Founder: Gloria Unti
Since 1956, Gloria Unti has been helping to evoke the creativity of children, educators, and artists. Trained extensively in the Hanya Holm, Martha Graham, and Jose Limon techniques, Ms. Unti has dedicated herself to advancing the arts as a force for education, expression, and individual empowerment in the community. Ms. Unti’s work in schools and community centers has been featured in major publications, such as Now and Look, documented on film by the Guggenheim and Carnegie Foundations, and covered by numerous television stations. She has been honored with many awards including the Honor Award from the California Dance Education Association, the Honor in Dance Award from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Hall of Fame Award from Dance Bay Area, and the Isadora Duncan Award for Sustained Achievement, and the WAVE award from GirlSource. Ms. Unti is an active member of the Workshop administrative staff, providing artistic staff training, developing curriculum, and serving as a liaison to the arts community.
E-mail: gloriasarvis@yahoo.com

Executive Director: Thomas DeCaigny
Tom DeCaigny began his role as Executive Director of Performing Arts Workshop in September 2002. He first joined the Workshop in 1999 as the Program Manager for the Paul Robeson and Diego Rivera Academy, an alternative arts middle school and day treatment program for repeat juvenile offenders. Prior to joining the Workshop, he managed the AIDS Memorial Quilt’s National Youth Education Program; served as the Director of Actor Training for the University of Minnesota’s Adolescent Actors Teaching Project; and conducted research for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.

He is an alumnus of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Youth Leadership Institute and has over ten years of nonprofit leadership experience in the fields of youth development, education and arts administration. He has appeared on CNN International's "Asia This Day" and has presented internationally on topics ranging from HIV prevention to arts education.

Currently, Tom is a LeaderSpring fellow and serves as Board Co-Chair of LYRIC, a San Francisco-based community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. He is also the Steering Committee Chair for "Making Art, Making Change", and upcoming conference which seeks to examine the relationship between art and social justice. Tom was raised in northern Minnesota and has a B.A. degree in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.
E-mail: tom@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org

Program Director: Jessica Mele
Prior to joining the Performing Arts Workshop, Jessica worked for four years in her native Boston where she managed the staff, funding and coordination for a number of academic research projects related to civic engagement, community development and grassroots organizing. She also developed her own negotiation and community building skills as an organizer for the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (AFSCME, AFL-CIO). In 2005, Jessica finished her master's degree in Education and moved to the Bay Area. The Workshop offers her the opportunity to combine her love of the performing arts with her interests in education and community building.
E-mail: jessica@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org

Program Manager, Artists-in-Schools: Karena Salmond
Joining Performing Arts Workshop in the fall of 2007, Karena looks forward to cultivating new and existing relationships with schools and Workshop artists.  She brings experience from both visual arts teaching in San Francisco and education administration at Chicago Children’s Museum. Her operating values of social justice and community align with her interests in youth development and non-profit work. She holds a bachelor's degree in Fine Art from her hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan and a master's degree in International & Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. When not working, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and attending the occasional ballet class. E-mail: karena@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org

Program Manager, Artists-in-Communities: Mariel dela Paz
Mariel brings five years of youth development experience to Performing Arts Workshop through her previous work as an out-of-school youth program coordinator and vocational counselor for teenagers within the East Palo Alto/Menlo Park community. Originally from San Diego, Mariel moved to the Bay Area to pursue a degree in Development Studies and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Her studies and deep involvement with the recruitment and retention of the Pilipino/a community in places of higher education, in combination with her postgraduate participation in a leadership development and civic engagement apprenticeship, influenced Mariel’s passion for social justice and youth development. Mariel is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Social Work at San Francisco State University and loves the idea of integrating art education in strengthening communities. Other than daydreaming, Mariel’s hobbies include traveling; journaling her adventures; and embellishing photos, paper and most recently, fabric, as a means to tell stories and express the beautiful things that she has seen and experienced. E-mail: mariel@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org

Program Coordinator: Anne Trickey
Originally from Seattle, Anne spent four years in St. Paul, Minnesota studying Political Science and History. While an undergraduate, she spent time at the Goethe Institute in Berlin and the University of Vienna improving her German Language skills. Anne interned with Performing Arts Workshop during the summer of 2005. As Executive Assistant, she had the chance to experience working in a well established, goal-driven organization, help coordinate the 40th Anniversary Event, and get to know the Workshop’s dedication to Bay Area arts education. As Program Coordinator, Anne hopes her contributions will only strengthen the Workshop’s ability to help young people develop their critical thinking and creative expression skills. Outside the Workshop, Anne enjoys reading politically charged comic books, climbing trees, and watching the ocean. E-mail: anne@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org