2016 TEAM

Team

Kim Mesa, MBA, President of the Alum Rock Educational Foundation and Program Director
Kim is a former Alum Rock School District Board Trustee and has been on the Alum Rock Educational Foundation Board since 2002. She is excited about expanding the breadth of this summer’s Art & Design Thinking Camp. The camp will have multiple Artists/Arts Educators leading each week’s instruction in order to expand the themes and projects presented each week. “We continue to be excited about providing students with the opportunity to experience art in a very engaging, dynamic, and innovative way. The camp introduces technology tools that further expand the creativity of students, while also providing exposure to hardware and software that are necessary for the future employees of Silicon Valley. This camp helps students see and understand the foundations of math, science, geography, and communication, allowing us to engage youth in projects that highlight the synergy between art, technology and the core curriculum. The foundation is proud to bring this innovative art and technology driven program to the Alum Rock community.”

Corinne Takara , Program Coordinator and Lead Instructor
Corinne is a Bay Area artist and arts education specialist. Her technology infused youth and public art projects engage students as makers and designers. She has collaborated with Alum Rock youth on art projects since 2006, (both in the classroom and in informal learning spaces). A collection of these projects have received state and national recognition for community impact and innovation. Takara designed and brought this camp to life four years ago in collaboration with the AREF. She is excited to broaden the teaching cohort the summer and will be adding lesson plan content to this site. Corinne received her B.A. in Design from Stanford University. She is currently on the instructional team for the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College. She has been both an instructor (Advanced Design Sketching) and a guest speaker in the Mechanical Engineering and History Departments at Stanford. Most recently she has completed an artist residency at the Tech Shop in San Jose.

Alyssa Winans, Instructor/ Illustrator and Game Designer
Alyssa is a freelance illustrator working out of the SF bay area. She earned her BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2012. She specializes in imaginative illustration, and has also worked as a visual developer, concept, and background artist. Most recently she has been contracting for the Google Doodle team. In her free time, she attempts to garden and make pastries. Alyssa has been a guest speaker in the camp since its pilot program in the summer of 2013. She also has attended every end of week showcase critique and contributed valued feedback to the campers. Alyssa is a returning instructor from last year and is returning to co-instructing the very popular Fantasy Character Design Week.

Dennis Chan, Instructor/ Toy Industry Model Maker
Dennis Chan studied sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design, earning his BFA in Illustration in 2012. He currently is employed as a freelance sculptor, most regularly with Rhode-Island based toy company Hasbro. His work includes both traditional and digital sculpture. In his spare time, Dennis also coaches the wrestling team at his alma mater, Gunn High School. Dennis works out of his home in Sunnyvale, California. He has also been a guest speaker in the camp and a vital part of the end of week showcase critiques. Dennis is a returning instructor from last year and is returning to co-instructing the very popular Fantasy Character Design Week.

Michele Guieu, Instructor/ Artist and Arts Education Specialist
Michele Guieu is a Bay Area artist and an Arts Education Specialist. Her art projects for youth and her participatory installations are oriented towards a better understanding of our surroundings and the consequences of human activity on our watershed and the ocean. She develops “across the curriculum” projects, like the Water Project, a series of exercises about our waterscapes, our water consumption, how to protect our watershed, the consequences of our plastic addiction on the ocean and the marine species endangered by the plastic pollution. She creates art integrated projects for specific units, like Rocks and Soil and Forces and Motion. Michele is a teaching artist for Montalvo Arts Center’s “Teaching Artists in the school program” in Campbell and a member of the Montalvo Arts Center Education Committee. Originally from Marseille, France, Michele lived in Senegal, Africa and Paris, before moving to the US. She received a MA in graphic design from the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris (ENSAD).

Lauren Cage, Instructor/ Museum Program Developer and Informal Educator
Lauren is a Gallery Program Specialist for The Tech Museum of Innovation, where she develops and facilitates maker-style STEAM daily programming and workshops. She is also a co-founder of Tinker Belles, where she develops and teaches project-based learning workshops designed to teach interdisciplinary curriculum and help kids develop creative confidence through self-expression. Lauren recently became a board member of the Alum Rock Education Foundation. She holds an Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology.

Alba Cardenas, Instructor and Lead Camp Assistant
Alba Cardenas is recent graduate of San Jose State University and and an experienced youth educator in Alum Rock San Jose. For the past four years, she has worked with middle school students at the STEM Lab at the Joseph George Community Center after school program. She enjoys guiding students in STEM journeys and loves seeing students become inspired to work with their hands and learn new concepts. She is excited to guide the campers for a third year this summer as the Lead Camp Assistant. This summer Alba will also be the instructor for the Arduino programming week.

Rocio Perez, Camp Assistant
Rocio Perez is a graduate student at San Jose State University, majoring in Sociology. After earning her master's degree she plans on returning to California State University East bay, in order to work for the Gaining Access N Academic Success (GANAS) Program. GANAS is an innovative access and retention program at Cal State East Bay that targets and serves newly arrived community college transfer students. Rocio participated as a peer mentor for this program while working on her Bachelor's degree and continues to serve her CSUEB and GANAS community on a regular basis. As a proud product of East San Jose, Rocio joins the team eager to give back to her community. She hopes to serve as living proof that underprivileged students of color can succeed and surpass stereotypical expectations placed on them by society, especially those associated with the Latino community.

Stephanie Esparza, Program Assistant
Stephanie grew up in East San Jose and attended Meyer Elementary, Renaissance Academy Middle School, and graduated from KIPP San Jose Collegiate High School. She is a senior at UC Merced majoring in Sociology and she will be studying abroad at the University of Denmark in Copenhagen this Fall. She is fascinated with systems and thrives on organizing them. As Program Assistant she will insure that all materials & supplies are organized and available throughout the program, as well as administrative duties. This is her third year with the program and she is very excited about the journey she will be taking with the campers this year.

Teen Volunteer Assistants
Information on teen volunteer assistant opportunities to be posted soon.