About YBCA

 
Opened to the public in 1993, YBCA was founded as the cultural anchor of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. Our work spans the realms of contemporary art, performance, film, civic engagement, and public life. Centering artists as essential to social and cultural movement, YBCA is reimagining the role an arts institution can play in the community it serves.

Our Mission

We believe that culture is an essential catalyst for change.

Therefore, it’s the responsibility of arts institutions to spur and support societal movement.

Our mission is to generate culture that moves people.

YBCA’s Prioritized Communities

 
Language matters. YBCA is committed to doing the best we can to find and use the words to ensure that people are seen and acknowledged and that we are accountable to our commitment to social, racial, and economic equity and justice. This list of our prioritized communities was honed through consultation with social practice artists from multiple communities and backgrounds and is meant to call folks into participation with us. However, we know that language has power and words and labels can cause harm, and can easily exclude many people. We also understand that language, when careful, can lift and empower all of us. Most of all, we embrace that language is accountable and necessarily dynamic. We will keep on listening, responding and adjusting the words we use and the actions we take.

American Indian and Alaska Native
Asian and Asian American
Black and African American
Disabled
Indigenous and Indigena
Latinx
Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Two-Spirit, +
Middle Eastern, North African, South Asian
Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian

Team

Lula Ahmed-Falol, Manager of Community and Artists Investment

Alexis Amann, HR Manager

Sandie Arnold, Director of Philanthropy

Yoni Asega, Co-Head Preparator

Sara Fenske Bahat, CEO

Christian Medina Beltz, Sr. Manager of Communications

Kendall Benford, Community Investment Assistant 

Luka Blackmore, Executive Assistant

Jason Blackwell, Director of Community Investment

Giuliana Blasi, Grant Writer

Bert Hebbert Castillo,  Head Audio Technician

David Chai, Sr. Advisor

Jodi Cobalt, Head of Performing Arts + Special Events

Rea Lynn de Guzman, Manager of Community Partnerships

Duane Duckworth, Lead Facilities Technician

Anna Lisa Escobedo, Sr. Manager of Artist Engagement and Impact

Sameh Fahmy, Security Manager

Elaine Fong, Lead Community Experience Representative

Michael Fong, IT Systems Administrator

Chris Griffin, Director of Production

Freddy Grijalva, Security Officer

David Gutelius, Sr. Advisor

Sabrina Habel, Event Services Manager

Ursula Hunting, Manager of Corporate Partnerships and Events

Stephanie Imah, Director of Artist Investment

Leslie Irwin, Sr. Marketing Manager

Natalie Just, Sr. Manager of Community Experience

Bob Kenmotsu, IT Manager/Senior Database Administrator

Jaimie Kim, Staff Accountant

Amy Kisch, Head of Art + Public Programming

Daniela Lencioni, Senior Manager of Strategy and Operations

Oscar Linares, Facilities Technician

Julie Mae Lopez, Director of People & Culture

Cori Lucas, Program Event Manager

Lauren Macmadu, Head of External Relations

Amelia Maffin, Digital Marketing Manager

Bella Manfredi, Sr. Preparator – Generalist

Zoila Marquez, Community Experience Representative

Cary McClelland, Chief Operating Officer & Registered In-House Counsel

Patrick Mena Ramirez, Security Officer

Rafael Miranda, Desktop Administrator

Flavia Mora, Community Partnerships Coordinator

David Owens Hill, Chief of Staff

Joey Pacheco, Event Services Specialist

Veronica Pheils, Production Manager

Sonia D. Pina, Event Manager, YBCA Rentals Program

Xochitl Quiroz, Community Experience Representative

Dio Ramirez, Office Manager

Rebeka Rodriguez, Director of Community Partnerships

Mark Sabb, Creative Director, Head of Content & Digital Strategy

Ernesto Salinas, Security Lead

Delmy Del Rosario Sanchez Jarquin, Cultivation Operations Assistant

Nalinee Siroros, Sr. Accounting Manager

Michael Sousa, Lead House Manager

Nasira Spells, Project Manager, Marketing & Technology

Mike Starobin, Forum House Head Technician, ETCP Electrician

Martin Strickland, Director of Curatorial Projects and Public Experience

David Tim, Co-Head Preparator

Martins Ukpabi, Security Officer

O Vegh, Exhibitions Project Manager & Registrar

Charles Ward, Director of Raffle Operations

Jessica Williams, Interim Director of Events

Dontina Williams, Program Coordinator

Greg Wilson, Theater House Head Technician

Jason Zimmerman, Director of Facilities & Security

Work With Us

 
If you are inspired by innovation, creativity, and progress, join us.

Learn more →

Board of Directors

Renuka Kher
Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship,
San Francisco, CA
Board Chair

Jeff Chang
Vice President of Narrative,
Arts and Culture, Race Forward,
Oakland, CA
Board Member

Amy Eliot
Design Principal at Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture,
San Francisco, CA
Board Member

Nancy Levinson
Editor and Executive Director
of Places Journal,
San Francisco, CA
Board Member

Laura Livoti
Philanthropic Advisor and
Nonprofit Consultant,
San Francisco, CA
and New Orleans, LA
Board Member

Nazli Parvizi
Government and Nonprofit Consultant, Anthropologist and Chef,
San Francisco, CA
Board Member

Sunya Berkelman Rosado Anthropologist and Community Organizer,
San Francisco, CA
Board Member

Corinne Sklar
Vice President, Marketing & Communications, IBM Consulting, IBM
Mill Valley, CA
Board Member

Clyde Valentin
Director of Ignite/Arts Dallas at SMU Meadows School of the Arts,
Dallas, TX
Board Member

Zak Williams
Founder of New Co.,
Los Angeles, CA
Board Member

Helen Sause
Former Deputy Executive Director,
San Francisco Redevelopment Agency,
Alameda, CA
Emeritus

Annual Report

Our mission is made possible by our stakeholders, those invested in ensuring that we can continue our work. Explore this past fiscal year’s highlights.

2020-21 Audited Financial Statement

2020-21 IRS Form 990

Past Annual Reports and Financials →