Zoo Labs: FUND

Zoo Labs: FUND is sponsored by Zoo Labs (in partnership with CCI Arts). Zoo Labs: FUND supports Bay Area entrepreneurs building businesses that center music, providing funding, mentorship, and educational resources.

Zoo Labs: FUND – Center for Cultural Innovation Applications for the 2026 Zoo Labs: FUND round are now closed! Learn more about the 2025 Zoo Labs: FUND Grantees! Zoo Labs supports music creators whose work is rooted in bold innovation, lived experience, and community expression – empowering them to fully own and expand their creative paths.

It bridges the worlds of music and business by providing artist-tailored entrepreneurial training. It also supports Bay Area creatives through unrestricted funding and a strong professional network, investing in their power to build lasting legacies that drive cultural vibrancy and economic growth. In 2026, Zoo Labs: FUND will make $225,000 in unrestricted grants to Bay Area culturally rooted artist teams with a music business.

Zoo Labs: FUND is a grant and investment program designed to support Bay Area entrepreneurs who are building businesses that center music. By providing funding, mentorship, and educational resources, the FUND helps creative business owners in the Bay Area begin or scale their ventures in ways that contribute to cultural enrichment, economic empowerment, and community benefit.

The FUND prioritizes culturally rooted artists (i.e., artists whose work is deeply influenced by their cultural heritage, traditions, and community experiences, and who draw upon the stories, symbols, practices, and values of their cultural background to inform their art) who face challenges or structural hurdles to accessing capital, and aims to create more opportunities in the local creative economy.

Investing in these businesses fosters innovation, preserves cultural and artistic expression, and generates jobs. It also works against displacement by creating stable economic opportunities that enable individuals to thrive in the Bay Area. Through this support, Zoo Labs: FUND advances a fair and sustainable creative ecosystem for the public good.

Zoo Labs: FUND celebrated its sixth year of grantmaking in 2026. The application process and funding distribution was be administered in partnership with the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a trusted nonprofit intermediary focused on the financial well-being of artists, arts workers, culture bearers, and creative entrepreneurs. Applications open June 9 at 9:00 a.

m. PT Applications close August 14 at 11:59 a. m.

(morning) PT Panel Review Week of October 5 Award Notifications October 13 by 5:00 p. m.

PT Period of support October 2026 - October 2027 To be considered for funding, applicants: Must be teams of two or more people, with at least one culturally rooted artist member; Must be launching or have an already established business with a focus on music; Must reside full-time in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, or Sonoma County (this criterion applies to ALL team members); Can be any age; however, if any member of the team is 18 years old or younger, CCI staff must be contacted to discuss the team’s eligibility; Can be a previous grantee3; however, first-time award recipients may be prioritized; and Must be 18 years or older at the time of the application deadline.

Refer to the Program Guidelines and FAQ for further details on eligibility. Image Courtesy of Audiopharmacy, Zoo: Labs FUND Grantee. From left to right: Priscilla Lopez, Azeem Ward, jo love/speak cruz, Chika D, Teao Sense, Gina Madrid, Lulu Medina, Ras K’ Dee, and Amré Leon Dana.

Summer Arts & Music Festival at County Line Ranch in Cooks Valley, Photo by David Saenz, 2022 Info Session & Office Hours CCI will invite panelists who reflect diverse cultural, gender, and experiential backgrounds to review eligible applications and make award recommendations.

Panelists will evaluate applicants’ Pitch Video, Business Matrix, Budget/Budget Notes, and Work Sample against the following criteria: Group Strength: The team members, through their individual roles and as a collective, are critical to sustaining the business. Artistry & Craft: The business reflects or furthers the team’s artistic, creative, craft, or cultural practice.

Entrepreneurship: The team has a feasible business plan (emerging enterprises) or business model (already established enterprises) and is creating traction for the business. External & Internal Impact: The business has a public benefit and makes a positive contribution to its community and the Bay Area’s arts and culture ecosystem, in addition to the grant funding arriving at a critical juncture.

External Impact: How this is realized will be relative to the individual business and its mission. For example, the business may create economic opportunities, bring accessible educational experiences to young people, help audiences heal, or center marginalized voices. The application will ask businesses to identify the field in which they are having an impact.

Field options include: Animal Rights; Arts & Culture; Community/Economic Development; Democracy/Political Activities; Disability Rights; Education; Environment & Climate Justice; Food & Agriculture; Gender Equity; Health & Healthcare; Housing/Homelessness; Human & Civil Rights; Immigration & Refugee Rights; Indigenous Communities, Culture, & Rights; LGBTQ+ Rights; Public Safety/Criminal Justice/Restorative Justice; Racial Justice & Healing; Religion; Science & Research; Youth Development & Engagement.

See the Application Preview for more information. Critical Juncture & Internal Impact: The team is at an inflection point where an infusion of capital has the potential for short- or long-term internal impact, such as seeding a business’ launch, propelling a business’ growth, supporting the business’ sustainability, or investing in the untapped potential of an established business.

Panelists will aim to ensure that recommended grantees align with the evaluation criteria and represent the Bay Area’s diverse arts and culture ecosystem. To that end, the panel will seek to balance the final grantee pool across factors, which include: communities served, geography, business focus, benefit(s) imparted, arts and cultural form/tradition represented, and other descriptive demographics.

Refer to the Program Guidelines and FAQ for further details on the review process and criteria. Please note: These are not formal presentations, nor will they be recorded. Office Hours are an opportunity to have your questions addressed by CCI staff in real time.

We ask that you review the grant guidelines, application preview, and Frequently Asked Questions in advance to ensure everyone’s time is used efficiently. CCI staff are here to help and listen. For assistance, please email us at grants@cciarts.

org (include Zoo Labs: FUND in the subject line) or call 415. 288. 0530.

You may also schedule a time to speak here . For Deaf applicants and those with hearing loss, contact CCI using the California Relay Service —our staff is trained in making and receiving these calls. If you need technical assistance (e.g., password or upload issues), request support at: https://www.

submittable. com/help/submitter/ . Submittable’s business hours are 9 am – 5 pm MT.

They aim to respond within 24 business hours. Refer to this Submittable Quick Tips for additional support! Zoo Labs: FUND is supported by Vinitha and David Watson, and individual donors.

Celebrating 25 Years of Empowering Artists and Creative Communities Leah Reisman is a knowledge builder, community connector, and cultural strategist based in Philadelphia. Most recently, Leah served as program officer at the Barra Foundation, where she sourced and stewarded arts and culture and education-related projects that embody novel approaches to community challenges.

She previously served as Health & Wellness Director at Puentes de Salud, where she launched and shepherded programs in close partnership with Latinx community leaders.

After an early career in museums, Leah became deeply embedded in Philadelphia’s cultural and immigrant communities – she serves on the boards of Juntos, the Association of Mexican Business Owners of Philadelphia, and I/O Research, and is a co-initiator and advisory committee member of the Pennsylvania Fund for Immigrant Rights and Equity.

She has also consulted to local and national nonprofits and foundations on the role of art and culture in social and community change. Bilingual in Spanish, Leah thrives at the intersection of high-level strategy and grassroots work, and is a student of community-led and culturally responsive practice.

Leah also speaks and writes about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector; her work has been featured in academic journals, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Center for Effective Philanthropy, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She holds a Ph. D.

in sociology from Princeton University and a B. A. in anthropology from the University of Chicago.

Portrait by Jessica Miller Dr. Angie Kim (she/her) has served as President and CEO for the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a California-based knowledge and financial services incubator for individual artists, since 2014. She is also the founder of CCI’s national, pooled fund program, AmbitioUS, which invests in alternative economic paradigms of and federated infrastructure by those seeking financial self-determination.

Angie has over 20 years of experience in the arts and in philanthropy having worked in various roles in grantmaking, public policy, evaluation, and communications at the Getty and Flintridge foundations, and as director of programs at Southern California Grantmakers.

In addition, while successfully pursuing her doctorate on the topic of U.S. private philanthropy, she worked as a consultant helping arts and social justice foundations connect strategic program design with evaluation outcomes. She has been a lecturer on philanthropy at Claremont Graduate University and University of Southern California, and has served as an advisor of numerous arts, impact investing, and equity initiatives.

She has served on the boards of California Humanities, Leveraging Investments in Creativity, and as vice-chair of Grantmakers in the Arts and council member of American Alliance Association of Museums Center for the Future of Museums. Kim received her B. A.

in art history and English literature from Linfield College, M. A. in art history from University of Southern California, and Ph.

D. in public policy from Walden University. Working at the intersection of creativity and social change, Jennelyn Bailon is a program manager and independent curator passionate about work that is driven by empathy, community, and empowerment.

She was most recently the Program Specialist at the Center for Nonprofit Leadership at California Lutheran University where she developed community partnerships and capacity building programs for the nonprofit sector of the CA Central Coast. In addition to her work in capacity building and philanthropy, Jennelyn has worked in the Education departments at institutions across the U.S. such as the J.

Paul Getty Museum, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She received her Bachelors in Art History and Interdisciplinary Visual Art at the University of Washington and completed her Masters in the History of Art and Design at Pratt Institute where her research focused on the history and intersections of socially engaged art and museum education.

Alongside her work within museums and nonprofits, she is an advocate and organizer within the Filipinx American creative community.

Her most recent contributions to the Filipinx American community have been her exhibitions: Walking in the Sun at Human Resources, Los Angeles (May 2019), Trabaj/ho: Resistance of a Colonial Imprint at the Carnegie Art Museum, Studio Gallery in Oxnard, CA (October 2019 – January 2020), and Mahalaga at the Music Center in Los Angeles (October 2020).

Jennelyn was born in the Philippines, raised in the Pacific Northwest and is currently based in Ventura County. Portrait by Jessica Miller Nyia Hawkins (she/her/hers – hear my name ) is the Impact Investment Strategist & Storyteller, AmbitioUS .

AmbitioUS encourages the development of nascent alternative economies and fresh social contracts that make it possible for artists and cultural communities to achieve financial self-determination. Her work will build on the existing and future work of the portfolio with a focus on exploring a variety of integrated capital and impact investing tools rooted in real-life examples.

She is also a seasoned business and economics journalist who profoundly understands the impact of financial disparities and systemic inequality. Her strong desire to align her passions with her career has led her to transition into the impact space. Nyia has successfully led initiatives aimed at disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and advancing economic and racial equity in Latin America through narrative change.

Before joining CCI, she was Cheddar News Executive Producer for Special Projects. She has also reported and produced content for CGTN and Associated Press. Nyia has an M.

A. in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B. A.

in American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Will Tamura (they/them) is a Bay Area-based culture worker championing independent filmmakers and advancing inclusive storytelling. They are deeply committed to art as a tool for political and social change.

Most recently they were a Programmer at Chicken & Egg Films, a non-profit for documentary filmmaking. While at C&E they specialized in grantee selection, creative development of supported films, and designing filmmaker labs. They also shaped strategic programmatic initiatives, including the Theory of Change and expanding support for trans and nonbinary filmmakers.

Prior to C&E, they built a strong foundation in justice-oriented work as a Legal Assistant to Jim Chanin, a Bay Area-based civil rights attorney. They have also held roles at A24 and Cinetic Media. Will received their B.

A. s in Film and Political Science from UC Berkeley and their M. A.

in Film and Media Studies from Columbia University. They are passionate about repertory film, mutual aid and queer literature. Portrait by Jessica Miller Melba’s art praxis focuses on the body as a site for joy, pleasure and liberation expressed through performance, modeling, video art, installation, and fiber arts.

In 2024 they directed their first short film, “Mi Ofrenda,” which won first place in the CBS Leadership Pipeline Challenge. She has performed at LACE and Human Resources, and led art activations with Pacoima Beautiful and 11:11 Collective and worked as a teaching artist helping young filmmakers of color discover their voice.

She recently participated in Self-Help Graphics Printmaking Atelier, producing a print for the Pachucxs Revisited show at the Cal State Northridge Galleries. Melba weaves their varied knowledge together to create space for historically excluded voices in the arts and the world at large.

Portrait by Jessica Miller Leeann Wallett (she/her) is Program Officer, AmbitioUS at the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a national pooled fund program that encourages the development of burgeoning alternative economies and fresh social contracts in ways that artists and cultural communities can achieve financial freedom.

Leeann has more than fifteen years of experience in the nonprofit industry and state government in various positions—from a regional arts organization, the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state arts agency, and two nonprofit museums—focused on grantmaking to organizations and individuals, program and budget management, and community development.

In addition, she has worked as a grant writer, organizational strategy consultant, and grant panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, Nebraska Arts Council, and Creative West (formerly WESTAF). Leeann holds an M. M.

from Southern Methodist University/HEC Montréal in International Arts Management and a B. A. from American University in Foreign Language (Spanish) & Communications Media.

In her spare time, she is a board member for Jefferson Street Center and a fiber and embroidery artist. Portrait by Jessica Miller As Grants Manager, Ikhsan (He/Him) has joined CCI after working with private foundations, corporate philanthropy, and nonprofits. He has handled over $200 million in grants throughout the country, internationally, and at the state and local municipal levels.

In his latest roles at the California Endowment, Culver City Arts Foundation, and in his work supporting Mastercard’s grantmaking initiatives, he has collaborated with many creatives to enhance economic development. He is an advocate for the idea that art, as a tool for social change and community inclusion, as well as local art, is a driver of economic growth and community-focused development.

Ikhsan has a Business degree with a concentration in Social Impact. He is a fitness enthusiast. Portrait by Jessica Miller Brian Dang (he/him) is a Los Angeles-based artist and cultural producer with a passion for bridging arts and community engagement particularly in relation to LGBTQ+ and diverse communities.

With a keen eye for creating inclusive experiences, Brian has curated and managed an array of public programs, including large-scale music and dance performances, educational workshops, interdisciplinary artist talks, and other engaging events for various museums and nonprofit cultural institutions including The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA).

He is deeply invested in creating equitable pay standards for artists and highlighting diversity within art spaces. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Brian is a first-generation Vietnamese American with a deep connection with the Los Angeles art community and beyond. He has collaborated with a range of organizations for programming including QNA, Compton G.

IRLS Club, KCRW, KCHUNG, Insomniac & Secret Project, BlackStar, and Visual AIDS among others. Brian received his B. A.

in Studio Art from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has broad personal interests in queer advocacy, music, fashion, and food. Portrait by Jessica Miller Nadia S.

Chrisanto (she/her) is the Operations Manager at the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a California-based knowledge and financial services incubator for individual artists. She is passionate about accessibility, inclusivity, fat liberation, and social justice. Nadia has previously worked at the California African American Museum (CAAM) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).

Her expertise includes nonprofit operations & administration, programming, curatorial & exhibitions planning, and grantmaking. She was an ACTIVATE alumna, a mentor for the ACTIVATE: Protege program, and a former Co-Chair for the Emerging Arts Leaders Los Angeles. Nadia is currently serving on the board of Arts for LA .

Nadia received her A. A. in History, Humanities, and Social & Behavioral Sciences from Pasadena City College and her B.

A. in History from California State Polytechnic University Pomona. In her free time, he enjoys reading and experimenting with new recipes & cooking techniques.

Portrait by Jessica Miller Jessica Mele (she/her) is a writer, educator, grantmaker, mother, and performer based in California whose work lives at the intersection of labor, education, creativity, and philanthropy.

For eight years, she was a Program Officer in the Performing Arts Program at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation where she made the first grant to CCI’s Research to Impact Lab and funded the Arts Workers in California paper. Jessica is a thought leader in arts education in California, a founding executive committee member of Teaching Artists Guild and most recently served as the interim executive director of Create CA.

Jessica has also written, performed, and produced sketch comedy for over a decade as a member of San Francisco’s female-driven sketch comedy group, Chardonnay. Her solo play about motherhood and interstellar space, “Eat the Mama,” premiered in San Francisco in September 2023. Jessica has an M.

Ed. in Education, Policy, and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B. A.

in Anthropology and French Studies from Smith College (Northampton, MA). Portrait by Jessica Miller As Director of Grants, Stephanie (she/her/hers) supports strengthening and sustaining CCI’s grantmaking and professional development programs for individual artists and arts workers. Stephanie joins CCI with over twelve years of experience, moving resources, stewarding programs, and developing and overseeing complex initiatives.

She most recently served as the Director of Community Fund Design at the Movement Strategy Center, a movement-support philanthropic intermediary. While at MSC, Stephanie worked to shift power dynamics in philanthropy and redistribute power and wealth to frontline and grassroots groups advancing systems-level change.

Prior to Movement Strategy Center, she led artist resourcing initiatives at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where she managed two of the nation’s first guaranteed income programs for artists, a national artist-led giving circle, and collaborated on a research initiative exploring the intersection of art and public health. Stephanie received her B. S.

from University of Oregon in Public Relations and has deepened her commitment to resource mobilizing over the years — having worked with organizations like Allied Media Projects, Afrotectopia (NYU Tisch School of Arts), Levis, and Rosie the Riveter Trust. In her creative time, she’s a practicing ceramist and textile weaver. Portrait by Jessica Miller Cate has an M.

A. in peace and development studies from the University of Limerick (Limerick, Ireland) and a B. A.

in interdisciplinary studies from Hollins University (Roanoke, VA). Portrait by Jessica Miller Lauren Bailey is Managing Director at the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), a California-based knowledge and financial services incubator for individual artists. She has extensive experience in organizational management and administration, covering over thirty years of experience in the nonprofit sector.

She has been with CCI since it started programming in 2002. Lauren has sat on panels for the Los Angeles Arts Commission, Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative, Empowerment Congress Summit at University of Southern California and others. She has experience in membership and product sales, database development and marketing.

She is also an independent consultant providing expertise on database development. Some of her clients included Lupus LA and Women Against Gun Violence. She received her B.

A. in business administration from Worcester State College. In her spare time, she has been a volunteer with the Make A Wish Foundation since 2006.

Portrait by Jessica Miller Now, Val is contracted with the Center for Cultural Innovation, a California-based nonprofit and tech incubator, leading the collaborative design and development of a rotating savings club DAO for artists and gig workers.

age Crump (she/her/hers) is an artist, culture strategist, and facilitator who expands and deepens the work of cultural workers/arts organizations in social justice organizing and supports social justice organizations in understanding the role art and culture can play in movement building.

Based in New Orleans but working nationally, she believes in leveraging art, creative practice, and the cultural sector to transform systemic oppressions. Sage wears many hats: She is a member of Complex Movements, a Detroit-based artist collective whose interdisciplinary work supports local and translocal visionary organizing.

Sage is also principal and co-founder with artist muthi reed of The Kinfolk Effect (TKE), which is an incubation space for multimedia interdisciplinary artwork that examines the movement of Blackness through time and space. Moreover, Sage Crump is well-known within the arts and culture nonprofit sector in her role as the Program Specialist for Leveraging a Network for Equity (LANE) at the National Performance Network.

LANE is NPN’s 10-year initiative to amplify the leadership of arts organizations of color and rural organizations and grow their ability to thrive in culturally authentic ways. Sage is also involved as Architect of Emergent Strategies Ideation Institute, a body that shapes the way movements think about and go about transforming the world we live in.

She is a member of the Guild of Future Architects, board chair for Media Justice, and board member of Alternate ROOTS. Sage’s work incorporates complex sciences, emergent strategy, and creative practice to imagine the world we want to live in and build strategies and practices that will get us there.

Lisa Funderburke (she/her/we) is the president and CEO of the Artists Communities Alliance (ACA), the international service organization of artist residency programs. An analytical arts leader and a pioneer in DEI initiatives, Funderburke is a sought-after advisor and public speaker who helps nonprofits grow in a manner that is just, equitable, and joyful for their employees and communities.

She is known as a dynamic public speaker and coach who moves people and organizations to adopt transformational ideas. A scientist by training who began her career as a National Science Foundation Fellow, Funderburke was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Museum and Library Services Board. At ACA, Funderburke has brought data-backed approaches to programs around the world that champion artists and arts institutions.

She developed the Five Pillars of a Healthy Residency Evaluation tool, which centers on the concept she coined of “equitable capacity,” or the ability to embed equity in all facets of an organization. Funderburke scaled ACA, more than doubling the staff and budget and enabling the organization to serve the field’s dynamic needs in countries globally.

Today, ACA is a network that offers year-round professional development and provides more than $1 million in grants each year to strengthen the field in the U.S. and beyond. Previously, Funderburke was Associate Director of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation, a Charlotte contemporary art center. There, she led an institute that cultivates innovation capacity in leaders through art and design principles.

Funderburke also led the creation of an art and ecology campus that was a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. In addition, Funderburke served as the director of the Charlotte Nature Museum, where she tripled attendance while enjoying taking children on a two-acre nature trail to scout groundhogs, birds, and snakes. Funderburke received a Bachelor of Science in Botany and a Master of Science in Biology from Howard University.

She serves on the Grantmakers in the Arts Individual Artist Committee. A nuance seeker, problem solver, and advocate for transformational change, Lavastian Glenn (she/her) has dedicated over 20 years to supporting people and organizations in pursuit of a more just, inclusive, and caring society.

Much of Lavastian’s energy has focused on building aligned and impactful teams internally in senior leadership roles and co-designing power building, capacity-building grantmaking programs that advance racial, economic, and environmental justice across the United States.

Previously at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Lavastian was the Vice President of Programs and Director of Racial and Economic Justice and was Program Director and Network Officer at the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. There, she developed and supported relationships with non-profit leaders, helping to move people and places out of poverty and working to achieve greater economic and social justice in the Southeast United States.

Alongside her grantmaking, Lavastian co-managed MRBF’s impact investing program that focused on making Program Related Investments (PRIs) and Market Related Investments (MRIs) to achieve greater social impact by utilizing 100% of the foundation’s assets. In addition to her work in philanthropy, Lavastian is an experienced community organizer and community development technical assistance provider.

From 1999 to 2007, she served as executive director of Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods (NBN), a local grassroots support organization in Winston-Salem, NC.

During her tenure, Lavastian expanded NBN’s program activities beyond neighborhood grant-making to include grassroots organizing, leadership development through the Neighborhood Institute for Community Leadership, technical assistance/ project development support, and simultaneous English/Spanish language translation.

Lavastian also served as lead organizer for creating the United Health Center, Winston-Salem’s first Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Lavastian has served as Co-Chair of Grantmakers for Southern Progress (GSP), a working group of foundations dedicated to increasing support for strategies that advance structural change in the American South by centering racial and gender justice.

Lavastian also served on the board of the Neighborhood Funders Group. abdiel j. lópez (they/them) is a writer, curator, and organizer interested in alternative world-building projects located at the intersection of culture and solidarity economies worldwide.

Described as a community weaver, abdiel is the Director of Capital Activation at Justice Funders, where they work closely with philanthropic institutions to shift their investment practices in alignment with Just Transition values and principles to build the economic power and self-determination of frontline BIPOC communities.

A multi-hyphenate, abdiel has held roles across cultural and philanthropy-serving organizations in Los Angeles and Mexico City, including being part of the Getty Marrow Undergraduate Internship Program. They are also a peer-reviewed researcher of social movements in the US. abdiel holds a BA from Grinnell College, where they were a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow and Posse Foundation Scholar.

Outside of their professional life, abdiel enjoys writing for their Substack, organizing alternative art shows outside of the traditional gallery space, spinning, and volunteering at mutual aid organizations. abdiel calls Los Angeles, Oaxaca City, and Mexico City home and is accompanied by their Pomeranian dog-child, Horchata.

Mari Riddle is the retired President/CEO of Grand Performances, a nationally recognized 30+ year performing arts organization located in California Plaza, a DTLA office building complex built with an onsite outdoor performing arts venue. Grand Performances’ mission is to inspire community, celebrate diversity, and unite Los Angeles through free access to global performing arts.

Mari brings more than 34 years of public and nonprofit leadership experience, with a career dedicated to advancing opportunities for low-income communities, particularly women, immigrants, and people of color.

Her work spans three main areas of expertise: performing arts administration; community economic development, where she served for 15 years as Executive Director of the Coalition for Women’s Economic Development and TELACU Community Capital, as well as Los Angeles Regional Director of Pacific Community Ventures; and nonprofit development and management, most notably as President and CEO of Centro Latino for Literacy, where she championed adult education and literacy initiatives.

As a performer, Mari co-founded two music groups. The first, SABIÁ, in 1977 while at Brown University with fellow students. The second was Desborde.

She toured North America and recorded four albums. As a performing arts organization professional, she was the Executive Director of the First Traditional Latin American Music Festival in Los Angeles and Executive Director of the Friends of the Levitt Pavilion, MacArthur Park.

In 2014, Mari was honored with the James Irvine Leadership Award for her innovative work in bringing thousands of non-literate Spanish speakers online, a recognition that reflects her lifelong commitment to equity, empowerment, and community transformation. In March 2024, Mari received the James Hope Award from the Brown University Alumni Association.

The award is given to an alumna or alumnus who has made a significant impact in his/her community or society, and who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to public service either as a professional or a volunteer. Mari’s past volunteer work includes serving on local and national nonprofit boards focused on social and economic justice, women’s rights, the arts, and access to capital/training for micro and small businesses.

She holds an MA in Urban Planning from UCLA and a BA in Latin American Studies from Brown University. Sally Jo Fifer is President and CEO of Independent Television Service (ITVS), the leading provider of independently produced programs for PBS.

Since 1991, ITVS has funded and presented more than 1,600 shows for public television—shows that explore complex issues, represent diverse communities, and express points-of-view seldom seen on television. Sally oversees ITVS’s core operations which include funding, production management, distribution, promotion, and outreach services. She is also an Executive Producer of Independent Lens, a 22-week national series for PBS.

Prior to taking the helm at ITVS, she spent nine years as the executive director of Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC). She is the co-editor with Doug Hall of Illuminating Video, a widely used textbook on video art. She has received fellowships