Meia currently serves as Program Manager, Arts Education and Youth Development for the LA County Department of Arts and Culture. She guides LA County’s initiative to provide young people with pathways into the region’s creative economy. She has extensive experience designing, implementing, and administrating workforce development programs for youth. Meia’s experience also includes community planning, nonprofit management, and organizational development. Previously, she served as a program director and consultant for Antelope Valley YouthBuild where she led the organization’s workforce development programs. Meia is a senior faculty member and subject-matter expert within the School of Business at the University of Phoenix. She has a bachelor’s in journalism, a bachelor’s in Pan-African Studies, and a Master of Public Administration from California State University, Northridge. She is also a first-year doctoral student at the American College of Education, pursuing a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership.

Stephania was appointed as Perenchio Foundation’s first Executive Director, pairing their mission and leadership needs with her background and interests. As Executive Director, she brings her knowledge, her lived experience, and her commitment to investing in and empowering communities to fulfill the Foundation’s mission of fostering the arts. As an immigrant and woman of color, Stephania recognizes the valuable contribution her heritage and relationships brings to her role. Prior to the Perenchio Foundation, Stephania was with the California Community Foundation where she served as director of strategic initiatives leading the development and management of a $30+ million We Count LA, a census outreach campaign that encompasses multi-sector partnerships, grantmaking, fundraising, communications, data collection and evaluation strategies. She also oversaw the LA Arts Relief & Recovery Fund, the largest-ever pooled private investment for arts nonprofits in Los Angeles County. She has more than fifteen years of experience working with foundations and nonprofits leading a variety of cross-sector outreach, communications, civic engagement, and fundraising campaigns.

Stephania has a Bachelor of Arts, Mass Communications, Development Economics degree for University of California, Berkeley and Advanced Project Management certification from Stanford University.

Nicole Hendrix is a four-time Emmy-winning Producer and has won five PromaxBDA GOLD awards as a Producer and Creative Director. With a multi-disciplinary background, Nicole has used storytelling as the main ingredient in her successful campaigns that span across television, games, live events, and film. She is currently working as a Producer and Marketing + PR Consultant with clients like Niantic, Baobab Studios, and 9B Collective. 

She is the Co-Founder/Executive Director of the BRIC Foundation, an organization that focuses on increasing representation for women and people from underrepresented groups in the entertainment industry, where she directs their yearly Talent + Innovation Summit. She is also the Co-Founder of the Concept Art Association, and organization focusing on elevating and raising the profile of concept artists within the entertainment industry, where she directs their yearly Concept Art Awards show. 

She is an international public speaker, where she talks about Storytelling for a Brand and Creativity & Gender. She has given lectures at the University of Connecticut, CG Futures in Melbourne & Sydney, Australia, ing Creatives in Dubai, and many more. In her spare time she works with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault as a volunteer crisis counselor advocate for Peace Over Violence.

Allison Frenzel is an education programs specialist with the California Department of Education’s High School Innovations and Initiatives Office. She supports all Arts, Media and Entertainment (AME) and Secondary Arts programs in the state of California. Prior to her work at CDE, Allison spent 15 years as a classroom teacher and program coordinator in Sonoma County, and founded Pulse Arts, a 501(c)3 dedicated to connecting professional creatives and public education.  Through programs like the AME Workforce Development and Youth Apprenticeship Program, the Hip Hop Education and Equity Initiative, and partnerships with the California Film Commission and creative industry, Allison’s work is centered around supporting arts education equity and increasing access to industry-connected creative learning and career preparatory opportunities for AME programs in the state of California.

Brittney Mendez is a first-generation Mexican American freelance illustrator and animator, who carved her path through hard work and determination. Despite the challenges of growing up in a low income household, her unwavering commitment to her artistic development led her to the prestigious Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. Instead of following the path of entering the world of animation media via enrolling in a four-year college, she found her way by unconventional work paths. She is an alumni of Santa Monica Community College, and has joined organizations, such as “LatinX in Animation”, “Women in Animation”, and the “Group Effort Initiative” as invaluable resources. Brittney currently works as a freelance 2D animator for indie animations, made by smaller productions. She utilizes social media as her way of connection with other freelancers and to support the rise of up-and-coming independent animations in the industry.

Mark serves as the Vice President of Government Relations for JVS SoCal where he advocates for the systems change that address the barriers to good paying jobs, including the creative sector. Much of the work is done in collaboration with other organizations.

Mark has an expertise in navigating complex bureaucratic systems that was first developed in the private sector while employed as an Associate for a leading land-use firm, where he specialized in land use entitlement issues and later serving as the Director of Government Relations for a premier boutique lobbying firm. In this capacity, Mark assisted clients with obtaining or maintaining nearly $250,000,000 in contracts with city and county governments.

In the public sector, Mark’s knowledge base was further developed as a Senior Field Deputy for former Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. He was responsible for managing Brentwood, West Los Angeles and a portion of Palms serving the array of needs for approximately 50,000 constituents. Solving constituent issues involved working collaboratively with city, county, and state agencies, and with the community.

Mark is involved with and committed to community. He served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves and was honorably discharged. He was instrumental, as part of a team of community leaders, in the creation of the Hollywood United Neighborhood Council. He completed a three-year stint as a Board Member of Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles, a dynamic, and progressive, not-for-profit agency that effectively works to improve the health of people who are homeless through direct services, education, and advocacy, working with fellow board members and the executive director to navigate us through a horrible economic downturn. Mark served on the board of Barnsdall Art Park Foundation Board, where he served as chair for two years where they had a role in supporting the inclusion of the Hollyhock House as an UNESCO World Heritage Site representing one-of-eight Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. Presently, Mark serves on the Executive Board of Governors for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, chairs the Legislative Action committee, and formerly co-chair of the Economic and Workforce Development committee.

A product of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Mark has resided in Los Angeles for 27 years. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies from California State University, Northridge with a concentration in Public Administration and Community Service.

Los Angeles native DeJon Ellis Jr. has been a grip with Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 80 for 25 years. He has worked on various projects, from feature films to prime-time television and music videos. Ellis currently serves as Local 80’s business agent for grips, crafts services, set medics, marine, first aid employees and warehouse workers. Ellis is also a member-at-large for IATSE’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.

Inez S. Bush is the San Pedro Waterfront Arts District Board Chair. Inez’s belief in arts and creativity being essential to a healthy society and as a trained facilitator of strategic planning for non-profit organizations, businesses, education, and arts education institutions, which makes her a good fit as Board Chair. As former Assistant Dean of Extension at Otis College of Art and Design, she was responsible for cultivating and implementing external programs that serve businesses, educational institutions, and the community. Previously she worked for the Culver City Unified School District as the District Arts Consultant and founded an award-winning creative marketing communications firm, Gramercy Partners, Inc. Inez received a BFA in Graphic Design from State University of New York, Purchase College and a Master’s in Education, Leadership and Change from Antioch University Los Angeles.

Oscar Magallanes is a Chicano artist based in Los Angeles. Growing up in a Mexican-American barrio in LA, his artwork draws heavily from his upbringing and explores iconography from different eras. Expelled from high school at the age of fifteen, Magallanes was later admitted into the Ryman Arts program, which encouraged him to pursue a career in the arts. He went on to earn a BA in Art from UCLA in 2016 and an MFA in Visual Art from UC San Diego in 2021. His work can be found in the permanent collections of several museums including The National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago and The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California. In 2016, he founded the art collective 3B, which has produced public art projects for various institutions. Magallanes has also served on the boards of several arts organizations and taught at UC San Diego.

Patricia “Patty” Huerta (she/her/ella) is a first-generation Mexican American performing artist, dance-maker, curator, community organizer, arts advocate, and educator from East L.A.  who is dedicated to amplifying the stories of her Latiné culture by weaving together her Afro-Latin Social Dance background with her contemporary dance practices.

She received her B.A. and M.F.A. in Dance and Experimental Choreography from UCR, where she earned The Gluck Fellowship of the Arts, M.F.A. Graduate Fellowship, and UC MEXUS Grant. Patty has collaborated and presented work at The Odyssey Theatre, Redcat Theater, The Ford, Our L.A. Voices at Grand Park in Los Angeles, UCR ARTS Museum, Oxy Arts at Occidental College, FLACC Festival, Mission Dance Theater, Berkeley Arts Museum (BAM), Highways Performance Space, Human Resources L.A., the BlakTinx Dance Festival in Arizona and L.A., and México City. She has taught and choreographed for the Tournament of Roses Parade at Pasadena City College, ACDFA Dance Festival at California State University, Long Beach, various K-12 schools in Southern California, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and is currently a faculty member in the Department of Dance at UCR. 

Patty is a founding member of Primera Generación Dance Collective (PGDC) for over 8 years, a board member of Show Box L.A. (SBLA) in Los Angeles, and an Arts Advocate committee member for Arts For L.A. in Los Angeles. PGDC is the recipient of the 2021-2023 National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) grant as well as the California Arts Council (CAC) and Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) grants. PGDC has been featured in The Los Angeles Times and recently produced and curated the third iteration of (de) Color-Es, a communal event designed to visibilize artists of color at the intersection of dance making and social activism, at NAVEL Space L.A. PGDC is currently working on their next full length work which will premiere at Redcat Theater in June of 2024.