Summer 2022 Newsletter
PC: Vivian Morey
Dear YS Community,
We can’t believe the summer is almost here – here are a few highlights from the past 3 months: We had a great time with our adult alumni at an in-person dinner (our first ever!) in February and a virtual Words to Art Workshop. Our office welcomed a cohort of 5 new interns, we had a Working with Student Groups training for our volunteers, worked with Your Truth at Work on how to repair harm caused in our community, and tabled at a booth at the LA Times Festival of Books.
We also were part of an exciting launch of free digital learning tools on The Achievery, by AT&T. And of course, we did all this while keeping our elementary, middle, and high school programs going across LA!
In this newsletter edition, you'll meet Young Storytellers alum Jaclyn Navar, volunteer Shawn Tina Willis, educator Amy Parker, donor Niceole Levy, and Marisa Urrutia Gedney & Beatriz Garcia, co-founders of Your Truth at Work (one of our partner organizations). There are so many ways to get involved, including attending our upcoming events, so keep reading to learn more!
STORYTELLER SPOTLIGHTS
Meet a Young Storytellers Alum
Jaclyn Navar, she/her/they/them (currently)
Script to Stage program, 2013
What personal identities are important to you?
I would say that being a Mexican American first-gen young student is important to me. I am a filmmaker, writer, book lover, and lifelong learner.
What are you up to now?
I am currently studying at Woodbury University, in Burbank CA. I study as an Interdisciplinary Major, and the best way to describe it is the Leonardo Da Vinci of majors. I focus on Film, Psychology, and Writing, which are included in my Major. With a current Minor in Philosophy.
What was your story about?
My story was when I was in the script stage program in the fifth grade. My story was about two friends, Jackie and Mika, who solve the mystery of the missing mayor Mr. Big while on a class trip. With Jackie’s detective skills she found out that the maid Ms. Zeebra was the one responsible.
What is something you remember the most from your time at YS?
The most important thing I remember the most from my time in YS is that there is always a story to tell. With YS I was able to format my daydreams and creative stories to different formats like scripts!
How did you get reconnected to YS after your program ended?
I went to different programs that YS offered till I was a freshman in high school in 2016. After a while, I went to look for more film and creative programs while I was attending Hollywood High School. I managed to be a candidate for the Ghetto Film School and I reached out to YS if they had an archive of my old scripts - and they DID! I didn't get into Ghetto Film School but I kept reaching out to see if there were any more programs I could potentially join in the future on Instagram.
What makes you continue engaging with Young Storytellers?
The reason why I continue to engage with Young Storytellers is that it simply has a role in who I am today. I dealt with some hard issues while in elementary and middle school and with the Young Storytellers programs I had a creative outlet that made me feel safe to explore. I want to one day give back by giving my support at the perfect chance.
What do you want current and future YS students to know?
To current and future YS students, I want you to know that this program gives you an experience that no one else can replicate. YS is here for YOU! Never be shy or scared to show off your creativity! Always ask questions and look for little stories in everyday life.
Meet a Volunteer: Shawn Tina Willis, she/her
What personal identities are important to you?
Shawn Tina Willis is a Southern ex-patriate, TV writer, stress baker, and sister to two similarly kooky Black-ish bohemians. As a Southern ex-pat, she infuses Los Angeles life with updated traditions from the South: hostessing parties, finding community, and sharing darn good stories.
Why is volunteering/giving back important to you?
For a stubborn optimist, I recently realized that: we have zero control over the world and others' -- despite our hilariously constant attempts to fix or control outcomes. Volunteering is a relief from that tension. It's a call-to-action to start where you are with what you have (to paraphrase Arthur Ashe). It allows me to get out of the world, and its attending problems, and directly into community. All you have to do is show up!
What first brought you to YS?
I was (and still am) on sabbatical from scripted TV production, and I craved a creative outlet untainted by wonderful, but rigorous 18-hour demands of: wrangling Production; writing my very first episode for our first season of THE GAME; while also supporting our Writers' Room as a Showrunner's Assistant. My creativity tank was not just depleted, but blown to smithereens. But, I recalled a former colleague's buoyant stories of YS mentoring. The cheery, mission-driven website hooked me! I needed to find my way back to play.
What have you most enjoyed about this semester/school year so far?
It's seeing my kids dig in and do the work, even when it's hard. Even when they need a snack or a procrastinating bathroom break and they definitely do not feel like writing. I think we can all relate to that resistance of doing "the work," creative or not. Every session, we work through the creative cranks together to land at a happy-enough group resolution. The kids support each other along that ride and see they can get out of crank-zone! Plus, the times I've made my kids laugh have been the best, hardest-earned laughs of my career.
Meet an Educator: Amy Parker, she/her/they
Teacher at PS 63 Elementary School
What personal identities are important to you?
I have been working towards dismantling White Supremacy culture and advocating for BIPOC liberation as an educator and as a human. As a white person, there is lots of unlearning and learning that I must do. I'm also jewish, but not religious. A woman, a sibling, a child of a queer parent, a partner, and someone who loves to laugh, learn, and create.
Why did you become an educator?
I became an educator to be in a space where I could work towards social justice. I work to give my students the tools and the experience to speak up for what they believe in. I am here for my students when they are in my class and beyond.
How long have you been working with Young Storytellers?
This is my third year working with YST, but I saw the Big Show for 3 years before that as a 3rd grade teacher.
What kind of impact do you think Young Storytellers has on young people?
YST is always one of our 5th graders favorite experiences. It is beautiful to see them connect with creative and caring mentors. They light up when they get to see their work on the stage or screen. Students get to come out of their shells, feel connected to another caring adult, and express their creative side. Working with YST is a true gift.
Meet a Donor: Niceole Levy, she/her
What personal identities are important to you?
Niceole is Black, Jewish, and about thirty other ethnicities that make up her wildly eclectic family background. Born of Southern parents, she loves New Orleans and Southern cooking, but her heart is pure California girl, and nothing makes her happier than the sound of the beach, sunshine, and her stubborn English Bulldog. She is passionate about equity, true inclusion, and telling compelling stories that push back on harmful stereotypes.
What first brought you to YS?
I first came to Young Storytellers because I’d heard about the organization via the creator of “Castle,” who was very involved and spoke highly of the work YS does.
Why do you keep supporting us?
I keep supporting Young Storytellers because having subbed as an instructor in classrooms, I’ve seen up close and personal how the children come alive as their feelings and thoughts are validated while they create their stories. There’s nothing better… and that’s how we create generations of people engaged in big ideas.
What are you most excited about for Young Storytellers?
I’m most excited to see Young Storytellers continue to grow and reach more children. Throughout my lifetime, the push against the arts as “unimportant” has been constant, but this organization pushes back and says the opposite – it says art is vital, and I believe in that mission.
Meet a Partner:
Beatriz Garcia, she/her
Marisa Urrutia Gedney, she/her
Co-Founders of Your Truth at Work
Beatriz Garcia
Marisa Urrutia Gedney
What personal identities are important to you?
“I am a 1st generation bilingual daughter of immigrants, Latina who grew up on the westside of Los Angeles, managing chronic pain” - Beatriz
“I come from 3 generations of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles and manage PTSD from being a sudden death grief survivor.” - Marisa
Tell us more about your organization - what’s your mission?
Your Truth At Work cultivates leaders’* possibilities.
*If you are a person or organization desiring a liberated future - you are a leader.
We were actually inspired by Young Storyteller’s definition of liberation in your Worldview when creating our new mission statement. All of our work is rooted in supporting people and organizations building towards the state of freely existing, thinking, dreaming, and thriving outside of systems of oppression. Our services sustain and fortify leaders by challenging white-dominant norms because we believe when change-makers start to heal, a generation of bold BIPOC and gender expansive leaders will reach expanded possibilities of equity and justice.
What brought you to this work?
We both spent our 15 year careers at various non-profits in leadership roles and after seeing and experiencing inequities, we realized the toll on our own confidence and our truth became more clear: we desire and demand justice. We wanted to focus on helping marginalized folks heal from workplace harm, unlearn internalized oppression, and rise up in their power to keep fighting and be understood, and the beginning of the pandemic opened possibilities for us to co-create in a new way.
How do you see your partnership with YS?
In our partnership with YS we get to be in open conversations uncovering root causes and creating tailored workshops and spaces that help create the meaningful impact you invited us in to do.
Through our collaboration, YS has embraced its commitment to being held accountable and trusting us to challenge the discomfort that arises and move away from centering fragility.
You are the client we hoped to work with-an organization willing to face themselves to create true and lasting DEIB initiatives centering BIPOC and marginalized staff’s experiences.
What else do you want to share about YTAW as your org moves forward?
As we shift from a singular offering to now working with companies and organizations and running healing circles and eventually offering coaching, we are excited to meet more non-profits and companies of all kinds who are also interested in true co-conspirator work to address the harm that happens at work.
Up and Coming:
Behind the Big Show Workshop for Actors - Thursday, 5/12 - in-person: If you’re new to in-person Big Shows, looking for a refresher on how it goes down, or interested in hanging out with the community, join us for Behind the Big Show workshop.
From Words to Art Workshop for Alumni - Monday, 5/16 - virtual: For junior alumni (16 years old and younger) interested in learning how to bring their stories and words to life in art form! Led by professional artists and designers from CMD+Y Collective.
Financial Literacy Workshop for Alumni - date TBD - virtual: For alumni 16 years old and above. Learning how to financially prepare for the future can be scary. Learn how to save and budget at this workshop.
Head Mentor Appreciation Dinner - Wednesday, 6/8 (tentative) - in-person: For Head Mentors that lead our programs! More details coming soon.
End of School Year Party - Thursday, 6/23 - in-person: For volunteers and alumni of the 2021-22 school year! Celebrate another year of amazing stories with our community. More details coming soon.
We’re Hiring:
People & Operations Specialist Full Time – Begins June 2022. Salary range $50-60k. We're looking for a People & Operations Specialist to help us implement equity in recruitment, hiring, and onboarding for all new staff members and interns. This person will also build out systems and procedures that expand our reach and relationships.
Volunteer Outreach & Engagement Strategist Full Time – Begins June 2022. Salary range $55-70k. The person in this new role will help to provide leadership, coaching, and guidance to the Volunteer team; create onboarding systems so volunteers can successfully participate in our programs; develop values-aligned outreach for new volunteers; implement retention strategies -- all grounded in our values and worldview.
