Summit Speakers 2024

Jennifer Siebel Newsom

California’s First Partner, Founder of The Representation Project, Co-founder of the California Partners Project, and more

  • As First Partner of California, Jennifer Siebel Newsom is an influential advocate, as well as a voice and partner to working moms and families through her California for ALL Women and California for ALL Kids initiatives. Jennifer is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker and thought leader on gender equity, and has written, directed, and produced the critically-acclaimed documentaries Miss Representation, The Mask You Live In, The Great American Lie, and Fair Play. As a result of Miss Representation’s impact, Jennifer founded The Representation Project, which tackles sexism in media and has spearheaded successful campaigns seen by millions around the world, including #AskHerMore and #NotBuyingIt. Jennifer is also the co-founder of the California Partners Project and a mom of four.

Rob Bonta

Attorney General of the State of California

  • On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta was sworn in as the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent to occupy the position. Attorney General Bonta’s passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, who served on the frontlines of some of America’s most important social justice movements. It’s why he decided to become a lawyer — to help right historic wrongs and fight for people who have been harmed. He worked his way through college and graduated with honors from Yale University and attended Yale Law School. Attorney General Bonta has led statewide fights for racial, economic, and environmental justice and worked to further the rights of immigrant families, renters, and working Californians. He previously worked as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco, served as an Alameda Council Member and represented Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro as an Assemblymember.

    As the People’s Attorney, he sees seeking accountability from those who abuse their power and harm others as one of the most important functions of the job. He has taken on powerful interests and advanced systemic change — pursuing corporate accountability, standing up for workers, punishing big polluters, and fighting racial injustice. Attorney General Bonta is the son of a proud native Filipino mother and a father who taught him the value of public service to his community. He is married to Mia Bonta, and they are the proud parents of three children Reina, Iliana, and Andres.

Colette Finn

Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork City, Ireland; Sister City to San Francisco

  • Dr Finn has represented the Green Party on Cork City Council since 2019, becoming Deputy Lord Mayor in June 2023. With a Masters in Healthcare Management and an Economics Doctorate, her background includes roles as Chief Medical Scientist at the Mercy University Hospital, Biochemistry Laboratory Service; economist; university lecturer (Third Sector Economy); and Postdoctoral Researcher (Tyndall National Institute) & UCC School of Nursing and Midwifery. Among her political priorities are ensuring access to quality, sustainable and affordable housing; encouraging cooperation between communities; and – in the context of Cork’s climate-neutrality ambitions – promoting a just transition, including through provision of alternatives to car-based travel and development of the circular economy.

Kimberly Ellis

Director of the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women

  • Bio coming soon.

Sara Guillermo

Chief Executive Office, IGNITE National

  • Sara Guillermo is the CEO of IGNITE, bringing to the role over 15 years experience helping young women break into America’s political landscape to become leaders within their communities and beyond.

    Sara was one of the first employees at IGNITE over a decade ago and quickly ascended within the organization, eventually taking over as CEO in June 2021. And as someone who has dedicated her life to empowering women, she is proud to lead by example as an immigrant, first-generation college graduate, youth organizer, educator, foster parent, and breast cancer survivor.

    Under Sara’s leadership, IGNITE was recognized with a $4 million award by the Equality Can’t Wait Challenge for its bold ideas to expand women’s power and influence in the United States by 2030. And Sara was personally recognized as a Roddenberry Fellow for her extraordinary leadership in making our world a more equitable and just society.

    Sara’s analysis and expertise has been featured widely in national media outlets such as The Hill, NPR, New York Times, ABC and NBC.

    Prior to IGNITE, Sara held leadership roles at Seeking Common Ground, Aspire Public Schools, and buildOn. In addition to working in our nation’s public schools, Sara is also a trained social worker and serves on the Concord/Pleasant Hill Healthcare Community Board in California as the board’s youngest member to date. She has spent her entire life actively serving her community, starting with her first successful election run for Classroom Organizer in her first-grade class in Concord, California.

Olga Talamante

Executive Director Emeritus, Chicana Latina Foundation

  • Olga Talamante is Executive Director Emerita of the Chicana Latina Foundation (CLF).

    She became the first Executive Director of CLF in January 2003 serving in that position until March of 2018. She received her BA from UC Santa Cruz and Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of San Francisco.

    Olga's family migrated from Mexico to Gilroy, California in the early 1960’s where they worked in the farm fields.

    She is widely respected for her community activism and leadership. During the mid-seventies, she became well known for her experience as a political prisoner in Argentina.

    As a result of a successful grass-roots campaign, she was released after spending 16 months in an Argentine prison.

    Since then, she has remained an activist and leader in the Chicanx, Latin American solidarity, LGBTQ and progressive political movements.

    Currently she serves on the Boards of El Concilio of San Mateo County, Chicana Latina Foundation and the Greenlining Institute. Talamante is the Co-Chair of the Caravana Por Los Niños/Caravan for the Children Coalition which advocates for the reunification of children and families separated at the Southern border by the Zero Tolerance Policy.

Noreen Farrell

Executive Director, Equal Rights Advocates

  • Noreen Farrell is the Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates. ERA is one of the nation’s leading legal nonprofits defending and protecting educational and economic progress for women, and girls, and other gender expansive people with a focus on communities of color. Noreen is a national gender justice litigator, policy advocate, thought leader, and movement leader. She has served as counsel in numerous successful individual and class legal actions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, including on behalf of female students, janitors, retail workers, lawyers, restaurant workers, tradeswomen, educators, and casino workers. She has helped develop groundbreaking policy reform addressing pay inequity, education inequity, sexual harassment and retaliation, pregnancy discrimination and lack of accommodation and paid leave, and other barriers to progress. Noreen has been the visionary architect of state and national campaigns building economic security and power for women and families, including the Stronger California Women’s Agenda, Equal Pay Today and the Stop Harassment State Network. She collaborates within the business community, representing ERA in the Women’s Business Collaborative and the Women Presidents Organization. Noreen unifies hundreds of partners in states across the country behind a unified agenda for gender, racial, LGBTQ+ and economic justice building power to pass hundreds of new laws in the past decade. She testifies before legislative bodies and is a frequent speaker at summits and in other forums. Noreen is a regularly featured thought leader in media outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Fortune, The Information, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, AP, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, National Public Radio, PBS NewsHour, MSNBC, and other television programs.

Hon. Dezie Woods Jones

CEO and President, Black Women Organized for Political Action; Former Vice Mayor & Council Member, City of Oakland

  • Coming soon.

Elmy Bermejo

Regional Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration

  • Elmy Bermejo has been a senior government official with more than 25 years of experience at the executive level and has established a successful record of collaboration with public and private stakeholders on a range of issues including workforce development, disaster relief, and small business support. She is a strategic thinker with excellent relationship management skills, committed to public service and is a tireless advocate for women’s rights. On November 2021 President Biden appointed Elmy to serve as the Regional Administrator at SBA for Region IX. This region serves California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam and the Pacific.

    Elmy previously served as the Northern California Director for External Affairs for Governor Gavin Newsom; prior to that, she served as a Senior Adviser and Outreach Director for Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis of California, the first woman ever elected to this position. Elmy also served in the Obama-Biden administration at the US Department of Labor as the Regional Representative to the Secretary and as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs. She serves on the San Francisco Commission on the Environment, The Women’s Foundation of CA, is an Advisory member of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) and the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Public Good and the Foundation of California Community Colleges.

    Elmy’s family owns and operates Tommy’s Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar, a San Francisco institution. This experience gives her tremendous insight and sensitivity to the challenges faced by small business owners and the resources needed to make them successful.

Taylor Salditch

Executive Director, Supermajority

  • Taylor Salditch is the Executive Director of Supermajority, an organization driven by a single-minded purpose—to strengthen the political power of women. She joined Supermajority as a member of the founding team in September 2018, publicly launched the organization in April 2019, and executed three winning voter outreach campaigns in 2020, 2022, and 2023. She is passionate about discovering ways to help women build power, which she first approached from the private sector, scaling organizations to address financial literacy, debt management, and homeownership. In the spring of 2015, the mission-based start-up Taylor was working for was acquired and she promptly applied for a job on the digital team for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. While it was in part a childhood dream fulfilled, it was also a direct response to the realization that the private sector alone was not set up to address inequity and it was time to see the problem from a new angle. Taylor is from Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Political Science and Economics.

Stacy Mason

Co-founder and Executive Director of WomenCount and Electing Women Bay Area

  • Stacy is co-founder and executive director of WomenCount and Electing Women Bay Area, along with responsibilities leading the national Electing Women Alliance. After working for many years in political journalism while based in Washington, D.C. Stacy turned her attention to women in politics beginning in 2008.

    Prior to that, she served as editor-in-chief of Roll Call, the newspaper that covers the U.S. Congress; associate publisher of The Federal Paper, a newspaper focusing on the White House and politics; and development director at The Economist.

    She holds a bachelor’s in international relations from Tufts University and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. Stacy is married with three children and lives in Palo Alto, Calif.

Jason Fong

District 7 Commissioner and Legislative Affairs Officer, San Francisco Youth Commission

  • Jason Fong is a 17 year old who has been an integral part of the District 7 Youth Council since his freshman year in high school. His drive for community improvements has led him into a variety of roles within the Council, including Member, Advisor, Chief Advisor, and currently Program Coordinator. In recognition of this exceptional dedication to youth advocacy and community service, he received an award from the California State Legislature and was selected as the Youth of the Year by the Community Youth Center of San Francisco in 2023.

    Passionate about finding innovative solutions to drive effective public policy, Jason is committed to making a positive impact on his community and strives to work on issues surrounding transit, housing, lowering the voting age to 16, climate change, and more! As a Youth Commissioner, he aims to bridge District 7 youth to government and increase their civic participation. His overarching goals encompass fostering a more inclusive San Francisco, ensuring that Westside youth voices are heard at City Hall, and empowering young people to help communities move forward.

Chantal Hildebrand

Co-Executive Director, Alliance for Girls

  • Chantal has a decade’s worth of experience working in the nonprofit sector to advance equity, through community mobilization, capacity building, advocacy, technical assistance, community-based participatory action research, and program management in international and California-based programming. She brings an intersectional lens and a passion for creating spaces for historically oppressed populations to share their diverse experiences and lead decision-making processes to improve their lives and wellbeing, and that of their communities. Her work has contributed to improving and passing over 20 policies, implementation guidelines, and budgets addressing issues of gender inequity in Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, South Africa, and the state of California in the United States.

    Chantal received her Masters degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Public Health and City Planning. She currently serves as a member of the Racial Equity Index, a global collective of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) dedicated to holding the global development sector accountable to dismantling all forms of systemic racism.

Taylor Jay

Founder, Taylor Jay Collection

  • Taylor Jay, Founder and CEO of the Taylor Jay Collection, empowers women with beautiful, versatile, comfortable, fashion basics that easily adapt to any lifestyle.

    Taylor Jay is the vision and pulse behind the company. A bay area native, Taylor jay has worked in the fashion industry for over 12 years. As a high school graduate and aspiring stylist, Taylor moved to Los Angeles where she studied fashion merchandising at the California school of fashion design. And it’s in sunny Los Angeles that Taylor opened her first boutique at the age of 23.

    With business thriving and upon returning home to the bay area to open a second boutique, Taylor created her first collection, the Taylor jay collection, inspired by her own journey and body challenges. The clothing she designed impressed local customers and boosted demand encouraging Taylor to pursue her very own brand full time in Oakland, now home to the Taylor jay atelier.

    Taylor Jay is more than just a fashion entrepreneur. Tough challenges early in her life only fueled Taylor’s pursuit of her fashion dreams. She has not only become a role model for her daughter, but for many black women entrepreneurs on the rise. She is often featured as a panelist to share her story and perspective. She hopes that her experience and designs can inspire other women to walk confidently and comfortably towards their dreams.

    In her words, she will "...continue to design beautiful clothing that lasts a lifetime and makes every woman feel and look amazing.”

    Established in Oakland, California, in 2012, Taylor Jay is on a mission to make fashionable basics accessible to women worldwide and to become a household name in elevated comfortable fashion.

    We envision a healthy, positive, and welcoming world in which women can thrive and grow without limits. That is why we produce clothing that can be integrated with any lifestyle, has strong lifetime value.

Sophia Andary

Commissioner, Activist, Organizer and Consultant

  • Sophia Andary is a first-generation Lebanese-American Commissioner, Activist, Organizer, and Consultant. Her experience living through the civil war in Lebanon during early childhood shaped her worldview and passion for bridging the divide among diverse perspectives. She graduated from the University of La Verne (CA) and University of Strasbourg (France) with a BS in International Business.

    Sophia is the co-founder of Women’s March San Francisco and was unanimously voted to chair the organization following its inaugural launch in January 2017. Through leading by example, she has helped build one of the strongest and most diverse Women’s March chapters in the country, building alliances with and earning respect from various San Francisco and Bay Area communities through local partnerships, programming, events, and actions.

    Sophia was appointed by Mayor London Breed to the Commission on the Status of Women of the City and County of San Francisco, currently service as the Vice President of the commission. Additionally, she is serving on the Board of Directors of Alliance For Girl, Board of Advisors of GENup and Board of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club.

    Sophia was appointed by the San Francisco Democratic Party to serve as a California Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) delegate for the 2023-2025 term.

    She has received an Achievement Award from the San Francisco Women’s Political Committee, Certificate of Honor from the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, and a Certificate of Honor from Mayor London Breed in recognition of her (and Women’s March San Francisco) efforts to register women to vote and make San Francisco a more equitable place.

    Through her activism and organizing she is working toward ensuring equality and equity for women and girls, the LGBTQIA+ community and all marginalized communities. She helps bring the voices of marginalized, queer, and women of color to the front and is seen as a mover and a shaker.

Shay Franco-Clausen

Political Director, Equality California

  • Shay Franco-Clausen is an award winning public speaker, political strategist and visionary community leader, with an unwavering commitment to catalyze, educate, and fortify resilient communities within the Bay Area. Her exceptional career has been marked by a relentless pursuit of historical legislation, organizer of historical protests and marches and substantial funding initiatives, all aimed at uplifting the marginalized communities she herself has proudly emerged from.

    A unapologetic leader in her field, Shay graduated from Mills College in Oakland, where she earned her Bachelor's Degree in Public Policy and Law. Her dedication led her to Harvard Kennedy School, where she successfully completed the prestigious Executive Leadership in State and Local Government program, solidifying her status as a forward-thinking leader with a global perspective.

    Shay's commitment to shifting the political landscape of California, with her fingerprints on over seventeen pieces of transformative legislation. Notable among these accomplishments is her pivotal role in extending the statute of limitations for felony domestic violence survivors, advocating for the rights of foster youth, preserving endangered open spaces, and championing the restoration of voting rights for individuals on parole. Shay was the first Black, Afro-Latina Lesbian to ever be elected in Santa Clara County, as Vice Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, and elected Santa Clara County Central Committee. She currently serves as the Statewide Political Director for Equality California, the largest civil rights, pro-equality organization in the nation.

    A true daughter of the Bay Area, Shay Franco-Clausen, alongside her wife Yolanda, a Special Victims Detective, has raised five remarkable children. Her personal journey is a testament to her unshakable determination and the profound impact of her advocacy. The impetus to Shay's advocacy can be felt in her powerful mantra, "I am just trying to be the woman I wished I met at 14," a reminder of her unwavering dedication to shaping a brighter, more equitable future for all."

Lindsey Nitta

Executive Director, California Women Lead

  • Lindsey Nitta is currently serving as the Executive Director of California Women Lead, the State’s longest standing non-partisan organization supporting women’s leadership in the public and private sectors. CA Women Lead’s mission is to engage, appoint, and elect female leaders across party lines, increase women’s collective power and influence in government and business, and help every woman achieve her full leadership potential through training, education, and network development.

    During Lindsey’s tenure with the organization, she has expanded our trainings in number and locations, launched a hugely successful scholarship program for women fellows to help support women from all backgrounds get their foot in the door and seat at the policy making tables, create monthly meetings to pilot “Women on Top” a launchpad for newly elected women with Piedmont Mayor Cavenaugh and CalCities Women’s Caucus, built incredible partnerships with the CA Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, Girl Scouts, CalCities and the Legislative Women’s Caucus.

    She also runs her consulting firm where she partners with clients to elevate their organization through strategic partnerships, project management, branding, media outreach, and capacity building. Lindsey first started feeding her passion of growing women representation in government by serving on local and state democratic boards including Sacramento Young Democrats, CA Young Democrats, and the CDP API Caucus. Lindsey lives in Sacramento with her partner and crazy pup.

Amy Zucchero

Chief of Development Development, IGNITE National

  • Amy brings 20 years as a development professional who uses her skills and expertise to champion women’s rights. Amy joined IGNITE in 2015 and since then has built out the organization’s development and communications teams, and tripled the organization’s revenue. Prior to IGNITE, Amy was a part of the founding team at the Representation Project where she raised significant funds and national attention for the organization’s efforts to challenge the media’s portrayal of women and girls. She was also instrumental in raising production funding for Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s documentary The Mask You Live In. Early in her career Amy spent seven years with the Women’s Funding Network, a global association of foundations investing in women-led solutions, where she designed national funding initiatives to distribute over a million dollars to community led solutions. Amy holds a B.A. in History from University of California, Santa Barbara and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. When Amy isn't unleashing resources for women and girls, she is at the ballpark cheering on her 11-year-old son.

Courtney La Bau

CEO & Founder, CLB Global Strategies

  • Courtney is a C-suite executive and has over 20 years of experience in the international political and business arenas. She is a strategic advisor, published author, and speaker on national security, counter extremism, and business around the world. She is one of LA’s 40 under 40 (2017), and has been featured on CNN, ABC, Al Jazeera, Euro News, The Hill, and Sky News Arabia. She also had a one hour special on CNN with Lisa Ling, highlighting the changing face of terrorism.

    Courtney currently serves as a Los Angeles World Airports Commissioner for the City of Los Angeles. She is appointed by the Mayor, confirmed by City Council, and is serving a five year term. By the Charter of the City of Los Angeles, she is part of a board responsible for the formulation of all airport policy for LAX and VNY. The team responsibilities involve managing more than $30 billion dollars in programs to revolutionize how guests access the airport, and to modernize all aspects of one of the nation's busiest airports. Courtney is also Chair of the Security Committee, working with the largest airport police force in the United States, and collaborates with public safety team and outside government stakeholders to ensure the protection of the public and property.

    Courtney is currently an Instructor with the Safe Communities Institute at the University of Southern California, and a former Los Angeles City Ethics Commissioner.

    Courtney is the CEO & Founder of CLB Global Strategies, a consulting firm focusing on the intersection of national security and global business advisory services. Over decades, Courtney has worked in these senior roles on behalf of the federal government, think tanks, law enforcement agencies, and the private sector. She has a proven level of success through her authentic approach to understanding people, having won multiple awards and honors from various communities, government entities, and elected officials. She has travelled the world interviewing currently incarcerated and former extremists, and has a demonstrated passion and commitment to breaking down silos and enhancing equity in our communities.

    Prior to that, she served as the Chief Global Strategy Officer for Neocova. She was responsible for the overall strategy of the organization’s international work - assessing and creating strategy for regions around the world based on the political, economic, and business environments of each new market. She also oversaw the DC public affairs efforts and political connectivity for the company.

    Previously, Courtney lived in Cairo, Egypt working on global investments in the region. Courtney started her career as a Global Investor for JPMorgan Securities, spending six years at the firm. She continues this work as an avid investor today.

    She has lived and worked in over 65 countries, has a deep knowledge of cultures around the world, and speaks fluent Spanish and conversational Arabic.

    Courtney graduated from the University of Southern California with a Business Administration (Finance) degree.

Joey Teitelbaum

Senior Vice President of Research, Global Strategy Group

  • Joey Teitelbaum has more than a decade of experience in statistical analysis, marketing and communications, and strategic messaging. At Global Strategy Group, they oversee the development and analysis of qualitative and quantitative research tools and provide strategic guidance on how to communicate in ways that don’t just convince voters to act but connect with them on an emotional and cultural level, inspiring long-term change.

    Joey has led polling for local, state, and federal candidates across the country, from her native state of Maryland where she helped elect Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore County Executive Johnny O, and Governor Wes Moore; to the west where she has led research for Robert Garcia (CA-42), Rob Bonta (CA-AG), Kris Mayes (AZ-AG), and Mark Kelly (AZ-Sen).

    Joey has long been passionate about issues of bodily autonomy, working with LGBTQ rights organizations to protect gender-affirming care, working to elect pro-reproductive freedom champions like Katie Porter (CA-45) and Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), to defeat anti-abortion constitutional amendments in Colorado (2020), Kansas (2022) and Kentucky (2022), and enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio state constitution (2023). They have led research on behalf of Planned Parenthood and its affiliates as well as Equity Forward and the Free and Just campaign. And Joey’s work with Giffords, the Joyce Foundation, Project Unloaded, and Everytown for Gun Safety has made them one of the leading voices studying the intersection of public opinion and gun violence prevention, including electorally with candidates in typically red and purple states.

Julia Spiegel

Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary and Senior Advisor on Reproductive Rights to California Governor Gavin Newsom

  • Julia Spiegel is Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary and Senior Advisor on Reproductive Rights to California Governor Gavin Newsom, where she advises the Governor, directs litigation, and helps oversee and drive the state’s work on reproductive rights, health and human services, and immigration.

    As part of this work, Julia helped advance the amendment enshrining the right to abortion and contraception in the California Constitution and helped launch and now runs the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a nonpartisan coalition of 23 governors working to protect and expand reproductive freedom. She also teaches foreign affairs, constitutional law, and global cooperation at Stanford University.

    Julia previously litigated high-impact cases on immigration, voting rights, and other social justice matters as deputy county counsel in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office. Julia was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year and received an award from the County Counsels’ Association of California for her work securing a nationwide injunction blocking the federal government from defunding sanctuary jurisdictions.

    She also served as a senior advisor to the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power and as a law clerk to Judge M. Margaret McKeown on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

    Before graduate school, Julia conducted field research on armed conflict in eastern Africa for the Center for American Progress and the International Crisis Group.

    Julia has a B.A. from Stanford University, an M.P.P from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Dr. Joseph Macaluso

Deputy Director + Chief of Staff, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women

  • Dr. Joseph Macaluso is an accomplished advocate and public servant leader with a career spanning two decades in public affairs, social innovation, and government accountability. A Doctor of Social Work from the University of Southern California as well as a holding Master of Public Administration from Norwich University, Dr. Macaluso has earned a reputation for managing complex issues and delivering sustainable solutions at the intersection of administration, media, politics, law, and policy.

    Dr. Macaluso's career has seen him at the forefront of several high-stakes environments—from managing the longest employee strike in California trial court history to overseeing the administration of the largest treatment court program portfolio in the nation. His roles have varied from Chief-of-Staff and Deputy Director at the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women, where he leads initiatives to combat human trafficking, to Principal Strategist at A Little Strategy Company, where he managed high-profile political operations and crisis communications, with a focus on uplifting the voices of women on color and marginalized communities.

    A certified labor organizer and a graduate of the former AFL-CIO Organizing Institute, Dr. Macaluso has steeped experience in fiscal program management, policy development, and government relations. He has also honed his skills in executive ghostwriting, speech craft, digital content creation, and stakeholder engagement, making him a versatile leader in public service and advocacy.

    Driven by a strong desire to make change and a commitment to social justice, Dr. Macaluso continues to engage in local nonprofits and state-wide democratic politics, influencing policies and advocating for systemic change. His educational background, paired with his extensive experience, positions him as a dynamic and influential figure in the field of social work, gender equity and good government.

Jessica Sabogal and Shanna Strauss

Taller SANAA , Multidisciplinary Visual Artists

  • Taller SANAA (TA - YER SAN - A) are multidisciplinary visual artists and life partners, Jessica Sabogal and Shanna Strauss. They are best known for their portraits on large scale wooden assemblages, wall installations, and works on paper, centering the sacredness of queer, trans, migrant, Black, gender expansive, indigenous people and women of color. They collaborate combining a wide range of artistic disciplines from muralism, photography and photo transfer, spray paint and stencils, to printmaking techniques that include lithography, screen-printing, and photopolymer gravure. Both draw influence from contemporary social movements that use artistic expression as a critical form of resistance against forces that risk their erasure. Together, they create a visual language that engages viewers in conversations and questions around the necessity and futures of indigenous healing, storytelling, and activism.

    Respectively, their work has been collected and exhibited by various institutions including the National Portrait Gallery, de Young Museum, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Library of Congress. Together, they have been commissioned by the California Endowment, the University of California, San Francisco, and the Phi Foundation to create public art installations. Taller SANAA has received the Kala Art Institute Fellowship Award and the Denbo Publishing Fellowship at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center.

DJ heyLove*

  • DJ heyLove* grew up in the Bay Area surrounded by different cultures, ethnicities, and art. Influenced by this diversity she developed a love for variety, which is reflected in her taste for music.

    You'll hear jazz, R&B, downtempo, broken beat, house, bossa nova, afro beat & hip-hop in her collection. "There should be no genre lines in music", heyLove* explains her selections are made with the purpose of expanding the soul thru sound.

    With her extensive range in music DJ heyLove* has shared the stage with artists such as Grammy Award winners the Robert Glasper Experiment & Esperanza Spalding, as well as Seun Kuti, Thievery Corporation, Emily King, Jose James, Questlove, Slum Village, The Funky Meters, Tortured Soul and Mark Farina. She has created good vibes at places like The Warfield, California Academy of Sciences, The Battery SF, City View at the Metreon, The Palace of Fine Arts, Design Center SF/Galleria, and The Getty's Mansion.

    DJ heyLove* specializes in sound design for events such as art gallery openings, fashion shows, wine tastings, and corporate/non-profit events. She has experience in a wide variety of settings and has a sense for choosing music well suited for the moment. Her client list includes the Twitter, Human Rights Watch, Girls Inc., Global Fund for Women, SalesForce, Google, GreenPeace and the Sierra Club.

    DJ heyLove* is also apart of a trio called the "B" Sessions with upright bassist David Arend & Jack Perla on keys ~ fusing an eclectic sound with a live instrument & 2 turntables. Arend, Perla & heyLove* drop many genres of music and can create a chill lounge vibe as well as move a dance floor all night. The "B" Sessions has played for events such as the San Francisco Fillmore Jazz Festival, DreamForce, Yelp and the Castro Street Fair.

RyanNicole

Artist, Actress, Athlete, Activist

  • GRAMMY®-nominated quadruple treat, RyanNicole “utilizes every gift available to her for the liberation of all people”. Affectionately titled the “4A”, RyanNicole seeks opportunities to empower and inspire by way of her pursuits as an award winning Artist | Actress | Athlete | Activist.

    ARTIST

    RyanNicole is a GRAMMY®-nominated (Alphabet Rockers) MC & Poet whose lyrical prowess has been exploited on international stages and web platforms (Team Backpack), garnering fans in the thousands across the globe. She is a TEDx Fellow, whose musical compositions include a solo mixtape, entitled Dis’Onance and several collaborative efforts with her group Nu Dekades (dec-ades) and other artists. RyanNicole has performed with a wide array of artists and persons of influence, most notably President Barack Obama

    ACTRESS

    RyanNicole was sought after to co-star in the NBA on ESPN’s Christmas Special with Daveed Diggs, playing several characters & showing off her comedic & rap skills. Ryan has led several productions of the most reputable theater companies to include Native Son (Marin Theater Company), The Story (SF Playhouse), XTigone (African American Shakespeare Theater), Hamlet: Blood In The Brain & Raisin In The Sun (California Shakespeare Theater/Intersection for the Arts), among many others. She is an alumnus of NYC’s Public Theater Fellowship #BARS Workshop as a writer & performer. Ryan developed & and directed ACT’s Lyrical Cabaret in 2019 & is on the developmental teams for upcoming musicals Curren$y & CoFounders.

    ATHLETE

    Ryan is a longstanding record holder & California State Champion in high school track & field, and maintains accolades in her hometown of Oakland for the fastest yet recorded time for the 300MIH & 400MIH (hurdles), respectively. Ryan was offered scholarships to several universities and accepted full rides to University of Arizona & San Diego State University, where she received degrees in Sociology & Political Science, and held the distinction of Big Red Scholar Athlete (GPA of 3.5 and above). RyanNicole has expanded her talents and interests in athleticism to training personal clients and is in the process of launching an innovative media platform called FITTRIP which serves as a guide to help travelers find healthy options while on the go.

    ACTIVIST

    RyanNicole has served her community as an organizer and activist for 2 decades. She holds the distinction of becoming one of the youngest non-profit executive directors in the Bay Area, where she received a 2-year fellowship in prestigious leadership program, LeaderSpring. RyanNicole now supports various community organizations and initiatives as a business consultant, providing counsel in capacity building, fundraising, marketing/branding and program development. Her client list includes KALW, EastSide Arts Alliance, San Francisco Foundation, and Alliance for Safety & Justice among others.