Connect With Us and Each Other to Transform our Community
When you walk into BAYCAT, you are greeted by OUR COMMUNITY WALL that has hundreds of Polaroids of each and every person who walks into BAYCAT - in other words, our community. From near or far, young or old, these are people who care and who take action. The willingness of each of us to learn, connect, and to spend time with one another is at the heart of what we do. Meet our community. Become part of our community.
Dixie Horning
As Executive Director of UCSF’s Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, Dixie is committed to providing the best healthcare to families in San Francisco. Dixie was invited by Jeff Adachi to present UCSF’s services for the Bayview community at a B-Magic meeting and learned about BAYCAT. She hired us to do a promotional video and we hired Tyerra Green, Jon’Tonette Clark and Erisha Wise, 3 BAYCAT teenagers, to work on this production with UCSF. The video has been shown to over 1,000 people nationally at other Centers of Excellence.
Tyerra Green
Born and raised in Bayview Hunters Point, Tyerra was one of Villy Wang’s 4th grade students and one of BAYCAT’s first students. She has worked with Dixie Horning on a promotional video for UCSF, and a middle school campaign with Janet Hines of CASARC. She’s also had the chance to interview & film, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Al Gore, Terry Semel, former President & CEO of Yahoo! and Jeff Skoll. She is a high school student who wants to be an actress. Most recently, she co-hosted the 4th Annual BAYCATs (our Oscars) with Dwayne Jones, and she was hired for a year by the Young Artist’s program at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Tyerra’s mom happens to work for UCSF and was so excited to learn that her daughter was working on a project with them.
Jeff Adachi
Founder of BMagic, Jeff is a major convener of community leaders and resources in the Bayview. Jeff Adachi, SF Public Defender, started this program to coordinate and improve youth services, and provide early intervention that reduces juvenile crime, strengthens families and keeps children in school. Need to find a youth program or service? Go to www.bmagic.com. Jeff invited Dixie Horning to speak about UCSF’s programs for the community. Jeff and BMagic helped to connect UCSF and BAYCAT! In addition, Jeff was one of BAYCAT’s early major individual contributors.
Janet Hines
Currently Director of CASARC (Child and Adolescent Support and Advocacy Resource Center), Janet was introduced to BAYCAT through Dixie Horning and our work with UCSF. Janet was introduced to BAYCAT through Dixie Horning and our work with UCSF. Janet thinks Tyerra Green is the best model, has natural charisma and is extremely approachable. BAYCAT and Tyerra created a poster campaign for CASARC to help middle school students become aware of CASARC’s services. Janet hired BAYCAT again the following year to take care of all of CASARC’s marketing needs including the production of two videos and information cards.
Dwayne Jones
A long time community leader, Dwayne is currently working closely with the Mayor as Director of Communities of Opportunities (COO). He’s been involved with BAYCAT from the very beginning; most recently, he co-hosted our version of the Oscars, the BAYCATs, with Tyerra Green at the Letterman Digital Arts Center. He also hired BAYCAT to produce the COO website, Alice Griffith Opportunity House video, and to capture several COO events including the big kick off at the 49-er stadium that Pamela Casper Canada worked on. Dwayne also introduced BAYCAT programming to Heritage Camp, where we were able to bring our animation and video classes to Youth Park, Brett Harte Elementary and the Alice Griffith Opportunity Center.
Pamela Canada
Born and raised in Bayview Hunters Point, Pamela is a City College student who found out about us through a friend who saw one of our flyers at City College. She is one of our first official BAYCAT interns, who is dedicating a year to work with us part-time to develop her skills as a filmmaker, learn to manage her finances, and become more job-ready to gain employment. In addition to producing her own movies, she recently said at the BAYCATs that someday she will be on TV at the real Oscars. In the meantime, she’s adding to her resume with experience in filming events for Dwayne Jones, Janet Hines, and most recently, went to Japan with Villy Wang on assignment with the Japan Society.
Jeff Skoll
First President of eBay, then founder of the Skoll Foundation and Participant Productions, Jeff has been integral in helping BAYCAT be in existence. Jeff was introduced to BAYCAT through Bill Strickland. Through the Skoll Foundation and introductions they made, BAYCAT received the seed money to get started. 20/20 did a segment on Jeff, and it gave some of our students like Tyerra Green and Nick Quesada a chance to also interview him. While visiting BAYCAT, he said, "BAYCAT is the community version of Participant Productions, using media to create social change."
Bill Strickland
Bill is both President & CEO, of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation, and incorporator of BAYCAT. Kindred spirits, Bill and Villy Wang met over a decade ago. Villy, as with so many of Bill’s fans, like Jeff Skoll, was so inspired by Bill’s message of creating hope through art and his beautiful center in Pittsburgh, PA, and Bill was inspired by Villy’s determination to use digital media arts to empower and employ youth and young adults. It was destined that they would work together on building BAYCAT, and that BAYCAT would be the first of many other centers to be created nationally and internationally. BAYCAT is proud to be affiliated with Bill and NCAT, the National Centers of Art and Technology. Look out for Bill Strickland’s book, Making the Impossible Possible, that tells his inspirational story.
Hydra Mendoza
Commissioner San Francisco School Board and the Mayor’s Education Advisor, Hydra met Villy Wang back when Villy was a teacher, and when Hydra’s kids were at Fairmount Elementary School. Hydra and Villy got to share their passion for improving education first through PTA meetings. Hydra was a founding member of Parents for Schools and today she’s making an even bigger impact as the Mayor’s Education Advisor and on the School Board. Hydra was also one of BAYCAT’s first individual donors and supporters! Recently, Hydra was introduced at our Oscars, the BAYCATs co-hosted by Tyerra Green, who also was a student at Fairmount Elementary School once upon a time. Hydra presented an award for Best Educational segment that showcased what our students at Mission High School and Thurgood High School can do to create positive messages with media through BAYCAT’s educational programs.
Nick Quesada
Nick found BAYCAT as a middle school student who didn’t care too much about working with others, and wasn’t focused on school or much of anything. Nick discovered his multi-faced talents through BAYCAT’s educational programs. In front of the camera he has co?hosted several episodes of BAYCAT’s youth produced TV show Zoom-In, and behind the scenes in production and editing, he’s produced promotional and music videos. Nick’s our first student to be accepted into School of the Arts. In addition to interviewing Jeff Skoll and Dwayne Jones, BAYCAT’s hired Nick to work on projects with clients ranging from Atelier, an international bank affiliate to Kids on the Move, an innovative educational program in the East Bay This year Nick was recognized at the BAYCATs along with his classmate, Moses Jackson, for producing a promotional video for the Youth Commission. Nick has also been appointed by the Mayor to serve on the Youth Commission as their Media and Public Relations Officer.
Julius Robinson
Market President of Union Bank of California, Julius was first introduced to BAYCAT when Gaylon Logan, Jr. (former Executive Director of Infusion One) recommended BAYCAT for a grant. With a long time branch in Bayview Hunters Point, Union Bank has been a long time community supporter. After meeting Villy Wang at the presentation awards and learning more about BAYCAT’s programs, Julius asked BAYCAT to produce a promotional video for Union Bank for its annual division conference. Union Bank of California also supports other community-based organizations that we partner with such as Hunters Point Family/Girls 2000, Bayview Business Resource Center, and Renaissance Center for Parents who are also working with Jeff Adachi and BMagic.
Lola Whittle
A San Franciscan native and Bayview resident, Lola has been deeply committed to the development and economic growth in her community through entrepreneurship since 1989 when she was the first African American to receive a business start-up loan by the Mayor’s Office in 1989. Lola currently is the Director of the Bayview Business Resource Center (BBRC), a close partner to BAYCAT. Together our organizations are helping merchants on Third Street, like SuperSave and Olivia’s, with BBRC lending operational support, and BAYCAT marketing support. Lola and BBRC recently received recognition as a community leader from Julius Robinson and Union Bank of California, and Lola also is a Board member of Girls 2000/Hunters Point Family.
