Meet Our Founder
Karina Esperanza Yánez
Karina Esperanza Yanez is an experienced visual arts educator from South-Central Los Angeles with a demonstrated history of working in arts education and arts management. Her goal is to provide students with the necessary tools to become creative in their own right as young artists and positively engage with their community.
Karina is a multidisciplinary artist who works in photography, printmaking, sewing, drawing, and everything else in between. Fascinated by history, sociology, politics, and literature, she incorporates all of these interests in her work as much as possible. Karina holds a BFA in Fine Art from CalArts, and two Graduate Degrees; one from RISD in Community Arts Education and one from Claremont Graduate University in arts administration.
Meet Our Board
Jazmín Urrea
is a visual artist who lives and works in South Los Angeles. She received her MFA in Photography and Media from the California Institute of the Arts (2017), and a BFA in Photography from CSU Long Beach (2014). Urrea’s works have been exhibited at the Studio Museum in Harlem, The J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles, CalArts, UAM Long Beach, Santa Clarita City Hall, Blue Roof Studios, The Music Center, UCF, Flatline, and SADE LA. She participated in CURRENT LA: FOOD Triennial (2019) funded by the Department of Cultural Affairs and recently received the Rema Hort Maan Foundation Emerging Artist Grant (2020).
Elizabeth Waner
was born and raised in South Los Angeles. She has experience with college access and success, educational programming, and teaching in the non-profit sector, charter school community, and public school setting. Elizabeth is passionate about addressing issues of inequity in education and providing a holistic, social-justice oriented approach when working with students. Her goal is to empower first-generation, students of color as they pursue their personal and educational goals. Elizabeth attended the University of California, Irvine where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Education Sciences with a specialization in Early Childhood Learning and Development. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Higher Education Administration at Loyola Marymount University.
Oscar A. Bautista
is an artist, community event organizer, and Journalist from South Central LA.
Most recent projects including organizing fundraiser events for Aguilas del Desierto and Border Angels. Both non-profit organizations aiding migrants and families of those attempting to cross the US-Mexico border.
Founder of the art collective Pop Vuj, he leads in organizing artist focused events. The goal is centered in connecting and creating a community of local artists. This includes musicians,writers, and visual artists from South Central, East LA, Boyle Heights, Korea Town and various communities across greater LA.
As a South Central native, his goal is to continue to develop and organize a collective for local artists who are committed to bettering their community and artistry.
EJ Hill
is an artist and educator born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. He has presented lectures at University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, Irvine; Yale University; Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University; and University of Illinois at Chicago. He was co-director of Hewn Oaks Arts Education Center in Lovell, Maine (2006-08), a Teaching Artist Fellow at Armory Center for the Arts (2014-15), and was a Fellow at Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University (2018-19). His artwork is held in the public collections of the Dallas Museum of Art; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Columbia College Chicago (2011) and a Master of Fine Arts from University of California, Los Angeles (2013).
Much of what he knows, he has learned from: Estelle Thompson, Karen Thompson, Ernest Hill Jr., Margaret Nomentana, Joan Giroux, Adam Brooks and Mat Wilson (Industry of the Ordinary), Andrea Fraser, Mario Ybarra Jr., Matt Austin, Young Chung, Jordan Casteel, TLC, Lauryn Hill, and Augie Grahn. He is forever indebted to these educators and thanks them endlessly.
michelle moro
Maurice Tut
is currently a project manager for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a dual Master’s Program Graduate from California State University, Los Angeles. With an academic background in healthcare management and information system and work experience in project management for research informatics/clinical systems, Maurice brings great financial and technical knowledge in advising the operational aspect of a non for profit. His primary purpose is to gain a good understanding of the healthcare delivery system to then come back to his hometown of South-Central Los Angeles and provide guidance to the community on how to navigate the complexities of a healthcare system.
On the artistic side, he used to be a musician playing the trumpet in a variety of marching bands and events. He participated in playing for the Los Angeles Marching Band at the Rose Parade in 2003, in addition to playing at Disneyland and Six Flags for separate events. His favorite musical pieces were more on the jazzical and classical side.
jonathan solano
Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. Jonathan holds a B.S. in Business Administration degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills and has an extensive career in both Finance & Business consulting. Jonathan takes pride in his leadership skills and is determined to help GFSC achieve long term success.
Jonathan is a founding member of Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity Inc. at CSUDH and his work includes serving on the E-Board as Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, and President during his undergraduate career. His career in Finance includes educating clients on realistic financial goals by hosting financial literacy and loan workshops.