Members of the 2015-16 ACTIVATE Program cohort launched advocacy initiatives (Action Projects) impacting 26 cities and 27 school districts across LA County. Below you can learn more about these Fellows and their advocacy initiatives.
Arts Education Fellow
Los Alamitos USD
Donna Artukovic, an Arts Education Fellow from Los Alamitos Unified School District (Orange County), has been working to identify, inspire, train, and situate an Arts Chair at each of the 21 PTA Councils that comprise Orange County. By creating the Arts Chair position on these PTA Councils, Artukovic intends to elevate the voice of parent stakeholders in district and county-wide conversations about arts education. Artukovic hopes to see Arts Chairs installed in most of these PTA Councils as early as the onset of the 2016-2017 academic school year.
Tiffany “Jimini” Bong is a world-class, Hip Hop dancer and educator with a strong repertoire of original Hip Hop/Street dance forms. Her titles include being the two-time world Locking champion for Hip Hop International and the North American Locking Champion and representative at the renowned R-16 World Battle in Seoul, Korea. She is a founding member of the female dance crew, The Syrenz - who have performed beside commercial artists such as Justin Bieber, Usher, and Rihanna, and a member of World Dance Crew - founded by Janet Jackson’s iconic choreographer, Anthony “Bam Bam” Thomas. She continues to contribute to the global Hip Hop dance community by performing, judging, and teaching around the world. Tiffany has two bachelors’ degrees in Dance and Psychology, along with a Professional Designation in Arts Education. She is a teaching artist and presenter for prestigious organizations such as The Music Center, LA County Arts Commission, and Culture Shock LA. She is the founder and executive director of UniverSOUL Hip Hop - a community-based, K-12 cultural education company that brings cutting-edge Hip Hop programs into diverse school communities. In August 2016, Tiffany will be joining the faculty team at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance as a Lecturer in Hip Hop dance.
Jennifer M. Cuevas (she/her/ella) is a communications and digital marketing consultant, cultural arts producer and CEO of Jenerate Media (Jennifer Cuevas Consulting), a boutique PR and Marketing agency that specializes in the arts, social impact and non-profit organizations. Based in Los Angeles (Tongva Territory), Cuevas is a skilled strategist and tactician who advises organizational leadership, leads bilingual public relations and integrated marketing campaigns; as well as event curation and production, media coaching and facilitation. At the core of her work is a passion for producing, the arts and cultural preservation, connecting people and unique places, while documenting and sharing the experiences.
Client affiliations include Self Help Graphics & Art, Academia Avance Charter School, California Native Vote Project, Women Organizing Resources, Knowledge and Services, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and many international performance artists and cultural organizations spanning more than 20 years. She holds a B.A. in Communications, with a concentration in Public Affairs/Information, from the University of La Verne; and is an advocate for the arts, affordable housing, and educational equity.
Jennifer is an Arts for LA Activate Fellow alumna, where she co-developed Create Justice with Scholar Ella Turenne and Filmmaker Tiffany Judkins. Now a national Carnegie Hall initiative, Create Justice was developed in 2016 in collaboration with The Arts for Healing and Justice Network (formerly known as Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network). After serving on its Program Advisory Board for several years, Jennifer joined Arts for LA’s Board of Directors in 2022. Jennifer resides in Los Angeles with her husband and collaborator, Photographer/Videographer Pablo Aguilar, and their senior dog, Luna.