Our Team

OF/BY/FOR ALL is a young nonprofit with a committed team. Our board and staff come from many places and perspectives, helping us serve our expanding Change Network.

 
 

Staff

Courtney Harge (she)
Chief Executive Officer

Courtney Harge is a producer, director, and professional arts administrator originally from Saginaw, MI. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Colloquy Collective, a theater company based out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She has worked for the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, Theater for the New City, The Public Theater, Gibney Dance, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and, most recently, Fractured Atlas where she led the design and implementation of anti-racist practices, like race-based caucusing and an equity-informed customer service strategy. She holds a Masters of Professional Studies, with Distinction, in Arts and Cultural Management from Pratt Institute and a Bachelors of Fine Arts with Honors from the University of Michigan in Theater Performance. Her credo (#HustlingKeepsYouSexy) is not merely a hashtag; it’s a way of life.

Lauren Benetua (she/they)
Associate Director of Data & Memberships

Lauren Benetua is an arts advocate and cultural worker in love with art for social change. They’ve had the pleasure of working with mission-driven, justice-oriented nonprofits around the Bay Area, focusing on social responsibility and cultural equity, including Emerging Arts Professionals, Betti Ono, The American Arts Incubator, San Jose Peace & Justice Center, Western States Arts Federation, and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. They were the founding Community Catalyst at OF/BY/FOR ALL, coaching members of the Change Network and facilitating workshops and trainings around the globe before stepping into the new role as the Associate Director of Data & Memberships. Lauren is also a dedicated culture-bearer with a traditional arts practice as an apprentice weaver with Kalingafornia Laga Weaving Circle and with the San Francisco Kulintang Project. Lauren’s passion is her community and is convinced that creative change making rests at the intersection of courage and compassion. They hold a Masters in Museum Studies from the International Institute of Lorenzo de’ Medici and a Bachelors in History of Art and Visual Culture from UC Santa Cruz.

Vanessa Ramalho (she)
Director of Storytelling & Relationships

Vanessa Ramalho is an educator, artist, and birth worker with foundations in social justice education, sexual & reproductive health education & advocacy, and nonprofit fundraising and administration. With over a decade of experience in the nonprofit arts & cultural sector, Vanessa has led community education, fundraising, and grassroots advocacy projects across a range of organizations, including the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), Project KISS of New York Presbyterian Hospital, The Princeton Ballet School, the Asian Arts Initiative, and the Center for Babaylan Studies. Vanessa is applying her skills with systems, management, and marketing to support OF/BY/FOR ALL’s growth and expansion. Vanessa holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Rutgers University Newark and a Master’s of Arts in Arts Politics from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Andrew Aaron Valdez (he)
Program Assistant

Andrew Aaron Valdez is a certified trauma professional, educator, multi-disciplinary artist, community organizer and arts administrator from Donna, Texas. He is currently a Steering Committee Member of the Latinx Theatre Commons, and an Educator/Grant Circle Writing member for the Indigenous Cultures Institute. Andrew has been a fellow or resident artist at: Americans for the Arts, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland Leadership Institute, Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center, the League of Resident Theatres, National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, and Twelve Literary Arts, with projects focusing on immigration reform, and immersive art experiences. Most recently, Andrew was the Creative Community Builder at Cleveland Play House piloting a new initiative of community centric programming. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in Theatre Studies and is an Alumni of the Terry Foundation.

Jana Lynne Umipig (she)
Associate Director of Curriculum

Daughter of Rosemarie Caldetera Umipig (Pagudpud, Ilokos Norte) and Godofredo Peralta Umipig (Santa Maria, Ilokos Sur) born and raised on the Kingdom of Hawaii, Jana Lynne currently resides on Lenape Territory (Bronx, NY). She is a cultural/knowledge bearer, centered on intergenerational liberation and decolonization work. JL is a Creator, with intentions of planting generative seeds through her multidisciplinary artistic expression/creation work, role as a liberation educator and as an intuitive bodywork and Ilokano healer. She has been doing direct service organizing and healing work with intersectional communities all over the US and Internationally in detention centers, rehabilitation centers, community centers, schools and the homes of those in need, for over 12 years.

Lu Aya (he/they/we)
Community Catalyst

Lu Aya is the co-founder of The Peace Poets, a Hip Hop and Spoken Word crew from The Bronx that has made an indelible mark on the social movements of our times by supporting the re-emergence of the art of collective singing in protest and direct action.  He is a poet, educator, emcee, musician, facilitator, cultural worker and loving loyal comrade to many communities. He has woven together the fields of art, human rights and public health by designing and facilitating community building programs for peace and justice in 40 countries.  Lu is also a founding trainer with The Wildfire Project and a member of Canticle Farm where he lives in Oakland. 

Siena Beacham (she)
Storytelling & Content Catalyst

Siena leads with love in all her endeavors. She celebrates the positive power of strategic communication and storytelling as a tool for empathy and progress. has a deep appreciation of beauty and excellence in all things, particularly the human spirit. She is dedicated to the work of expanding hearts and planting compassion, and in all people. A poised and captivating public speaker, Siena has presented to international audiences, hosted events, and moderated professional panels. Her combined experience of 8 years in the marketing field is also coupled with her work in the creative, fashion & music industries, education, and community development. Siena graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Arts - Journalism and a Minor in Spanish. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Universitat Internacional de Catalunya in Arts & Cultural Management. In addition, Siena is also a singer. Music is truly her first love!

 

Consulting Staff

Sohrab Harooni - Finance Manager (he)

Sohrab Harooni is a financial partner to mission-driven startups. Sohrab oversees all our financial activity (and is a pretty amazing DJ as well).

You can reach anyone on staff by emailing: firstname @ofbyforall.org

board members

Board

Board Members from left to right: Nina Simon, Jonell Logan, Antonia Franco, Craig Vachon, Erik Takeshita, Leila Tamari, Ellen Moir. Not pictured: Beck Tench.

 

Nina Simon - Trustee and Founder

Nina Simon is supporting OF/BY/FOR ALL as a board member after three years as founding CEO. She is an Ashoka fellow, author, and former museum director.

Ellen Moir - Chair

Ellen founded New Teacher Center in 1998 to scale high quality teacher induction services to a national audience, reaching over 250,000 teachers. Ellen stepped down as CEO in 2018 and is an independent educational consultant.

Jonell Logan - Secretary

Jonell believes creativity belongs to all people and can be an effective tool in transforming communities. As Executive Director of the League of Creative Interventionists, Jonell supports creative placemaking and new leader development.

G. Craig Vachon - Treasurer

Craig is an entrepreneur and investor.

Dr. Antonia Franco - Trustee

Antonia has worked for over 20 years in nonprofit and government and philanthropic sectors on diversity, equity and inclusion; workforce development; strategic partnerships and community engagement.

Leila Tamari - Trustee

Leila is a first generation North American and New York City native with experience in non-profit and philanthropic sectors supporting creative placemaking, the arts, and community development and engagement efforts.

Erik Takeshita - Trustee

Erik has over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of community development and the arts. He is currently a Senior Fellow with ArtPlace America.

Beck Tench - Trustee

Beck is a designer, technologist, and PhD student at the University of Washington where she researches how to facilitate contemplative environments in libraries through the design of space and technology.

 

Partners

We have worked/ are working with several amazing contractors:

 

Funders

We are building OF/BY/FOR ALL in partnership with visionary funders who believe in the power of inclusive organizations.

Thank you to the early supporters who made it possible for us to turn this project from a dream to reality:

Thank you to our current donors, who are helping fuel the growth of the Change Network program to involve hundreds of organizations around the world:

If you’d like to know more about our expansion plans and how you can contribute meaningfully to the growth of this work, please contact Courtney Harge.

And if you’d like to make a personal donation right now, click here!

Early Advisors

 

OF/BY/FOR ALL started with many conversations and creative contributions from advisors around the world. Thank you to everyone who has contributed expertise and energy to this emerging movement, including:

  • Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History board members Peter Orr, Laura LaPorte, Carola Barton, Bella Babot, Ken Doctor, and Bobbi Burns

  • Robert Blackson, Temple Contemporary

  • Mark Crosby, National Trust

  • Deborah Cullinan, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

  • Hannah Fox, Derby Museums

  • Erica Freudenberger, Southern Adirondack Library System

  • Jeff Gaffney, Santa Cruz County Parks

  • Nate Hill, Metropolitan New York Library Council

  • Elaine Heumann Gurian, cultural consultant

  • David Koren, FIGMENT

  • Peter Linett and Sarah Lee, Slover Linett Audience Strategies

  • Luis Marcelo Mendes, cultural consultant

  • Ellen Moir, New Teacher Center

  • Monica Octavia Montgomery, Museum of Impact

  • Mike Murawski, Portland Art Museum

  • Susan Nemitz, Santa Cruz Public Libraries

  • Leslie Payne, James Irvine Foundation

  • Laurel Racine, Lowell National Historical Park

  • Scott Roseman, New Leaf Community Markets

  • Aaron Schmidt, Influx

  • Mimosa Shah, Skokie Public Library

  • Erik Takeshita, Bush Foundation

  • Leila Tamari, ArtPlace America

  • Beck Tench, University of Washington

  • Craig Vachon, Chowdahead Growth Fund

  • Jasper Visser, VISSCH+STAM

  • Laura Zabel, Springboard for the Arts