Our Team

Rene Yung, Artistic and Project Director

Rene Yung is a civic engagement artist who helps communities to connect people, history and place, in order to address social and cultural issues in the built environment. Melding strategic and creative approaches, her cross-disciplinary work engages community on multiple levels to articulate overlooked issues and assets, and result in highly aesthetic works of art that enrich the environment as well as build community for positive social change. A native of Hong Kong, Rene has a deep understanding of cross-cultural dynamics and broad experience in working with diverse global communities. She has exhibited at venues including TransCulture, part of the 46th Venice Biennale; Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Texas; and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. She has completed extensive public projects for organizations including the Seattle Office of Art and Cultural Affairs, the San Francisco Art Commission, and the Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle. A graduate of Stanford University, Rene is the recipient of grant awards from the Creative Work Fund, the Center for Cultural Innovation, Open Circle Foundation, and the California Council on the Humanities’ California Story Fund. She is on the faculty of City College of San Francisco.

Susie McKinnon, Outreach and Project Coordinator

Susie Mckinnon is a design/marketing professional and program/outreach manager with over 9 years experience at non-profit, Internet start-up and Fortune 500 organizations. Susie’s years of experience has given her the opportunity to work with digital media education, online media distribution, and the educational publishing industry. Most recently Susie worked at an internationally known nonprofit in Palo Alto, CA as a Program Manager building partnerships, conducting nationwide marketing campaigns and training programs for educational, non-profit and government institutions nationwide. Susie holds a BFA in digital media from San Jose State University, and graduated with honors. She is also a graphic designer and visual artist.

Julie Conquest, Outreach & Project Associate

Julie Conquest is a creative program coordinator with a passion for working with visual media and people.  She has managed outreach while developing and teaching digital storytelling workshops for community programs all over Oakland.  Before that Julie helped increase the distribution of films by women around the world as a writer in the marketing department for Women Make Movies.  Her excitement for working with film has led her to be an integral part of marketing and publicity teams for film festivals internationally.  She has completed both undergraduate and graduate studies in visual anthropology and media arts in San Francisco and Amsterdam.  Julie delights in the places where visual media, words, and of course, people meet.

Joel Chaidez, Project Associate

Joel hails from Southern California and moved to the Bay Area to surround himself with others passionate about the potential of the Internet as a means to connect people. He previously worked in production management for web content providers. He is currently a graphic design and web programming student at City College of San Francisco. He is very happy to be working with OurOakland to show residents of East Oakland how technologies can help them let their voices and stories be heard.

Marie Medvednik, Program Associate, Outreach

Marie Medvednik has several years of experience working and volunteering for art non-profits, museums, galleries and other creative organizations. From having served as an art guide to children at the Denver Art Museum to volunteered with the Black Rock Arts Foundation in SF, Marie is committed to contributing to the community at every opportunity. Her educational background includes studies in Art History at University of Colorado, and is currently a Political Science student at UC Berkeley. Other experience includes event planning, marketing and public relations. Marie is a proud Oakland resident and is thrilled to help East Oakland's culture and community bloom!

Amanda Bornstein, Program Associate

Amanda Bornstein has extensive experience in community outreach, arts education and program management. She has worked at Arts in Progress in Boston, Southern Exposure in San Francisco's Mission District, the Richmond Art Center, and the City of Berkeley in support of original and innovative projects. Amanda recently received her Master’s in Urban Planning from the University of California Los Angeles.  She also holds a B.A. in American Studies from Tufts University and a B.F.A. in Visual Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.  She is an Oakland native and is excited to help the East Oakland community share its stories!

Ari Salomon, Web Developer

Ari Salomon has been a developer of corporate and non-profit identity design and new media web solutions for over fourteen years. His design focus: clean, consistent pages with sensible interfaces, styled typesetting and animations with a strong visual logic. He is also a fine art photographer.
 

Mary Fuller, Project Advisor

Mary Fuller is a Bay Area non-profit consultant who helps grassroots organizations raise money and awareness for their work, while making their work more efficient and strategic. She’s worked in various capacities at such superstar organizations as Creative Time in New York, Boston Cyberarts, the San Francisco International Arts Festival and Independent Arts & Media here in the Bay Area. Her fundraising philosophy hinges on the notion that donations are a radical act of civic engagement, free speech, and community building and that it should be educational, energizing, rewarding, and FUN! Mary got her Masters in Arts Administration from Boston University, and her BA in history and art history from Southwestern University. She also a visual artist.