Tom DeCaigny currently serves as Executive Director of Performing Arts Workshop, a 43-year-old nonprofit arts education organization in San Francisco, CA. He was appointed Executive Director in 2002 and first joined the Workshop in 1999 as the Program Manager for the Paul Robeson and Diego Rivera Academy, an alternative arts middle school and treatment program for repeat juvenile offenders.
Under his leadership, the Workshop has grown from serving 3,500 youth per year to more than 9,000. He has overseen the inception of the Workshop’s Artists-in-Communities and Advocacy programs and administered two U.S. Department of Education Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination projects. He has also led the growth of the Workshop’s annual revenue – from $529K in 2003 to approximately $1.3 million in 2008.
Tom has amassed over fourteen years of nonprofit leadership experience in the fields of youth development, education and arts administration. Prior to joining the Workshop, he managed the AIDS Memorial Quilt’s National Youth Education Program; served as 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 a 1994 graduate of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Youth Leadership Institute and a 2007 alumnus of the LeaderSpring fellowship program. He has appeared on CNN International's Asia This Day and was invited to present at the first-ever UNESCO World Conference on Arts Education in Lisbon, Portugal.
He currently serves on the board of the California Alliance for Arts Education and is a member of the San Francisco Unified School District Arts Education Master Plan Steering Committee. His prior board service includes two years as Board Co-Chair of LYRIC, a LGBTQ youth community center in San Francisco and Steering Committee Chair for Making Art, Making Change, a 2006 conference dedicated to examining the relationship between art and social justice.
Tom was raised in rural northern Minnesota and has a B.A. degree in Dramatic Arts from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN.
E-mail: tom@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Program Manager, Artists-in-Communities:
Mariel dela Paz
Mariel joined the Workshop in August 2007. She loves working for an organization that values the use of creative expression to strengthen young people and communities. Her studies and apprenticeship with Americorp’s Public Allies have influenced Mariel’s interests in social justice and youth development. Prior to her current role as the Workshop’s Program Manager for Artists-in-Communities, she spent five years in direct service as a youth counselor and advocate for out-of-school youth and teen mothers in the East Palo Alto/Menlo Park community. Mariel holds a BA in Development Studies and Minor in Women’s Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Social Work at San Francisco State University. She misses her hometown of San Diego, but can’t seem to leave the Bay Area after 13 years. Other than daydreaming, Mariel enjoys the company of family, traveling near and far, journaling, and crafting.
E-mail: mariel@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Artistic Director: Gary Draper
Gary has held many roles at Performing Arts Workshop, including student, artist, mentor, and administrator. Gary conducts professional development workshops and supervises the Workshop’s Internship programs and the Workshop's artistic staff. Gary’s additional duties include curriculum design, writing and revising educational resource materials, program evaluation and fundraising. Gary’s education in Theatre Arts and Literature includes study at the American Conservatory Theatre and UC Berkeley.
E-mail: gary@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Deputy Director: Jessica Mele
Jessica Mele is Deputy Director at Performing Arts Workshop, where she combines her love of the performing arts with her interests in education and community building. Jessica joined the workshop in April 2006. Under her leadership, the Workshop’s programs have increased numbers of youth served by 15 percent and restructured their staffing in order to accommodate this growth. In the community, she currently serves as the Advocacy chair for the Arts Provider’s Alliance of San Francisco and as a member of the steering committee of Teaching Artists Organized. Prior to joining the Workshop, Jessica worked with the Alameda Alliance for Arts Learning, the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, and Glitter and Razz Productions, based in Oakland, CA. From 2002-2005, Jessica managed the academic research projects of Marshall Ganz at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 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). Jessica holds a B.A. in Anthropology and French Studies from Smith College and a M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
E-mail: jessica@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Program Manager, Artists-in-Schools: Karena Salmond
Karena joined the Workshop in the fall of 2007 and quickly grew to love working closely with teaching artists and school staff. She brings experience as a former visual arts instructor at Mission Day Care 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 Bachelors degree in Fine Art from her hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan and a Masters in International & Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. When not working, she enjoys cooking, dance classes, and wandering around the city.
E-mail: karena@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Administrative Assistant: Yolanda Salone
Yolanda joined Performing Arts Workshop in March 2010, as a part-time Administrative Assistant. She has a few years of experience working in a non-profit organization, which includes art and theatre. She has been involved in an Expressive Arts Project and a Drama Therapy Program in San Francisco, CA where she received a certificate of achievement and in conjunction with other Bay Area Artist’s. She performed in a theatre play called I.C.D.T. (I Can Do That) which was held at the Brava Theatre in the Mission District. Working for Performing Arts is another way to be involved in youths' future through art, creativity and empowerment with a positive impact. Outside of working, Yolanda enjoys spending time with her three beautiful children who also are involved in art and dance. She also does volunteer work with Asian American Residential Recovery Service (AARRS Program), Jewish Community Youth Center (JCYC), Boys & Girls Club, Sister to Sister Conventions, Cherry Blossom Festivals and Good for Kids Foundation.
E-mail: yolanda@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Program & Communications Coordinator: Anne Trickey
After growing up in Seattle, Anne decided to study at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. While doing undergraduate work in Political Science and History, she spent time at the Goethe Institute in Berlin and the University of Vienna improving her German Language skills. Anne interned with the Workshop as the Executive Assistant for Tom DeCaigny during the summer of 2005. This experience working in a well established, goal-driven organization, helping coordinate the 40th Anniversary Event, and getting to know the Workshop’s dedication to Bay Area arts education led to her decision to return to San Francisco after graduating. As Program & Communications 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 follows her own creative tendencies by singing with the Choral Project, writing, and crafting.
E-mail: anne@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Development Director: Brian Wiedenmeier
Brian comes to the Workshop with several years of experience fundraising for non-profits, most recently at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. Additionally, he has worked in non-profit publishing and at a natural foods cooperative. A Wisconsin native, he has fallen in love with the food, culture, and climate of the Bay Area. Brian is an avid cyclist, and most days you can find him biking the streets of San Francisco. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where he studied English Literature.
E-mail: brian@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Finance Director: Cathy Worner
Cathy began her career at Performing Arts Workshop in 1986 as a part time bookkeeper, when the office was a small space at Fort Mason Center, the administrative staff consisted of 3 people, the work year corresponded with the school year, and (yikes) there was no computer. Things have changed immensely since then and Cathy has expanded her knowledge of non-profit accounting as the organization has grown and thrived. She is currently the Finance Director and is involved with all aspects of the fiscal management of The Workshop. When not working Cathy has spent her free time over the last 24+ years raising 3 children with her husband Rich. They were both involved in multiple School activities from coaching to chairing events, and serving as the president of Parent Boards. She is proud to be associated with such a forward thinking organization as Performing Arts Workshop.
E-mail: cathy@PerformingArtsWorkshop.org
Board Liaison: Linda Belden
Linda Belden began working at Performing Arts Workshop over 10 years ago, writing grant proposals on a part-time basis. Soon after, then board president, Nina Kwan, asked her to help develop and expand the board of directors, and Linda used her experience with other non-profits, to recruit a new group of supporters to the Workshop board. Since then she has developed and directed recruitment and orientation programs, written a board manual, helped set up and advise an individual donor program, and contributed to two board committees. She considers herself to be the Assistant to the Board of Directors. She also owns a textile design business and is a watercolor painter.
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