Staff

Elana Yonah Rosen, Executive Director and Co-Founder, has over 20 years experience in the worlds of media and education. A former producer with KQED-TV, and a contributing writer for the Center for Investigative Reporting, Elana was the co-creator of Edutopia while serving as senior associate with the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Elana was one of the 13 founding board members of the US’s first national media education membership organization, the National Association for Media Literacy Education in which position she organized national leaders to the author the Core Principles of Media Literacy Education. She received an Emmy nomination for the documentary, Czeslaw Milosz: A Poet Remembers, and is the co-author of the media literacy education guidebook, Changing the World through Media Education. Elana is a a former Bay Area Social Venture Partner, and has sat on the boards of Kimya Institute, Marin Family Service Agency and Envision Schools. She was a finalist for the 2008 Cable’s Leaders in Learning Awards. Recent articles and speaking engagements include: Unexpected Outcomes from the Handbook of Research of Teaching Literacy in the Communicative and Visual Arts, Vol II.

Donna Staples, Director of Development and Communications, has been successfully writing proposals and raising funds for Bay Area educational and environmental nonprofits for over 12 years. With a BA in religion and an MA in creative writing, she brings a unique perspective and passion to her communications with donors, prospects, and the public. A former creative writing instructor, curriculum writer, and award-winning novelist (Arena Beach, Houghton Mifflin, 1993), she is also an avid gardener, hiker, film buff, and world traveler and the mother of two exceptionally clever and creative offspring.

Arthur Grau, Program Director, worked as an artist and graphic designer with Soolip Inc. in Los Angeles which brought him an intense appreciation for great design. Completing a program in Media and Social Change at the University of California, Santa Cruz he reaffirmed his belief in the importance entertainment can have on education and personal development. With Just Think he has been both program and design director, producing and directing the Youth Dialogue Project Documentary Conversations for Change, the current Just Think commercial. and numerous other productions. Caminos MEAL He currently directs Youth Media Educators summer intensive, the ongoing YME Mentors and oversees Just Think in-school and after-school programs.

Luis Flores, Director of Operations, has been working with the non-profit sector in accounting and human resources for the past 15 years. Previously he was an activist with the civil and immigrant rights movement. In his native country, El Salvador, he played soccer and now uses those skills to train his six and sixteen year old children. He strongly believes that the future of the US lies with the youth and their education.

Devon K. Lee, Just Think’s Producer/Instructor is responsible for co-directing, developing and delivering rich educational video resources and curriculum for diverse communities. Recognizing the influence of media on society early on led Devon to obtain a B.A. in Film Production and a minor in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. Devon first got involved with Just Think at the 2000 Backyard Children’s Festival. Since then he has produced seasons worth of episodes of “Hip Hop University” which aired on San Francisco Public Access. He has also produced music videos with Bay Area rappers Messy Marv and Guce and with indie band Sherwood. Furthermore Devon has been involved in various short films that may never see the light of day, but his last film was produced in Casco Viejo, Panama which should make it into Latino Film Festivals if he and his crew can get a visa to finish their last scene. Devon has also played the violin for thirteen years.

Dominic M. Bannister Jr., Just Think’s Producer/Instructor is responsible for co-directing, developing and delivering rich educational video resources and curriculum for diverse communities. Dom was born in Sierra Leone, and moved to East Palo Alto at the age of nine. His interest in the power of media led him to develop his skills as a web developer and digital media producer exercising his skills at groundbreaking non-profits like Plugged-In and Just Think. With a degree in Computer Science from San Francisco State University, Dom has co-produced and delivered workshops from Hawaii to Harlem, and participated in the Zimbabwe International Exchange program in which students from the US & Zimbabwe shared and documented their respective educational and cultural experiences. Dominic’s work has been shown at the Gen-Y Studio of the Sundance Film Festival, and he is currently working on a film about the impact of blood diamonds on the Hip Hop community.

Andrew Howard-Greene Consultant to Media Production Project

Chris Palitz Consultant to Media Production Project

Korina Jocson, Consulting Instructor, holds a PhD in Education from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA in Ethnic Studies from Stanford University. Jocson has served as lecturer, instructor, and researcher at the University of San Francisco, UC Berkeley and Stanford and also been a public high school teacher in Los Angeles. Her areas of specialty are urban education, adolescent literacies, ethnic studies, and media. She has published widely on media literacy education in urban environments, and in professional journals and anthologies.

Natalia Calle-Giraldo Consultant to Media Production Project, is a Master in Education student at San Francisco State University, and Social Communicator from Colombia interested into research the uses of media education and critical pedagogy practices in urban schools and Latino communities.

Roger Le Consultant to the Media Production project, is a charismatic and flamboyant graduate of Just Think Youth Media Educators. He has worked as a camera operator, sound designer and editor. He is currently pursuing a degree in journalism and spends most of his free time working with music and audio. He has composed for web and short films. Many believe he may be a secret CIA agent from Mars.

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