•          Demirea Perry.  Director of Community Operations.  Demirea has served for elected officials on the local, state, and federal level.  Prior to joining 1600 Avenue, Demirea served as one of the key staff members for Congress Woman Laura Richardson.  Demirea maintains many close ties to both the community leaders and elected officials.  For 1600 Avenue Demirea role also includes that of a strategist to help integrate 1600 Avenue programs with broader educational systems.

•          Sofya Lowe.  Deputy of Educational Services.  Sofya oversees the Manual Arts and Educational learning programs.  Despite having received her PhD from Harvard and many substantial financial career offers, she has focused her energies on helping students at Manual Arts High School in South Central Los Angeles.  We actually conduct Hip Hop Leaders in her classroom many days after school. 

•          Paul Stewart.  Director of Production / Director of Development.  Paul has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry and been a part of many major successes.  Among his greatest accomplishments include winning an Oscar at the Academy Award for best original song.  Paul served as Music Director on John Singleton’s Sun Dance Award Winning Hustle and Flow.  It’s a tribute to Paul that a hip hop artist and song not only won this Oscar, but marked the first time a rap group ever performed at the Oscars.  Paul works with Frank to connect HHL with some of the most influential icons in entertainment.  Paul also works with Frank to harness the power of entertainment and incorporate these elements into learning in a positive way.

•          David “Hollywood” Harrell.  Director of Youth Programs.  David is a long-time Inglewood and Watts resident and he has been connected with many of our target youth from their earliest ages.  His links to the community allow him to help us identify which youth are at-risk and help us recruit the kids that need HHL the most.  Hollywood’s connections are important because he is able to establish a relationship with the kids before they are faced with life decisions concerning gangs and staying in school, making him an ideal liaison.

•          Ginger Silvera.  Director of International Outreach & Cultural Exchange/College Readiness Associate.  Ginger currently manages our International Learning and Cultural Exchange Programs and fosters dialogue between our students and youth from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Ethiopia.  She is bilingual, speaking Spanish and English, and will be finishing her PhD coursework in May of 2008.  She has experience in education, having served as a member of the adjunct faculty and as a professor at Cal State University Dominguez Hills in the Political Science Department.  She also has experience working with at-risk youth through her service as a social worker trainee and detention officer for Los Angeles County. 

•          Barbara Pritchett. Barbara is  the mother of Dovon Harris, one of our students who was tragically murdered, and the leads many of HHL’s community outreach efforts.  Her strong ties to both the Compton and Watts communities have made it possible for her to involve many community leaders in our cause. 

•          Omer Saans, Director of Marketing.  Omer has translated his love for hip hop into strong relationships with both the skate, hip hop, and corporate communities.  He utilizes his relationship with Corporate America to secure in-kind services, sponsorships, and rewards for HHL Students.

•          Saiqa Rahman.  Chief Financial Officer/Director of Strategic Initiatives.  Saiqa has extensive program management experience.  She has successfully managed multi-million dollar, multi-year, multi-phased naval programs, and she strategically maps out multi-year maintenance plans, support plans and budgets as part of her job.  Saiqa is in charge of many of the program planning and management tasks for 1600 Avenue.

•          Laquan Chandler.  College Outreach and Recruitment Associate.  Laquan currently heads our college outreach efforts.  He is President of the Unity Council at Cal State Los Angeles, and manages our efforts to bring in college students to help us teach the curriculum and mentor our kids.  Having college students involved with our program as mentors is extremely important because it helps our kids to visualize where they will eventually be with hard work and determination.

•          Edlawit Kifle is of Ethiopian origin and has worked as an actress and model part time for the last 8 years.  She has established key contacts in Hollywood that she has leveraged constantly to help our program.  She also provides guidance regarding International Cultural Exchange Activities we conduct to provide our kids exposures beyond their Compton, South Central, and Watts neighborhoods. 

•          Andrew Herbst  has extensive experience in Network Engineering and has been an IT professional for the past 10 years.  He has worked at industry leaders such as Worldcom, and BEA.  Mr. Herbst also is an asset because he maintains critical connections in the entertainment industry.  He utilizes these connections to help 1600 Avenue programs.  He and his other partners in Aspire Entertainment Incorporated www.aspireentertainmentllc.com  have achieved a great deal of success that he leverages for our programs.

•          Paul Stewart.  Director of Development/Production. Paul has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry and been a part of many major successes.  Among his greatest accomplishments include winning an Oscar at the Academy Award for best original song.  Paul served as Music Director on John Singleton’s Sun Dance Award Winning Hustle and Flow.  It’s a tribute to Paul that a hip hop artist and song not only won this Oscar, but marked the first time a rap group ever performed at the Oscars.  Paul works with Frank to connect HHL with some of the most influential icons in entertainment.  Paul also works with Frank to harness the power of entertainment and incorporate these elements into learning in a positive way.

•          Ginger Silvera.  Director of International Outreach & Cultural Exchange/College Readiness Associate.  Ginger currently manages our International Learning and Cultural Exchange Programs and fosters dialogue between our students and youth from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Ethiopia.  She is bilingual, speaking Spanish and English, and will be finishing her PhD coursework in May of 2008.  She has experience in education, having served as a member of the adjunct faculty and as a professor at Cal State University Dominguez Hills in the Political Science Department.  She also has experience working with at-risk youth through her service as a social worker trainee and detention officer for Los Angeles County. 

•          Omer Saans, Director of Marketing.  Omer has translated his love for hip hop into strong relationships with both the skate, hip hop, and corporate communities.  He utilizes his relationship with Corporate America to secure in-kind services, sponsorships, and rewards for HHL Students.

•          Lucyus Fevreir.  Marketing Associate.  Lucyus has received his Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from Mt. Ida in Boston, MA.  Because he is a recent graduate, he has a keen sense of what is relevant in hip hop to at-risk youth.  He provides guidance on our curriculum to help keep our curriculum “current”.   Lucyus also is of Haitian decent, bilingual, and supports our marketing efforts..

•          William Turneur.  Was a Senior Manager of one of Hewlett Packard’s largest Data Centers for over 20 years.  Mr. Turneur has extensive IT experience and provides insight with respect to our goals of preparing at-risk youth for careers in technology.  His years of management in Hewlett Packard also have allowed him to develop an in-depth understand of Corporate America.  He utilizes this understanding to the ensure our program develops at-risk youth into well rounded citizens better prepared for the work world.

•          Mr. Smith is a California native and is sensitive to the problems at-risk youth  in California are facing.  Mr. Smith has 15-plus years of experience in the financial markets as a planner and strategist, and has also spent many years as a financial consultant for various organizations.  He currently works as a  Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial.  Martin provides expert insight into 1600 Avenue’s budgeting efforts and decisions to insure we remain cost efficient.

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