Black Public Media held an award ceremony showcasing the finalists who pitched their film projects in search of funding on April 11th. It was an intense program. Oddly, my biggest supporters were my competitors. We became a family. Every practice pitch we did in front of each other made us stronger. I wanted so much to develop and shape my pitch. I worked incredibly hard to sharpen it. Thursday night, April 11th, arrived sooner than I thought. I was ready. I opened with a joke and eased the crowd. It was a beautiful performance. Probably my best presentation ever. I should be getting a link to upload video here soon. The next night we were invited to the gala event where winners were announced. My brother and sister-in-law attended. When my Digital Media category was announced, I was oddly at ease. When I heard my name called, all of my dreams came true. I felt so grateful, so empowered, so excited. This award means that Black Public Media will fund the production of my entire first season! 12 new episodes, that I am just excited to start producing right now!!! 

The Signal Newspaper from Santa Clarita interviewed my and one of my board members Corey Curties. It was an incredible interview and we were honored to have been given the opportunity. Click here for the full interview on The Signal Newspaper. 

I was honored to be invited to guest speak at the August 2018 graduation ceremony at Year Up in Greater Boston. Thank you Year Up for allowing me to share in your joy. Your drive and will to succeed is infectious. The impact you have made has sent a ripple effect across the nation that continues to inspire me and my children daily. I spoke to the challenges we are faced with and incredible high expectations we need to hold ourselves to. I was moved at how many students in the audience were inspired by Heroes of Color and it's values and mission. ​

A week away from class one. I am up late, trying to re-organize the curriculum and get everything in order for my students. I have been planing this for a year now. At first I wasn't sure if it was going to happen. But I kept on pushing, kept on planning, believing and developing this until I was able to get others just as excited as me. I am excited about the potential impact I believe this class will have on students. Introducing business, giving them a platform to express themselves, teaching them financial independence. I know it will go well. I Will be documenting the process from now on. 

We are so excited that the Junior ARTrepreneurs workshop found it's first home! The Saint Kateri Church in Santa Clarita will host our first class and we are working hard to bring an awareness in the community. This will be an incredible class that will help build confidence in our youth. They will also get some education on financial independence and some guidance on how to market, price and sell their creative projects. While the class is hosted in a Catholic church, please note that this program is open to ANYONE regardless of your faith or if you are a member of this church. The outreach coordinator Kathy Regalado has been instrumental in helping to bring this program to the community and I am excited to see this dream of mine come true. It has always been a passion of mine to educate through art, and this program allows me to do that. 

The internet rallies behind the #PBSFilmFest and Heroes of Color in this years 2018 PBS Online Film Festival. It has been a very tough task to execute the marketing strategies put in effect for this campaign. However, we need to show PBS how relevant and in demand this series is to educators, parents and the world. It is so important that children see themselves represented in everyday live in a positive way. This series provides that opportunity. Read the full interview PBS conducted here: https://www.pbs.org/filmfestival/blogs/behind-lens/heroes-of-color-qa/ 

Final logo is completed. The webinar registration page and detailed description is in progress. 

Canyon Country Library in Santa Clarita had their annual Dia De Los Libros event. It was a great experience for myself and my kids. I wasn't able to post the photos of the table full of kids who surrounded the coloring pages I designed and were so incredibly focused on their coloring! The best part was that the ages ranged from children up to adults. I was honored to have a presence at the event and look forward to other ways in which I can include diverse artwork in the community.