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt
Composer Richard Marriott is the founder and artistic director of the Club Foot Orchestra, an ensemble best known for their live music performance with silent films at venues such as Lincoln Center and SF JAZZ. He has written music for dance, television, opera, film, video games and toys. He studied Indian music with Ali Akbar Khan, shakuhachi with Masayuki Koga and synthesizer design with Serge Tchrepnin. He worked with Atari Games as a composer and sound designer 1992-1997. Oakland Symphony’s late music director Michael Morgan commissioned and premiered his Ghost Ship Cello Concerto in November 2018 as a memorial to the 36 victims of the December 2016 warehouse fire.
Nathalie Mathe builds immersive worlds where technology meets embodiment and social impact. A games design professor at Northeastern University and former NASA AI scientist, she bridges science, storytelling, and systems thinking. Through her studio NativeVR, she creates transformative VR experiences and leadership programs addressing neurodiversity and unconscious bias. Her interactive VR film UTURN, nominated at Raindance Film Festival and FIVARS, uses humor to confront the gender gap in tech. She has crafted 40+ VR projects for major platforms and created visual effects work on films such as Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises.
Bradley McCallum is a social practice artist whose work over three decades has engaged communities and institutions internationally. He is the founding director of TnT Art Lab, an arts organization located at the corner of Turk and Taylor Streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. TnT Art Lab is a project of Conjunction Arts, the collaborative, socially engaged arts organization McCallum founded in 1989. His work explores justice, memory, and civic participation through long-term partnerships, and he has served as an artist-in-residence with the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation.
Dr. Kim McMillon is a producer, playwright, and contributor to the anthology Some Other Blues: New Perspectives on Amiri Baraka (Ohio University Press, 2021). She is also the editor of Black Fire—This Time, an anthology published by Willow Books on March 15, 2022. McMillon produced, wrote, and starred in her one-woman show, Confessions of a Thespian: When Spirit & Theatre Collide, which was directed by Margo Hall and staged at the Julia Morgan Theatre in Berkeley, CA, in March 2000. She also produced, wrote, and directed Voyages, which premiered at the Nova Theatre in San Francisco in March 1986 and was later produced at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Playhouse in August 1987. Recently, Dr. McMillon wrote, produced and staged Black Heaven, a spiritual–theatrical summit between the living and the dead, where history, memory, art, and justice converge in a luminous act of remembrance and creation, at Unity of Merced, February 28 through March 1, 2026.
Maureen McVerry has been a performer in the Bay Area for the last several decades. Miss McVerry has acted in eleven feature films, on TV sitcoms, movies of the week, and lots of commercials, but her true passion is live performance. A member of the actors’ union Equity since 1984, she has appeared in one hundred (if not more) theatrical productions.
Her most recent role was Milky White in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods” November 2025-January 2026 at SF Playhouse. Since 1993, she has written and performed her solo show, VERRY McVerry – which is constantly evolving.
David is an award-winning theater director, designer, and producer.
They have worked on a variety of productions for Berkeley Rep including Mexodus, Mother Road, Sanctuary City, and All My Sons. T
hey are committed to a practice rooted in social justice, radical inclusion, and anti-racism.
They believe in creating with community and their artistic vision is shaped by core values that celebrate joy, authenticity, and love.
D. Scot Miller is the founder of The Afrosurreal Arts Movement through his publication of The Afrosurreal Manifesto in The San Francisco Bay Guardian, May 20, 2009.
Pascal Molat is Associate Director of the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program. Born in Paris, Molat trained at Paris Opera Ballet School and danced with Royal Ballet of Flanders and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo before joining SF Ballet. After retiring as a SF Ballet principal dancer in 2016, he joined the SF Ballet School faculty. In 2017 he received the distinction of “Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,” awarded by the French Minister of Culture.
Toby Moore is a celebrated San Francisco clown and eccentric actor with over 30 years experience in theatre, circus and entertainment.
Marcel Moran, PhD, is assistant professor in the School of Planning, Policy, and Environmental Studies at San José State University.
He studies urban transportation, including via in-person field collection, use of satellite imagery, and analysis of large open data sets. His published research has led to policy changes in San Francisco and New York City, and appeared in Forbes, CityLab, NPR, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
He earned his PhD in city and regional planning from UC Berkeley, masters degree from the University of Chicago, and bachelors degree from Harvard University.
Matt Niess is the founder and winemaker of North American Press, a Sonoma County winery dedicated exclusively to native American and hybrid grape varieties. After nearly a decade at Radio-Coteau winery, Niess founded North American Press in 2019 to challenge California’s viticultural status quo and revive grape varieties that have been marginalized since Prohibition.
Kjell Nordeson is a Swedish percussionist and drummer based in San Francisco. He cofounded the AALY Trio with Mats Gustafsson in the early ’90s. The group quickly became a prominent force in the Swedish experimental music scene. With performances spanning over 30 countries and more than 50 recorded albums, Nordeson has collaborated with notable artists like Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark, Barry Guy, Sten Sandell, and Martin Küchen. Since 2004, he has been an active member of the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area music scene, focusing on free improvisation, jazz, and new music.
Kathy Rose O’Regan is the Executive Director of San Francisco Film Preserve (SFFP). SFFP’s mission is to restore, preserve, and provide access to the world’s cinematic heritage, ensuring that films—of all genres and eras—remain accessible for future generations. Originally from Galway in the west of Ireland, Kathy has been based in San Francisco for eighteen years. She served as the Senior Film Restorer for San Francisco Silent Film Festival, overseeing all operations of the preservation department and managing the restoration of dozens of silent era titles. Previously, she managed the preservation department of the Bay Area Video Coalition. Kathy is a graduate of the L. Jeffrey Selznick School of Film Preservation, a recipient of a National Film and Sound Archive of Australia fellowship, and a steering committee member of Women and Film History International.
Nathalie Palanque-Delabrouille is a cosmologist specializing in dark matter and dark energy, the Universe’s most mysterious components. She is a key leader in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. She spent much of her career at CEA in France before moving to Berkeley Lab in 2021, where she is Director of the Physics Division. She received the 2017 Irène Joliot-Curie Award as “Woman Scientist of the Year” and was elected to the French Academy of Sciences in 2020.
B Patt is an artist, producer, and cultural architect working at the intersection of music, live experiences, and the ecosystems that shape how communities express themselves. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Nothin But Hits (NTHN), a next-generation creative agency designing platforms, bespoke experiences, and cultural infrastructure for artists and brands. He also serves as Executive Director of Best In The Bay, the Bay Area’s premier artist showcase connecting the region’s most promising talent to real opportunity. With over 15 years of immersion in the creative economy — as a maker, builder, and strategist — he brings a rare perspective on both the artist’s inner journey and the systems required to sustain it. Committed to shaping culture, developing artists as a whole, and driving meaningful change, B Patt operates from a single belief: culture doesn’t just reflect the future — it builds it.
Tiffani channels her love of food—and the people who make it—into action through storytelling, community building, and event design. She’s championed just food systems for over a decade, exploring the intersections of food, culture, and justice, most recently as former Co-Director of Real Food Media. She’s the co-founder of Laughing Gems, a low-intervention wine brand creating vibrant wines that celebrate the cuisines and peoples of the diaspora. She serves on the boards of Mesa Refuge, the People’s Food and Farm Project, and the Vinguard. Past board seats and committees include: HEAL Food Alliance, Oakland Food Policy Council, and Foodwise. She holds dual MPA/MBA degrees in Sustainable Management and is based in Oakland, CA on unceded Ohlone land.
Phoenicia Pettyjohn is a SF Ballet School faculty member and an SF Ballet dance teaching artist. She has taught throughout SF Unified School District schools and in partnership with many community organizations including the Boys and Girls Clubs of SF, Bay Area Women’s and Children’s Center, and SF Opera. She also teaches adult dance classes for people with Parkinson’s and pre-ballet for ages 3-7 at SF Ballet School. She received an Izzy award in 2018 for her work in Catherine Galasso’s “Alone Together”. She is from Los Angeles and is a two-time scholarship recipient to the American Dance Festival.
Capoeira is an African-Brazilian art form, developed by Africans enslaved in Brazil about 400 years ago. Capoeira is a self-defense disguised as a dance because slaves needed to hide it from their slave masters. Two capoeiristas (capoeira players) must follow the traditions and rules of the art. They must play capoeira, not fight. Jarrel Phillips (a.k.a Contramestre Chumbinho) has performed and taught all over from the SF Bay Area to East Africa under the guidance of Mestre Urubu Malandro, founder of Capoeira Ijexa.
Ray Potes began shooting photos and making zines at age 14 in San Diego. He has been doing the same ever since. Now based in San Francisco, he runs and operates Hamburger Eyes, a magazine dedicated to black and white photography.
Jeanne has taught philosophy in the U.S. for more than fifteen years. She currently serves as Vice President of the Public Philosophy Network and Academic Coordinator at UC Santa Cruz’s Crown College, leading tech ethics education. A former director of the Center for Public Philosophy, she spearheaded and manages the Santa Cruz Night of Ideas program.
Her work spans ethics, feminism, and aesthetics. She also runs a philosophical counseling practice and organizes immersive philosophical retreats in the Santa Cruz mountains.
Rae Alexandra is an award-winning Arts & Culture journalist for KQED and the author of ‘Unsung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area.’
The book is the culmination of her three greatest passions: history, The Bay, and badass ladies. Rae was born and raised in Wales, began her career as a rock music journalist and currently resides in Stockton, California.
In the natural wine movement, where progressive supporters advocate for regenerative farming, sustainable food systems, low-intervention practices and a culture of inclusivity rather than pretense, there’s one person who stands apart in the scope and purpose of their work: Chris Renfro, through his 280 Project, aims not only to transform the culture of wine but, through his urban vineyard and horticulture and viticulture program in the heart of San Francisco, he aims to change the dynamics of race in America. More than anything else, Chris wants everyone to feel valued and supported, and he feels that wine, and the traditional walls of white privilege and power that surround it, is the perfect platform to expose, unpack and redefine how we see and treat each other. Through farming, making wine, and sharing the profound communal experience that wine enables, Renfro believes we shed the veil of race and connect fundamentally as people. And he’s not just talking about it, he’s doing it. By mentoring one winemaker at a time.
Classical Revolution was founded in the fall of 2006 when several former and current San Francisco Conservatory of Music students met at Revolution Cafe in San Francisco’s Mission District for public chamber music reading sessions.
In the nearly 20 years since, Classical Revolution has presented more than 2,000 chamber music events in venues all around the SF Bay Area, with the goal of presenting high quality performances in locations that are publicly accessible. The concept spread to 40+ cities around the world, who hosted their own Classical Revolution chapters. Over 1,000 musicians have participated in Classical Revolution events in the Bay Area alone.
These musicians come from a variety of backgrounds, from members of major symphonies and international concert soloists to amateur musicians who have found an outlet for their love of chamber music, as well as jazz and folk musicians whom we collaborate and share ideas with.
Absurdist dance musik from Oakland, Naked Roommate has been slinking around the Bay Area, lighting up stages, shaking asses, and confounding listeners since 2018. The band began as the duo of real-life partners Andy Jordan and Amber Sermeno (both formerly of The World), releasing a self-titled cassette of demos in 2018 before Michael “Mig” Zamora and Alejandra Alcala joined to flesh out the live sound and record the full-length Do The Duvet (2020), co-released by Upset! The Rhythm and Trouble In Mind.
Warren Sack is a media theorist, software designer, and artist whose work explores theories and designs for online public space and public discussion. He has been a visiting professor in France at Sciences Po, the FMSH, and Télécom Paris. His artwork has been exhibited at various museums including SFMoMA, the Whitney Museum, and the Walker Arts Center. His scholarship and research has been supported by the IEA Paris, the ACLS, and the NSF. Warren received his PhD from MIT and a BA from Yale College. Book information: https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/software-arts
The Premier Ensemble is the flagship ensemble of the San Francisco Girls Chorus, made up of singers who have progressed through years of rigorous musical training within SFGC’s choral program. As the organization’s most advanced group, Premier Ensemble performs repertoire spanning centuries of choral music and presents a dynamic schedule of performances throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Part of a GRAMMY Award–winning organization, these singers have appeared on international tours and collaborated with world-class conductors, composers, and performing arts institutions, representing the artistry, discipline, and luminous sound that define SFGC under the artistic leadership of Valérie Sainte-Agathe.
Winemaker and co-owner of Sunset Cellars, PhD biomedical researcher, Fah is moved by how wine coalesces art, chemistry, biology, geology, history and culture. He created #drinkAAPIwine with Asian Wine Professionals, now part of the Asian Wine Association of America (AWAA). As a winemaker, he upholds the style developed by Sunset Cellars’ founders, Doug and Katsuko Sparks, allowing time to tame naturally acidic grapes like Barbera (a flagship wine since 1998) and Petite Sirah, with minimal intervention.
Christopher Schardt is an Oakland-based sculptor, musician and computer programmer. His pieces have been exhibited at The Renwick Gallery, The Oakland Museum of California, The Cincinnati Art Museum, The Exploratorium, Burning Man, UnScruz, and many other exhibitions. His larger pieces are places to be, rather than things to look at, making use of music to create an emotional, immersive environment. Many of his pieces make use of motion and persistence-of-vision to create shimmering, dynamic displays.
Kate Schatz is a New York Times bestselling author, educator, and public speaker.
Her books include the novel “Where the Girls Were”; the “Rad Women” book series; “Do the Work: An Antiracist Activity Book” with W. Kamau Bell; and “Rid of Me: A Story.”
She lives in the East Bay with her wife, kids, and pets.
Valentin Schmite is the Director and co-founder of Ask Mona, an AI company helping cultural and educational institutions create smarter visitor and learning experiences. He also teaches and trains professionals on practical, responsible uses of generative AI. Bridging entrepreneurship and pedagogy, he focuses on real-world deployment, adoption, and impact. He is the author of books exploring technology, culture, and society. He regularly speaks at conferences in France and internationally.
Stuart Schuffman, aka Broke-Ass Stuart, is a travel writer, poet, TV host, activist, and general shit-stirrer. His website BrokeAssStuart.com is one of the most influential arts & culture sites in the Bay Area.
His weekly column, Broke-Ass City, appeared every Thursday in the San Francisco Examiner for over 6 years.
Stuart’s writing has been translated into four languages.
In 2011 Stuart created and hosted the travel show Young, Broke, and Beautiful on IFC, and in 2015 he ran for Mayor of San Francisco and got nearly 20k votes.
As Senior Editor of Audience News at KQED News, Carly leads a desk which publishes explanatory, audience-centered utility journalism across kqed.org, radio and engagement platforms.
Carly has dedicated her career to working in audience engagement in various capacities, and has reported for KQED’s The California Report Magazine, Bay Curious podcast and Arts desk.
She was the co-host of KQED’s The Cooler podcast for 5 years.
Alexander Silva, PhD, is a fourth year medical student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of California, San Francisco. He earned a PhD in bioengineering, with thesis research focused on neural control of speech production and development of speech neuroprostheses. Prior to this, he earned a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. His interests include functional neurosurgery, speech neuroscience, and neuroprosthetic development. Alex is actively working towards developing clinically viable speech neuroprostheses in the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Neurological Surgery.
Sixth Station Trio is a classically trained piano trio based in San Francisco, CA. Composed of three San Francisco natives, Federico Strand Ramirez, Anju Goto, and Katelyn Tan, Sixth Station Trio debuted at San Francisco’s historic Grace Cathedral in May of 2023 to a sold-out concert, featuring music from the films of Studio Ghibli. Sixth Station trio plays an expansive variety of music ranging from Western classical music, film scores, video game music, and even pop. They’ve gone on to perform monthly concerts featuring titles of Genshin Impact, Stardew Valley, Nintendo, Final Fantasy, Studio Ghibli, Pokemon, and more.
Joshua Strange is a journalist, editor, restorative justice advocate, and strategist working at the intersection of storytelling, rehabilitation, and systems change. Drawing on both professional and lived experience, he supports system-impacted writers and artists and collaborates on initiatives that use art and public narrative to expand understanding of incarceration, accountability, agency, and humanity. He works with Empowerment Avenue and San Quentin SkunkWorks.
Neal Strickberger builds art fusing technology and extreme illumination – crafting interactive light experiences that surprise and engage. With Project Flashlight, he reanimated 1960s military battlefield searchlights – used by NASA to illuminate Apollo and Space Shuttle launches – then added interactive participant controls with tablets. The result: pure, searing white “fingers of God” sweeping the darkness, inviting collective joy in light at grand scale.
Sarah Sussman is Curator of the French and Italian collections and Head of the Humanities and Area Studies Resource Group at Stanford University Libraries. She collects French and Italian materials in all formats, from rare books to digital corpora, and supports students and researchers in their research and teaching. Recently, she has been spending much of her time working with the Roxane Debuisson Collection on Paris History, acquired by the Libraries in 2020.
Bay Area Native Kitten on the Keys aka cabaret artist Suzanne Ramsey has been performing everywhere from sleazy bars to the award winning French film “Tournee” at the Cannes Film Festival. Her songbook is deep and wide. Pianist, accordionist, and singer she plays a panoply of styles and eras – kitschy cabaret originals, bawdy blues, unexpected covers and forgotten gems of yesteryear.
Rachel Tan is a cross-disciplinary leader at the intersection of XR, AI, and immersive design. She drives strategic dialogues and ecosystem growth in the spatial computing space, with deep involvement in hardware innovation and developer engagement. She is known for bridging technology, art, and business through high-impact exhibitions, hackathons, and global collaborations. She also serves in leadership roles within applied AI and optics communities. Her work focuses on shaping the next generation of intelligent, wearable computing.
Leyya Mona Tawil is an artist, composer, and cultural activist. She works in dance, sound art and hybrid performance practices. Tawil is Palestinian and Syrian, engaged in the world as such. Her works have toured extensively throughout the US, Europe and the Arab region. Tawil has stewarded TAC Temescal Art Center in Oakland since 1997 and is the founding director of Arab.AMP – a platform for worldbuilding artists from the Arab/SWANA diaspora and our allied communities.
Weston Teruya is an artist and cultural producer whose work spans individual projects and collaborative practice. Along with Michele Carlson, he is co-founder/co-lead of Related Tactics, a collective creating projects at the intersection of race, culture, and public memory. Their work has manifested as inflatable sculptures, storefront installations, free takeaways, print interventions, creative publications, and collaborative works in glass.
The best Rock and Roll is poetry in motion, with or without words – and some of the best records came without. The Mermen play an extreme brand of surf music, the black minor-chord moods of guitarist Jim Thomas are like a rough ride on the icy seas of the mid- Atlantic. Hints of Dick Dale filter through the cracked-sidewalk wave forms of Sonic Youth. But on long hauls like the nine minute “Obsession for Men” Thomas sounds more like Neil Young at the wheel of Crazy Horse.
Doug Thistlewolf is a creative technologist and exhibit developer.
As Manager of New Media Exhibit Development at the Exploratorium, he specializes in prototyping, design iteration, and cross-disciplinary collaboration—leading projects that blend art, science, and technology.
His work both integrates emerging technologies like AI and investigates them as subject matter, creating thought-provoking exhibits that invite exploration and dialogue.
Rahsaan co-created Empowerment Avenue and The San Quentin Film Festival and director the short doc, Friendly Signs while incarcerated. Today he continues the work of using multi-media to achieve social justice. The former co-host of the Ear Hustle Podcast, was a Pulitzer Prize finalists, and has made two award winning documentaries.
Edie Trautwein is a zinester, artist and filmmaker based in San Francisco. In 2022 they began producing zines and short videos under the name Fish Juice. Their zines can be found at independent bookstores throughout the Bay Area. Documenting their life and community is a daily practice
For over 50 years, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has been transforming San Francisco streets and neighborhoods into more livable and safe places by promoting the bicycle for everyday transportation. We are one of the largest and most effective bicycle advocacy groups in the country. Through our day-to-day advocacy, education and working partnerships with City and community agencies, the SF Bicycle Coalition creates safer streets and more livable communities for all San Franciscans.
Since 2021, Coral has fully embraced Sonoma Valley – building Maison des Plaisances, farming and making wines to honor the long overlooked history of Chinese labor in California. Using food and wine to carry forward these stories of the past, her mission continues to build spaces of representation, amplifying our collective voices – and has even brought deeper meaning to connect with her own identity and culture.
Specializing in intentional winemaking practices and lesser-known varieties, she partners with sustainable, family-owned vineyards. Her motto—Wines of Joy, No Fuss—guides her mission to make wine a conversation starter and a pleasure for all.
Xavier Wartelle is CEO and co-founder of Avatar Medical, a MedTech company transforming CT and MRI scans into intuitive, lifelike 3D avatars for clinicians and patients. A serial entrepreneur, Xavier has founded seven startups in Silicon Valley and France, with four successful exits. He also founded the French Tech Hub in the U.S. and previously led PRIME in corporate open innovation. Xavier is CEO of American Friends of Arts et Métiers.
Sarah is the Arts Program Officer for the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. She is passionate about ensuring the Bay Area remains a place where artists can thrive and, in her role, supports program delivery, grantmaking strategy and evaluation for the Arts Program. Prior to joining the Foundation, Sarah worked as an arts administrator and consultant and has more than 15 years of experience working with organizations including California Shakespeare Theater, TOC Arts Partners, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, and Huntington Theatre Company. Sarah serves on the board of Crowded Fire Theater in San Francisco and as co-chair of Northern California Grantmakers’ Arts Loan Fund. A Kansas native, Sarah has called Oakland home for over ten years.
Kyle is the Executive Director and co-founder of San Quentin SkunkWorks. Influenced by his experience having been incarcerated, Kyle founded SkunkWorks to rectify the injustices experienced by those impacted by the prison system. In addition to working as the Executive Director at SkunkWorks, Kyle attends UC Berkeley studying philosophy and spends his free time with his wife and son.
Auntie Kristina’s Guide to Asian American Activism (Beaming Books) is co- written by Kristina Wong, Theodore Chao, Anna Michelle Wang and Jenessa Joffe and shows young readers how to love their bodies, fight for social justice, and be proud of the history that’s made them who they are.
Kristina Wong is a Doris Duke Artist Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow and the first Asian American woman to be named Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama. Notable solo shows include: Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Going Green the Wong Way, The Wong Street Journal, Kristina Wong for Public Office and Kristina Wong, #FoodBankInfluencer.
Nat Wong is quietly affecting change not only by cultivating rare varietals in his role as a vineyard manager, but by crafting expressive wines from his grapes as well. Nat’s subtle but important influence on our local winemaking community is one of the many underappreciated stories this panel will explore.
Matt Wood is the host and creator of the Indie WIne Podcast. A California native, he’s worked hard to shine more light on producers of his home state. For over 100 episodes the podcast has hosted in-depth conversations with some of California’s most recognized and influential winemakers and the next generation of up and comers. Interspersed with these interviews are historical episodes diving into important moments, producers and people in California’s wine history. Some of these episodes have focused on Kanaye Nagasawa of the Fountain Grove winery, the first Japanese winemaker in the state and an in-depth history of the contributions of Chinese labor in early California viticulture.
Cheng Xu is an artist and researcher with a background in robotics. Her research explores the interface between humans and technology, and has been presented at international science conferences. Her art practice fosters creative expression and critical introspection, often through interventions in public space. She served as the Asian Art Museum’s first curator dedicated to Games and Technology, where she led RAD (Research and Development), an initiative that invited artists and publics to examine emerging technology through art.
Versatile multi-instrumentalist Mark Yee began on piano and saxophone at a young age. As a former member of the Louisiana Love Act horn section, Mark has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with local luminaries such as Melvin Seals (Jerry Garcia Band), Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship), Greg Anton (Zero), Matt Malley (Counting Crows), as well as Jimmy Vivino (Conan O’Brien band leader). A Bay Area native, Mark currently lives in San Francisco.
Pamela Z is a composer/performer and media artist making works for voice, electronics, samples, gesture activated MIDI controllers, and video. She has toured throughout the US, Europe, and Japan. Her work has been presented at venues and exhibitions including Bang on a Can (NY), the Japan Interlink Festival, Other Minds (SF), MoMA (NY), the Venice Biennale, and Dakar Biennale. She has composed scores for dance, film, and chamber ensembles (including Kronos Quartet and Eighth Blackbird). Her awards include the Rome Prize, Berlin Prize, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, MIT McDermott Award, the Guggenheim, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. www.pamelaz.com