EPACENTER

EPACENTER 2022

ANNUAL REPORT

Our Mission & Vision

EPACENTER’s mission is to create opportunities for youth in East Palo Alto to discover and amplify their talents, realize their potential, and create a positive impact on the world through creative expression. We envision a future where all young people in East Palo Alto have the opportunity to become creative innovators, and enjoy economic and social success in their community.

A Letter from our

Executive Director

Dear Friends,
As 2022 comes to a close, it is important to look back and celebrate the incredible successes EPACENTER has achieved. From celebrating the opening of our building in the heart of East Palo Alto to serving more than 900 vulnerable youth in the region, EPACENTER has had a remarkable impact.
read more close

While there were significant challenges globally at the beginning of the year, we started the year off strong, welcoming students and their families into our new building for the first time in April. So many of our families had been grappling with food, housing, and employment insecurity caused by the pandemic, but they brought joy, excitement, and enthusiasm to our opening day. They were learning and laughing, making new friends, and creating beauty – essentially bringing our long-awaited, new building to life.

Our spring programs launched in-person with a Saturday arts camp for youth ages 6-13 and paid internships after-school for teens ages 14-18. We kept the momentum going and launched our first all-day weekday camp in the summer, providing a fun and safe learning environment during the critical hours of the day. We coupled that with the continuation of our paid internship program in high-wage creative fields in which students developed employable skills in audio engineering, social media marketing, and drone photography. To expand the number of students served, we also launched our first-ever programming partnership with the City of East Palo Alto. Utilizing our state-of-the-art facilities, the City offered free programming in arts and literacy every weekday, providing much-needed summer child care for parents.

Then in the fall, we really shined with our programs expanding to add after-school classes during the weekdays for young students and paid internships during the day for young adults, ages 18-25. And for the first time, we offered daytime classes on our campus for local public school students who are being bussed to our campus every week.

We also installed our first youth-created mural at an affordable housing complex in the City of EPA – our first commissioned, public art project of what will hopefully be many more to come.

And most excitingly, we became a hub of youth development in East Palo Alto by initiating long-term partnerships with local cultural and educational institutions that are now providing ongoing youth development programming at our facility in collaboration with us. Together, we and our partners, the Walt Disney Family Museum, Stanford Live, the Foundation for College Education, the City of East Palo Alto, and two youth dance organizations — Raices de Mexico and Step It Up Dance, have served more than 900 youth this year at the EPACENTER building, turning the facility into a major locale for youth in the city.

We have achieved milestone after milestone, and it has been a remarkable year of growth, none of which would have been possible without our staff, who have worked tirelessly and courageously, throughout the pandemic, to support the most vulnerable among us – our youth.

There is so much to be grateful for and so much to be excited about as EPACENTER looks ahead to the coming year. More students served. More skills developed. More doors opened to opportunity. We are deeply appreciative of our partners who have welcomed us into the community and worked hand-in-hand with us to amplify our impact. And all of us are especially grateful for our generous supporters who have made our accomplishments this year and beyond possible.

With Gratitude,
Nadine Rambeau
Executive Director
EPACENTER

Dear Friends,

As 2022 comes to a close, it is important to look back and celebrate the incredible successes EPACENTER has achieved. From celebrating the opening of our building in the heart of East Palo Alto to serving more than 900 vulnerable youth in the region, EPACENTER has had a remarkable impact.

Read More

We opened our state-of-the-art

facility at 1950 Bay Road

After eight years of development and four years of offering classes at other locations (including two years at local schools and community partner sites, and two years of online classes), we opened the state-of-the-art EPACENTER building for free, in-person classes to the youth of East Palo Alto on April 23. The beautiful, new 25,000-square-foot facility is the direct result of an innovative community-driven process in which youth in the city provided input on everything about the building – from its location to its look and feel and even the choice of architect. From a fully outfitted audio/video recording studio to a makerspace, immersive technology lab, art gallery, visual arts studio, dance studio, graphic design suite, black box theater, and more, the facility was created with direct input by the youth who will be using it.

Our opening day festivities included an open house with community tours, instructor showcases, and the launch of a plethora of classes for youth.

Play Video

We opened our state-of-the-art

facility at 1950 Bay Road

After eight years of development and four years of offering classes at other locations (including two years at local schools and community partner sites, and two years of online classes), we opened the state-of-the-art EPACENTER building for free, in-person classes to the youth of East Palo Alto on April 23. The beautiful, new 25,000-square-foot facility is the direct result of an innovative community-driven process in which youth in the city provided input on everything about the building – from its location to its look and feel and even the choice of architect. From a fully outfitted audio/video recording studio to a makerspace, immersive technology lab, art gallery, visual arts studio, dance studio, graphic design suite, black box theater, and more, the facility was created with direct input by the youth who will be using it.

Our opening day festivities included an open house with community tours, instructor showcases, and the launch of a plethora of classes for youth

Play Video

We increased our

number of youth served by 80%

With the opening of our new facility, we expanded our programming along three youth development pathways, providing free cutting-edge art, design, and technology classes, creative youth workforce development initiatives, and socio-emotional wellness programs.

Classes

In the spring, we offered tuition-free classes in voice, painting, and drawing, drumming, piano, ukulele, guitar, digital art, photography, cartooning, arts & crafts, acting, screenwriting, culinary arts, and more for 120 youth ages 6-13 every week on Saturdays for six weeks.
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Then in June, we launched our first-ever weekday summer program, offering nine weeks of arts enrichment classes, four hours per day, throughout the summer. Over 200 unique students, ages 6-14, participated in classes like drumming, jewelry-making, cartooning, Latin hip-hop, piano, painting, and sculpture, receiving over 180 hours of arts and design instruction.

In the fall, we launched after-school classes during the weekdays, five days a week for 75 youth ages, 11-18. We also continued our Saturday morning art camp for 120 kids, ages 6-13. In addition to our regular roster, we added new technology classes in beat-making, audio engineering, and interactive art designed to grow students’ capacities in digital media.

All told, we served more than 500 youth this year through our free art, design, and technology classes.

Internships

In addition to classes, we employed 76 East Palo Alto youth, ages 14-25, as paid interns this year, providing them with critical job experience that they would not have gained otherwise. Taught by professional artists and makers-in-residence, the interns received personalized
Learn More close

instruction while bringing much-needed income home to their families. Interns were employed in drone photography, music production, social media and marketing, event production, graphic design, filmmaking, and public art, often gaining more than 90 hours of experience per semester in their chosen field.

The interns’ projects included films, holiday cards, commercials, social media posts, events, and public murals – all of which the interns can use for job applications, portfolios, and college admissions. Our public art interns also got to see their work out in the community as one of their designs was installed at an affordable housing complex in East Palo Alto.

The mural, named EPA: Past, Present and Future, features an iconic image of a young person generating the future by relying on the abundance of the EPA community. Students wanted to highlight the generosity of the community in donating food and goods to one another during the pandemic, and emphasize how bikes, or self-powered energy, are an important part of the city’s fabric, and represent the cyclical nature of life. They were inspired by community engagement sessions with residents of Light Tree Apartments in creating their design. The mural has been so well received, that the interns are now being commissioned for future projects – including the design of artwork for local electrical boxes and bridges within the city. Projects like these provide EPA youth with a chance to shape their city and express their creative agency.

Wellness Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic led to program realignment as East Palo Alto youth expressed how their lives had been affected by the public health crisis and how they wanted EPACENTER to address the stress they felt in their lives as a result. In response, we established
Learn More
close

a number of new courses this year to strengthen the physical and emotional well-being of East Palo Alto youth.

We launched Ride and Design, a class where students learn how to skateboard before designing their own deck; Culinary Arts, where they learn how to cook from a professional chef and bring extra food home to their families; and Circus Arts, where they learn to tumble, juggle, and clown in order to lift their spirits. We also offered Mommy and Me yoga classes in which parents and their children stretched and de-stressed together, and family painting classes where both made artwork side-by-side.

Classes

In the spring, we offered tuition-free classes in voice, painting, and drawing, drumming, piano, ukulele, guitar, digital art, photography, cartooning, arts & crafts, acting, screenwriting, culinary arts, and more for 120 youth ages 6-13 every week on Saturdays for six weeks.
Learn More close

Then in June, we launched our first-ever weekday summer program, offering nine weeks of arts enrichment classes, four hours per day, throughout the summer. Over 200 unique students, ages 6-14, participated in classes like drumming, jewelry-making, cartooning, Latin hip-hop, piano, painting, and sculpture, receiving over 180 hours of arts and design instruction.

In the fall, we launched after-school classes during the weekdays, five days a week for 75 youth ages, 11-18. We also continued our Saturday morning art camp for 120 kids, ages 6-13. In addition to our regular roster, we added new technology classes in beat-making, audio engineering, and interactive art designed to grow students’ capacities in digital media.

All told, we served more than 500 youth this year through our free art, design, and technology classes.

Internships

In addition to classes, we employed 76 East Palo Alto youth, ages 14-25, as paid interns this year, providing them with critical job experience that they would not have gained otherwise.
Learn More close

Taught by professional artists and makers-in-residence, the interns received personalized instruction while bringing much-needed income home to their families. Interns were employed in drone photography, music production, social media and marketing, event production, graphic design, filmmaking, and public art, often gaining more than 90 hours of experience per semester in their chosen field.

The interns’ projects included films, holiday cards, commercials, social media posts, events, and public murals – all of which the interns can use for job applications, portfolios, and college admissions. Our public art interns also got to see their work out in the community as one of their designs was installed at an affordable housing complex in East Palo Alto.

The mural, named EPA: Past, Present and Future, features an iconic image of a young person generating the future by relying on the abundance of the EPA community. Students wanted to highlight the generosity of the community in donating food and goods to one another during the pandemic, and emphasize how bikes, or self-powered energy, are an important part of the city’s fabric, and represent the cyclical nature of life. They were inspired by community engagement sessions with residents of Light Tree Apartments in creating their design. The mural has been so well received, that the interns are now being commissioned for future projects – including the design of artwork for local electrical boxes and bridges within the city. Projects like these provide EPA youth with a chance to shape their city and express their creative agency.

Wellness Programs

The COVID-19 pandemic led to program realignment as East Palo Alto youth expressed how their lives had been affected by the public health crisis and how they wanted EPACENTER to address the stress they felt in their lives as a result.
Learn More close

In response, we established a number of new courses this year to strengthen the physical and emotional well-being of East Palo Alto youth.

We launched Ride and Design, a class where students learn how to skateboard before designing their own deck; Culinary Arts, where they learn how to cook from a professional chef and bring extra food home to their families; and Circus Arts, where they learn to tumble, juggle, and clown in order to lift their spirits. We also offered Mommy and Me yoga classes in which parents and their children stretched and de-stressed together, and family painting classes where both made artwork side-by-side.

We launched onsite daytime classes

for public school students

Extending beyond our afterschool activities, we started offering school day programming in collaboration with KIPP Esperanza High School who bussed 70 students to our campus every week in the fall. The students took free classes in art, photography, music production, and culinary arts with professionals in every field.

More partnerships are currently in development with local schools to bring their students to our state-of-the-art campus in 2023, which increases the capacity of each school to offer high-quality programming regardless of the resources at their facility. Our hope is that our campus becomes a center of learning, creativity, and innovation during the school day, afterschool, and during the summer.

We became a hub of youth
development programming

Given the demand for our services and the extent of the need in our community, it became clear after we opened how much partnerships would be essential to achieving our mission. We realized that, in order to achieve faster outcomes, it would be necessary to partner with long-standing institutions with a track record of success.

To that end, we established a partnership with the Foundation for College Education (FCE), a college mentoring nonprofit that mentors students of color, most of whom would be the first in their families to attend and graduate from a four-year college or university. FCE mentors students from middle to high school to college, working with small cohorts of approximately 20-25 students per grade, or 125 students per year. FCE began offering college mentoring and tutoring classes at our facility during the weekdays in the spring, making it possible for our students and theirs to accelerate to new heights.

During the summer, we created partnership with the City of East Palo Alto Community Services Department, which ran part of its nine-week summer program for youth at our facility. City programming was led by other EPA-based, youth-serving institutions, including Bottle Tree Culture, a dance company that specializes in African Dance, Step It Up Dance, a youth-serving organization that focuses on contemporary African American Dance and UEHL, a youth literacy non-profit. The purpose of the City’s program was to alleviate summer learning loss, provide a safe environment during critical hours during the day, and engage students in a dynamic learning environment.

In the fall, we launched programmatic partnerships with two long-standing, EPA-based, youth-serving organizations — Raíces de Mexico, a Ballet Folklorico dance company, and Step It Up Dance, a dance company that focuses on African and African American cultural styles. Both organizations began holding classes on our campus, bringing an additional 50 students every week to our site.

EPACENTER also initiated a partnership with Stanford Live, with our students performing alongside the ensemble members of Australia’s Circe in Leviathan, a contemporary dance and modern circus performed at Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall in early October. EPACENTER students and ensemble members rehearsed at our building and then performed together. Following the performance, we continued our partnership with Stanford Live, who taught Circus Arts classes to our students for the remainder of the fall term.

More recently, we formed a programmatic partnership with The Walt Disney Family Museum, who will provide animation classes to East Palo Alto youth at our site, six days per week, starting with the Winter 2022/Spring 2023 semester. Through this partnership, our capacity as a cutting-edge hub for art, design, and technology education has greatly expanded.

We hope to add more cross-sector partnerships in the future with public schools, community organizations, and local businesses, who will work together with us to develop a robust and collaborative approach to youth development programming that will benefit students for decades.

We created the next generation of leaders by adding two

former Youth Advisory Council members to our Board of Directors

When EPACENTER was developing as a concept from 2010-2016, a Youth Action Committee, composed of diverse students from across East Palo Alto, collaborated with researchers from the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford University to determine what youth in the community needed most. In the years prior to our opening, the Youth Action Committee created community surveys, focus groups, and feasibility studies, and conducted public polling to determine how best to serve young people in the city. EPACENTER as a concept developed as a direct result of their work.

Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new generation of youth advisors expressed how they wanted EPACENTER to expand its services from free arts programming in the digital, literary, visual, and performing arts to include paid job training in creative fields, and wellness programming. Consequently, EPACENTER added this type of programming to its roster of offerings.

Since youth in the community have been deeply engaged in shaping so many aspects of EPACENTER as an organization, the natural progression was to add youth to our Board of Directors. This fall, EPACENTER named two former Youth Action Committee members to our Board of Directors – Staci Edwards and Keitlan Wallace.

Staci Edwards

Now a first-generation college student majoring in Sociology at the University of San Francisco, Staci became an EPACENTER student when she was in the 6th grade, at age twelve, when she started taking guitar and saxophone lessons in a house on Bell Street in East Palo Alto. She participated in numerous conceptualization sessions about EPACENTER and was excited to see the project come alive. During Staci’s senior year, she taught guitar and ukulele classes at EPACENTER, and then became a research intern in 2021. During her internship, she interviewed youth about their workforce experiences and what career support they needed to be successful. Summer 2022 found Staci interning at EPACENTER again during our summer program. She was also featured in a San Francisco Chronicle article covering EPACENTER’s recent opening. Staci plans on graduating early in her program at the end of her junior year — the spring of 2023. Staci resides in East Palo Alto.

Staci Edwards

Now a first-generation college student majoring in Sociology at the University of San Francisco, Staci became an EPACENTER student when she was in the 6th grade, at age twelve, when she started taking guitar and saxophone lessons in a house on Bell Street in East Palo Alto. She participated in numerous conceptualization sessions about EPACENTER and was excited to see the project come alive. During Staci’s senior year, she taught guitar and ukulele classes at EPACENTER, and then became a research intern in 2021. During her internship, she interviewed youth about their workforce experiences and what career support they needed to be successful. Summer 2022 found Staci interning at EPACENTER again during our summer program. She was also featured in a San Francisco Chronicle article covering EPACENTER’s recent opening. Staci plans on graduating early in her program at the end of her junior year — the spring of 2023. Staci resides in East Palo Alto.

Keitlan Wallace

Keitlan participated in EPACENTER classes as a sophomore in high school when a dance teacher from EPACENTER invited her to their booth during a community fair. While initially intending to explore opportunities for dance education in pursuit of a career as a professional dance teacher, Keitlan joined EPACENTER’s Youth Advisory Council and assisted the organization in defining its identity and how to best support East Palo Alto youth through its work. Keitlan recently realized her dream of teaching dance this summer, where she taught students Latin Hip Hop during our summer program. Keitlan has attended Foothill College and has served the East Palo Alto community through athletics as head coach of a high-school-aged women’s soccer team and an elementary-aged team assistant coach. Keitlan recently earned her National D Soccer Coaching License to better prepare student athletes to be successful both in the classroom and on the field. Keitlan resides in East Palo Alto.

Keitlan Wallace

Keitlan participated in EPACENTER classes as a sophomore in high school when a dance teacher from EPACENTER invited her to their booth during a community fair. While initially intending to explore opportunities for dance education in pursuit of a career as a professional dance teacher, Keitlan joined EPACENTER’s Youth Advisory Council and assisted the organization in defining its identity and how to best support East Palo Alto youth through its work. Keitlan recently realized her dream of teaching dance this summer, where she taught students Latin Hip Hop during our summer program. Keitlan has attended Foothill College and has served the East Palo Alto community through athletics as head coach of a high-school-aged women’s soccer team and an elementary-aged team assistant coach. Keitlan recently earned her National D Soccer Coaching License to better prepare student athletes to be successful both in the classroom and on the field. Keitlan resides in East Palo Alto.

We created the next generation of leaders by adding two

former Youth Advisory Council members to our Board of Directors

When EPACENTER was developing as a concept from 2010-2016, a Youth Action Committee, composed of diverse students from across East Palo Alto, collaborated with researchers from the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities at Stanford University to determine what youth in the community needed most. In the years prior to our opening, the Youth Action Committee created community surveys, focus groups, and feasibility studies, and conducted public polling to determine how best to serve young people in the city. EPACENTER as a concept developed as a direct result of their work.

Then, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new generation of youth advisors expressed how they wanted EPACENTER to expand its services from free arts programming in the digital, literary, visual, and performing arts to include paid job training in creative fields, and wellness programming. Consequently, EPACENTER added this type of programming to its roster of offerings.

Since youth in the community have been deeply engaged in shaping so many aspects of EPACENTER as an organization, the natural progression was to add youth to our Board of Directors. This fall, EPACENTER named two former Youth Action Committee members to our Board of Directors – Staci Edwards and Keitlan Wallace.

Staci Edwards

Now a first-generation college student majoring in Sociology at the University of San Francisco, Staci became an EPACENTER student when she was in the 6th grade, at age twelve, when she started taking guitar and saxophone lessons in a house on Bell Street in East Palo Alto. She participated in numerous conceptualization sessions about EPACENTER and was excited to see the project come alive. During Staci’s senior year, she taught guitar and ukulele classes at EPACENTER, and then became a research intern in 2021. During her internship, she interviewed youth about their workforce experiences and what career support they needed to be successful. Summer 2022 found Staci interning at EPACENTER again during our summer program. She was also featured in a San Francisco Chronicle article covering EPACENTER’s recent opening. Staci plans on graduating early in her program at the end of her junior year — the spring of 2023. Staci resides in East Palo Alto

Keitlan Wallace

Keitlan participated in EPACENTER classes as a sophomore in high school when a dance teacher from EPACENTER invited her to their booth during a community fair. While initially intending to explore opportunities for dance education in pursuit of a career as a professional dance teacher, Keitlan joined EPACENTER’s Youth Advisory Council and assisted the organization in defining its identity and how to best support East Palo Alto youth through its work. Keitlan recently realized her dream of teaching dance this summer, where she taught students Latin Hip Hop during our summer program. Keitlan has attended Foothill College and has served the East Palo Alto community through athletics as head coach of a high-school-aged women’s soccer team and an elementary-aged team assistant coach. Keitlan recently earned her National D Soccer Coaching License to better prepare student athletes to be successful both in the classroom and on the field. Keitlan resides in East Palo Alto

We deepened our impact

EPACENTER served nearly 900 students this past year through our own and through partnership programs. The impact of our work is evident in the feedback gleaned from student and intern self- assessment surveys, in which they assessed their development of 21st Century skills like creativity, teamwork, and perseverance, and parent satisfaction surveys:

We deepened our impact in 2022

Students served
0 ~
paid internships offered
0
hours of afterschool clubs offered
0
paid hours to interns offered
0
720 hours of Saturday classes offered
0
hours of Summer Arts Camp offered
0

EPACENTER served nearly 900 students this past year through our own and through partnership programs. For the students and interns enrolled in EPACENTER’s program alone, the impact of our work is evident in the feedback gleaned from their self-assessment surveys.

We deepened our impact in 2022

students served
0 ~
paid internships
0
hours of afterschool clubs
0
paid hours to interns
0
hours of Saturday classes
0
hours of Summer Arts Camp
0

EPACENTER served nearly 900 students this past year through our own and through partnership programs. For the students and interns enrolled in EPACENTER’s program alone, the impact of our work is evident in the feedback gleaned from their self-assessment surveys.

2022 Student Self-Assessment Survey Results

of students liked their classes a lot
0 %
of students would take their current class again
0 %
of our students said that their classes helped them better understand their community
0 %
of students were proud of their work completed in their EPACENTER classes
0 %
of students reported that their classes helped them learn to use new technology
0 %
of students said that their classes helped them stick with their art projects when they became difficult
0 %

2022 Student Self-Assessment Survey Results

Of students liked their classes a lot
0 %
of students would take their current class again
0 %
of our students said that their classes helped them better understand their community
0 %
of students were proud of their work completed in their EPACENTER classes
0 %
of students reported that their classes helped them learn to use new technology
0 %
of students said that their classes helped them stick with their art projects when they became difficult
0 %

2022 Intern Self-Assessment Survey Results

of interns said that their EPACENTER programs helped their creativity
0 %
of interns said that EPACENTER helped improve their ability to problem solve
0 %
of interns reported that EPACENTER helped them to continue working on challenging projects
0 %
of interns say their EPACENTER internships helped them to better connect to their community
0 %
of interns would choose to take their EPACENTER internship again
0 %

2022 Intern Self-Assessment Survey Results

of interns said that their EPACENTER programs helped their creativity
0 %
of interns said that EPACENTER helped improve their ability to problem solve
0 %
of interns reported that EPACENTER helped them to continue working on challenging projects
0 %
of interns say their EPACENTER internships helped them to better connect to their community
0 %
of interns would choose to take their EPACENTER internship again
0 %

2022 Parent Satisfaction Survey Results

of parents reported that their child(ren) enjoyed their art, design, and technology classes
0 %
of parents would recommend EPACENTER classes to other East Palo Alto families
0 %
of surveyed parents reported satisfaction with EPACENTER’s programming
0 %
of parents say that it’s either “difficult” or “very difficult” to find comparable programming for their children
0 %

2022 Parent Satisfaction Survey Results

of parents reported that their child(ren) enjoyed their art, design, and technology classes
0 %
of parents would recommend EPACENTER classes to other East Palo Alto families
0 %
of surveyed parents reported satisfaction with EPACENTER’s programming
0 %
of parents say that it’s either “difficult” or “very difficult” to find comparable programming for their children
0 %
Play Video

Looking ahead to 2023

In 2023, we plan to expand our programmatic offerings to include daytime classes offered in partnership with local schools who will bring their students to our site. We also seek to offer new classes in our makerspace where students will learn how to use advanced technologies like CNC machines, vinyl cutters, and 3-D printers. The expansion and deepening of internship and entrepreneurial programs for opportunity youth, ages 18-25, is critical to our goal of becoming a job training center for youth in EPA – the only one of its kind in the city. And plans are already in place to host public performances and events for the entire community, and for our most advanced students to create public artworks throughout the region

Looking ahead to 2023

In 2023, we plan to expand our programmatic offerings to include daytime classes offered in partnership with local schools who will bring their students to our site. We also seek to offer new classes in our makerspace where students will learn how to use advanced technologies like CNC machines, vinyl cutters, and 3-D printers. The expansion and deepening of internship and entrepreneurial programs for opportunity youth, ages 18-25, is critical to our goal of becoming a creative job training center for youth in EPA – the only one of its kind in the city. And plans are already in place to host public performances and events for the entire community and for our most advanced students to create public artworks throughout the region.