TEAM

Program Assistant

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, Instructor/ Artist and Arts Education Specialist
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 in 2013 in collaboration with the AREF. 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 (KCI) and conducts teacher professional development workshops at the Tech Museum. Throughout the year she mentors youth in 3D print design challenges.

Alyssa Winans, Instructor/ Illustrator and Google Doodler
Alyssa is a SF Bay artist working on the Google Doodle Team. 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. 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.

Erin Slater, Instructor/ Science Writer and Co-Founder of Tinker Belles

Erin Salter is a science writer and co-founder of Tinker Belles. Tinker Belles runs workshops in which kids work with simple circuits as well as traditional craft media (e.g. paper, felt, glitter) to bring their visions to life. As a science writer, Erin worked at Owen Software, writing about STEM events, careers, and education for the educational tool Pathevo. Erin holds a Masters in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

Justin Gabaldon, Instructor
Justin is a cartoonist and a museum educator. He studied film and animation at San Francisco State University, where he was also the president of the Animation Society. He publishes regular comics and short films on his website. Check them out at hornblowerjunior.com He’s also spent the last 6 years working at several children’s museums, including the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the Children’s Museum of the Arts in New York City. Justin is excited to bring animated film making to the Art and Design Thinking Camp this summer.

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 five 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 fourth year this summer as the Lead Camp Assistant. This summer Alba will also be the instructor for the Hands-On Quirkbot and Friends camp week.

Marissa Castillo, Camp Assistant

Stephanie Esparza, Program Assistant
Stephanie grew up in East San Jose and attended Meyer Elementary, Renaissance Academy Middle School, and KIPP San Jose Collegiate High School. She is a recent graduate of UC Merced, with a major in Sociology and a minor in Art. Stephanie studied abroad at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark in the Fall of 2016, and was able to travel throughout Europe while there. She is fascinated with systems and thrives on organizing them. She will insure that everything is prepped and ready for the staff and campers. This is her forth year with the program and she is very excited about the journey she will be taking with the campers.

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