Staff Bios

Jaime Balboa (he/him/his), Executive Director
Jaime Balboa brings to 826LA his love of writing and the writing process, successful leadership in the nonprofit youth advocacy and higher education sectors, and a deep passion for social justice. Jaime most recently served as the assistant dean of undergraduate education at UCLA. There, he led campus-wide efforts to develop programs to close achievement gaps and to ensure the success of the most vulnerable students. Prior to his work in higher education, Jaime served as the chief of staff at Larkin Street Youth Services (LSYS) in San Francisco, a nationally renowned nonprofit working with homeless and runaway youth ages 12-24, helping them permanently exit street life. Prior to his work at LSYS, Jaime served as the director of public education at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and as the executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, an LGBTQ political advocacy organization.  “A common, key ingredient to all of my professional endeavors has been my ability to write,” Jaime says. “Whether I’m writing grant proposals, policy analyses, or business plans, I understand first-hand the importance of writing clearly and compellingly. It is absolutely critical that the students we serve hone those same skills.” An avid open water swimmer, in his downtime, Jaime writes short stories and poetry. He holds a BA in English from Adrian College, a master’s degree in theology from Duke University, and an interdisciplinary PhD from the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. He and his partner are raising a son.


Diego Quevedo (he/him/his), Chief of Staff
Diego first got involved with nonprofits as a sophomore in college.  He worked for his university’s “Alumni Outreach Program” AKA: the cold-call alumni and ask them for money department.

As you can imagine, it was a difficult position with the abrupt hang-ups and constantly being yelled at by alumni for the unsolicited calls.

But something interesting happened, Diego realized he really liked the job. Not for all the rejection but he learned if you were able to really connect with someone, they were more than happy to support your mission. He enjoyed doing something to benefit a greater cause.

After getting his degree in architecture and working for a few years at a firm in Irvine, CA, Diego felt the urge to get back to helping people. He soon left his corporate job and accepted a position with a small medical office. It was during this time he realized how the operations of an organization have a significant affect on the outcomes of the organization. In healthcare, the outcomes were people’s literal lives.

This realization led Diego to explore operations, system and organizational administration whole-heartedly. He soon moved his career into operations management at one of California’s largest nonprofits. There he was able to combine his passion for helping others with his ability to establish and implement effective systems.

Diego wanted to continue his work in administration and the nonprofit sector but wanted an opportunity to work towards a mission more aligned with his own passions. He found it with 826LA!

In his spare time, Diego loves spending time with his wife and three kids and their one-year old yellow lab.


Shani Foster (she/her/hers), Director of Education
Shani Foster is an experienced educational leader, culture builder, and people developer. Driven by a passion to serve others, she takes pride in creating environments where people thrive. As the Director of Education at 826La, her commitment includes managing and leading all programs and providing direct supervision to the In-Center, In-Schools, and Volunteer Management teams. She is a native of Memphis, TN and prior to joining 826LA she was a school principal in Brooklyn, NY. Shani is a graduate of Spelman College and Westminster Choir College.


Christie Thomas (she/her/hers), Director of Development
Christie Thomas, raised by two teachers, has a passion for writing and inspiring a love for it in young people. After 20 years in the entertainment business, Christie made the switch to the non-profit sphere, and managed grants for several arts and education non-profits before becoming Institutional Giving Manager for 826LA. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Literature from Princeton University and started her career in Europe as a casting director, launching a voice over agency in the Netherlands. In the United States she became a talent manager and moved to Los Angeles, where she founded her own management company before completing a Certificate in Fundraising at UCLA Extension. As Director of Development she looks forward to using her experience and strengths in fundraising to help 826LA access more financial opportunity. She is Board Chair of Shakespeare Youth Festival, an arts organization which empowers youth through the performance of Shakespeare’s plays.


Pedro Estrada (he/him/his), Programs & Operations Manager, Echo Park
Pedro works in Echo Park and oversees the workshops program. Pedro’s been involved in education since serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in Moldova. He also supports 826LA’s work with the Broad and running STEM workshops in Echo Park. Pedro enjoys reading sci-fi, fantasy, and graphic novels in his spare time.

 


Mike Dunbar (he/him/his), Programs & Operations Manager, Mar Vista
As a Programs & Operations Manager at 826LA in Mar Vista, Mike Dunbar has been publishing the stories of thousands of student writers during field trips to the imaginary publishing house Barnacle & Barnacle since 2013. He believes that the opportunity to freely explore reading and writing at a young age can spark a lifelong passion for learning, and cites as proof his own childhood of Saturday afternoons spent at the local library searching for books on monsters or perusing his brother’s bookshelf where he discovered science fiction. Mike is a fifth generation Californian and native Angeleno, and holds an MA in English Literature from California State University Northridge. His thesis explored the connection between the aerospace industry he grew up around and the works of the sci-fi authors he read as a kid and still reads. His favorite book about learning is Education of a Wandering Man, which he considers a love letter to reading.


Mateo Acosta (they/them), Associate Director of Community Engagement
Mateo was born and raised in Salem, Oregon, but moved to Los Angeles in 2016 to pursue their BA in History from UCLA. While in Los Angeles, Mateo discovered their love and passion for working with students and advocating for equitable access to quality education for all students. After working in various roles across schools in California, and in the midst of the pandemic, Mateo began pursuing their MA in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

While in New York, Mateo taught history in schools in Harlem, organized state campaigns to reinstate Tuition Assistance Programs for incarcerated students, and assisted on research into the effects of the pandemic on the teacher workforce.

After earning their Master’s, Mateo decided to return back to where they consider home, Los Angeles, to continue serving the students and communities at 826LA as the Senior Community Engagement Manager.


Alma Carrillo (she/her/ella), Development and Communications Manager
Alma Carrillo was born and raised in West Adams, Los Angeles, to two immigrant parents from Mexico and El Salvador. While in college at California State University Northridge, she worked at Westminster Elementary School in Venice Beach as a teacher’s assistant. During her senior year of college, Alma worked as an Intern for Justice Rising, an international organization transforming war zones through education, and Dig Deep Right to Water, an agency bringing clean running water to the Navajo Nation with their Development and Communications team. After graduating from California State University Northridge with a BA in Liberal Arts with an Education track, Alma switched gears to work in the non-profit field. For the last three years, Alma worked with The People Concern, a local nonprofit agency fundraising for homeless services and housing in Los Angeles County.

826LA has given Alma the unique opportunity to return to education and fundraise for students to have the opportunity to explore creative writing. She hopes to advocate and give back to her community. Alma is motivated by her upbringing and ensuring that all students have access to resources she didn’t have growing up.

Alma is a plant and coffee lover, and whenever she gets the chance, you can catch her working from a local coffee shop or leading Jefas con Libros, a book club for BIPOC individuals, with her best friend.


Carinne Mangold (she/her/hers), Store and General Operations Manager, Time Travel Marts in Echo Park & Mar Vista
Carinne has been working for 826LA and the Time Travel Mart since 2075. After living in Australia for a year and working with other non-profits she found a deep interest in giving back. She returned to her hometown of Los Angeles, and while gaining retail and management experience she realized that the future is now. Paradoxes aside, Carinne now manages both Time Travel Marts in their respective eras, oversees creative volunteers, and shares the 826LA mission and work with the public through store outreach and event support. Carinne enjoys traveling across the space and time continuums, cultures, food, and design, as well as spending time with friends and family.


Maddie Silva (she/her/hers), Manager of Special Initiatives
After growing up in Los Angeles, I attended UC Davis where I earned my Bachelor’s of Science in Human Development. My career in youth education began at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum where I delivered science programming to kids throughout my college summers. After graduation, I followed my passion for youth education to a refugee resettlement agency in San Diego where I first served as an Americorps member and then continued on as their Intergenerational Education Coordinator. There I enjoyed working with kids and families, putting on intergenerational events and leading storytelling programs for high schoolers. I’ve also been a writer all my life–from filling notebooks with original tales as a kid to working on the school paper in high school to now, where I start every morning with coffee and a story.


Arisdeysi Cruz (she/her/ella), Tutoring Program Coordinator
As the new Tutoring Program Coordinator at 826LA, Arisdeysi Cruz (she/her/ella) is thrilled to be back as a staff member. She interned at 826LA during the summer and fall of 2022. She will try to implement many of the approaches of her predecessor while introducing new ideas and skills.

Arisdeysi is born and raised in Los Angeles. She earned her BA degree in Creative Writing and her MA in Humanities from California State University, Northridge.

Most of her volunteer and work experience has been working with elementary to high school students. Education had always been the end goal therefore sought organizations that catered to creative learning. She has been a part of organizations like The Jaime Escalante Math Progam, Gear-up, Young Storytellers, LA Conservation Corp, and various schools across LA County. Learning to aid the enrichment and advancement of student learning, essay writing, and resume building.


Ariana Ponce Olivares (she/her/ella), Senior Civic Engagement Coordinator
Ariana Ponce is an aspiring educator born and raised in the heart of Mid City. Since the age of nine, Ariana knew she wanted to pursue a career in education and work towards becoming a teacher. As a recent transfer student, Ariana continues her studies at Cal State LA where she hopes to gain a BA in English along with a single subject credential. Her aspirations have led her to volunteer in several non-profit organizations that aim towards helping students of all ages strengthen their learning abilities. These experiences have helped her value the importance of volunteerism, activism, and community engagement. More than ever, Ariana feels compelled to be a guiding light in the world of education and could not be more excited to join 826LA. Ariana enjoys traveling, watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy, listening to Taylor Swift, and spending time with her family during her spare time.


Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo (she/they), Senior Volunteer Coordinator
Ariadne Makridakis Arroyo is a poet and writer of Greek and Guatemalan descent who grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Their creative work has been featured in various literary magazines and journals. In 2020, she graduated from Occidental College magna cum laude with a BA in Critical Theory & Social Justice.

Ariadne began in literary arts programming and community engagement through their time with Oxy Arts, Occidental College’s community-based arts hub, and Avenue 50 Studio, an art gallery in Highland Park, where they organized open mics that explored the intersection between social justice and poetry. At Red Hen Press, she managed the Writing in the Schools program, connecting published authors that provide poetry workshops to LA Title I schools, while working in fundraising.

As the new Senior Volunteer Coordinator at 826LA, Ariadne is excited to engage with volunteers and make creative writing workshops and tutoring more accessible to students.


Cole Montgomery (he/him/his), Development Coordinator
Cole Montgomery has been in the nonprofit field for over thirteen years, getting his start by moving to Bangkok, Thailand, where he created arts coursework for grassroots organizations there. He focused on training long-term stakeholders to facilitate the classes and workshops for the sake of sustainable and ethical programming. Cole is most passionate about activating and equipping community members to tell authentic, powerful stories. His work as an educator for organizations like Venice Arts and ArtCenter has covered all ages and skill levels, from middle schoolers picking up a camera for the first time, to high school seniors creating long-form projects about family and identity for college applications, and adults in bilingual settings using photography and writing to reflect on their life experiences.

With the pandemic reshaping all of our lives, Cole has spent the past year and a half working as a community engagement coordinator, doing coalition-building outreach in order to bring students into online arts programming for several organizations in the Los Angeles area. Cole also recently taught a workshop series called “Pandemic Portraits” as part of 826LA’s Weekday Workshops.

Cole holds a MA in Visual Art from California State University, Northridge.


Wilson Swain (he/him/his), Creative Engagement Specialist
Wilson Swain has been working in the Echo Park Time Travel Mart since the beginning of time (2012). Having started as a volunteer with 826LA two years previous to that, the timeline no longer makes any sense whatsoever and he apologizes profusely. Raised near Champaign, IL, and with a degree in Graphic Communication from the University of Indianapolis, he moved to Southern California to attend Art Center, earning a second BFA in Illustration. With artwork published in books at places like Chronicle, Simon & Schuster, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, he’s equally thrilled with a decade-sized volume of field trip book illustrations he’s created with students. The major parts of any good story include Character, Setting and Plot; within his personal timeline, Wilson is still developing all three.


Marco Beltran (they/them), Writers’ Room Program Coordinator, Manual Arts High School
Marco was raised by chili cheese fries and soda in Huntington Park, California. They write and perform sketch comedy all over LA. Usually it’s in front of an audience at the Ruby LA or the Pack Theater, but lately they’ve been enjoying performing for their girlfriend/partner and their dog, Wolfie. When they’re not at the Time Travel Mart, you can find them indoors, playing video games with friends or watching pro wrestling.


Wendy Beltran (she/her/hers), Writers’ Room Program Coordinator, Roosevelt High School
Born and raised in Los Angeles by two immigrant parents from El Salvador, Wendy has always had a love for words and storytelling. Fueled by frequent walks to her local library with her mom, reading became and still is one of her favorite pastimes and you can often find her curled up with a book. Wendy attended Cal Poly Pomona and earned a BS in Anthropology. Soon after graduating, she began her career in Education by working as Research and Writing Specialist at Environmental Charter High School. Through this role, she became passionate about supporting students on their literacy journeys and believes that reading and writing can empower students and open up a world of opportunities and experiences. Wendy is thrilled to continue to create a space for the young people of Los Angeles hoping to help them flourish and tell their stories as they leave high school and move forward in the next chapter of their lives.