After several years of work in Wall Street’s institutional bond markets, I began my educational career as a non-public school paraeducator. Next came a summer with TFA and a teaching placement in Oakland as a special day class teacher. After 2 years in Oakland schools, I transferred to SF and have taught at both Everett MS and Ida B Wells Continuation H.S. Currently, I am the principal at Downtown High School in Potrero Hill where we offer musical, theatrical, and painting instruction through project-based learning.

I was born and raised in the village of Harlem, NYC during the 1970s. Both the Harlem community and my family were always characterized by connectedness, togetherness, and love. My grandmother, great aunt, aunts, uncles and mother represent my personal leadership team and a love of family is at my core. An ethos of social justice was built into the Harlem, NY I know. I attended Catholic ES and HS, although most friends went to public school. And, I always wondered how public school students got away with cutting?

My competitive desire to be the best started with sports. I excelled in basketball earning all-city honors and consequently learned that if I practice a lot I can become good at whatever I choose. During HS I was offered several athletic scholarships, but chose to attend Columbia College at Columbia University.

Monica Lun has been a Kindergarten teacher at Garfield Elementary School for 20 years. She started her career teaching English Learners. In her 11th year, the Chinese bilingual program changed to become a Cantonese Immersion program making her one of the pioneers in the entire implementation process. She was encouraged to be the school’s arts coordinator 10 years ago because of the colossal display of art projects she does with her students. She is passionate about her work and is well loved by her students, their parents and her peers around the district. Follow link to read the rest of her bio here

Nils Heymann, is originally from El Salvador he has lived in San Francisco for the past eight years. He currently works at June Jordan School of Equity High School. He has been the Arts Coordinator there for over two years. He was the founder of the art program at ARISE High School in Oakland and worked and studied in Minneapolis before that. He is an alum of the School for Art leaders of the National Art Education Association. This year he used TAB- Teaching for Artistic behavior to give students choices in their art production.

Carmen Daniel is currently an Arts Generalist at four SFUSD elementary schools-- Tenderloin ES, Flynn ES, Cleveland ES and Malcolm X Academy. She loves bringing color, drawing and mixed media projects to her diverse students. She started her career at SFUSD as a substitute teacher in the Fall of '07. She then taught a Media Arts elective for 7 years at Roosevelt Middle School, where she honed her digital education skills. Arts education is deeply important for children's development and she feels privileged to be that role in so many wonderful schools. She is also the Arts Coordinator at two of her schools Flynn and Tenderloin.

Misael Villalta was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He is 14 years old. He has been in the United States for 3 years. "I like take pictures of nature specially flowers his favorite hobby is hanging out with my friends and watching movies." He was nominated for his creativity, work ethic and work quality that has stood out among the rest. He takes his assignments and uses his own creativity to add his own style.

Nicole Wu is an 8th grade student at Denman Middle School. She is a graphic designer and is in Mr. Francisco's CTE AME & Advanced Digital Media Arts class. She is a volleyball player and athlete. She will be attending Washington High School for the 2022-2023 school year.

Mia Waller is the Program Director of San Francisco Arts Education Project (SFArtsED). Her long tenure with SFArtsED began as a parent art liaison and then the arts coordinator at Miraloma Elementary School. She is proud to now be part of SFArtsED's mission to bring high-quality arts experiences to students across SFUSD as she collaborates with school sites and places artists in residencies. Mia's long involvement with the arts began at an early age, specifically in technical theater work and, ultimately, as an elementary classroom teacher of 20 years, where she wove artistic expression into every subject. She is firmly committed to the value and importance arts education plays in the development of young people, as well as providing crucial community building within society.

Demetri Broxton is the Senior Director of Education at Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD). An Oakland native, Broxton has over 20 years of experience working in the field of education and the arts. At MoAD, he leads the education programs that enhance the visitor experience at the Museum. Outside of his role at MoAD, Demetri is a practicing artist, represented by Patricia Sweetow Gallery in San Francisco. Broxton holds an M.A. in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University and a BFA from UC Berkeley in Art Practice.

The Asian Arts Department is comprised of:

Margaret Yee, Manager of School and Teacher Program (she/her) taught high school English for over 20 years before becoming a museum educator in 2018. She enjoys working with docents, storytellers, and teachers to design fun, engaging tours and art activities for K-12 school groups. She is excited to create more curriculum on contemporary Asian American art in the coming years.

Pamela Low, Assistant of School and Teacher Program (she/her) began working with students as a performing arts camp counselor at Kid Stock, Inc. where she learned from and worked with the SFUSD teachers. After going to college in the South Bay, Pamela returned to San Francisco at the Asian Art Museum. As the Art Education Assistant, she is delighted to work with SFUSD students and teachers once again. She is proud to be part of the museum’s School Programs team and honored to be one of the Arts Ambassador Award recipients.

Jennifer Miller, Assistant of School and Teacher Program (she/her) has been in the museum field since 2007 with a Masters in Museum Studies, focusing on Education and Interpretation and has a background in Anthropology and Egyptology. Her broad experience in establishing relevant programming for our teachers, and creating a visitor experiences in multiple disciplines and in a variety of engagement methods, makes her an invaluable partner with the SFUSD Arts Department. She is an advocate and facilitator for a hands-on and collaborative processes to engage staff , visitors and students in the process. Working with Jennifer and the Asian Art Museum is a genuine pleasure.

PROVIDING FREE DANCE EDUCATION TO PK–12 STUDENTS

Established in 1979, the Dance in Schools and Communities (DISC) residency program was created in response to an expressed need for arts instruction in public schools that would also provide a means of access, education, and opportunity for students of diverse cultural backgrounds. San Francisco Ballet’s current DISC residency program serves nearly 3,000 SFUSD students from over 40 schoolseach year at the pre-kindergarten/transitional kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school levels.

San Francisco Ballet's DISC Program mission is to inspire connection, creativity, and confidence through dance and music. Using inclusive and accessible approaches, DISC empowers each student to unleash their inherent wisdom, playful body, and creative soul. Each DISC residency strives to foster authentic cross-cultural learning, model embodied respect and awareness, and create safe spaces—both physical and emotional—for students to explore with curiosity, passion, and purpose. Congratulations to the SF Ballet DISC Dance Teaching Artists and Musicians.

David Cha, Alisa Clayton, Manolo Davila, Kyra Katagi, Omar Ledezma Jr., Terrence Paschal, Wade Peterson, Phoenicia Pettyjohn, Jessica Recinos, Bongo Sidibe, Joti Singh, Genoa Sperske, Jessie Wesoky, Maura Whelehan