826 National Advisory Board

Joel Arquillos is director of 826 National Programs. He taught social studies in the San Francisco Unified School District for eight years. Joel is also a member of the Bay Area Writing Project and the National Writing Project.

Mac Barnett, 826LA's Programs Director, has ten years of teaching experience. He has written two books for children, Billy Twitters's Blue Whale Problem, and Guess Again, which will be published next year.

Barb Bersche is the president of McSweeney’s Publishing, which is well-known for their literary publications and novels.

Amanda Bruscino is co-director of 826CHI. She has held fundraising and management positions at nonprofits in Chicago serving youth, refugees, and domestic violence survivors.

Jennifer Bunshoft recently joined the California Attorney General’s Office in San Francisco, in the civil division. She serves as 826 Valencia’s and 826 National’s attorney.

Nínive Clements Calegari, CEO of 826 National, is the co-founder of 826 Valencia, a veteran classroom teacher, and co-author ofTeachers Have it Easy: the Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America’s Teachers.

Howard Cutler has worked at public television’s best known affiliate, WGBH, since 1996, first as director of WGBH Interactive and currently as its executive producer. He studied painting for two summers at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture before attending Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1968..

Jonathan Dearman is a native San Franciscan and a veteran classroom teacher. He presently works in San Francisco in real estate.

Michelle Dunkerley is an 826 Seattle board member and publisher for a small press called Presse Verde.

Dave Eggers is co-founder of 826 Valencia and McSweeney’s. He is also an author whose writings include A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, You Shall Know Our Velocity, How We Are Hungry and What is the What.

Larry Feinberg is a curator of European Painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, former chief of staff to the UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, and on the boards of several organizations devoted to the education and welfare of disadvantaged children.

Jack T. Gilbertson is a partner at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, LLP and specializes in corporate, tax and health care regulatory matters. Mr. Gilbertson has over twenty years experience in representing nonprofit entities.

John Giordano is a visual artist and professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design where he co-directors the Center for Art and Community Partnerships. A painter and photographer, John has taught and designed artist-in-residence projects for public schools, after-school programs and museums for fifteen years.

Ira Glass is the host and producer of This American Life. He has been working in public radio since 1978.

Teri Hein is the founding executive director of 826 Seattle. She is a veteran classroom teacher and published author.

Reece Hirsch is a partner in the San Francisco office of the law firm Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal.

Keith Hood chairs the 826michigan board of directors. He's founder of Critical Connection Fiction Workshops and edits Orchid Literary Review.

Jay Jacobs founded Summer Search Boston in 1995 and now serves as CEO, helping 200 students annually with programs in New York, Seattle, and Silicon Valley.

Helen Jacobson recently retired after thirty years in education ranging from day care through high school as counselor, director, bilingual educator, dean of the former Pilot School in Cambridge, MA and Chief Academic Officer of The English High School, Boston.

Daniel Johnson is the Executive Director at 826 Boston. He has worked in arts programming and has developed writing curricula. Daniel's own work will appear in The Best American Poetry 2007.

Joan Kim has taught high school English and English as a second language in the US and abroad. Formerly a senior editor with Lightbulb Press, Joan holds a degree in English literature with certification in secondary school education from Princeton University.

Keith Knight is a cartoonist, rapper, and media activist. His two weekly comic strips, the K Chronicles and (th)ink appear in various publications around the nation.

Leigh Lehman Lehman is the Executive Director of 826 Valencia. She has seven years of experience as a middle- and high-school English teacher in Louisiana and Massachusetts. She holds a BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University.

Tynnetta McIntosh has thirteen years of financial management experience at JP Morgan Chase. She has worked extensively with nonprofits.

Abner Morales is a member of 826 Valencia’s board of directors. He graduated from Portland State University with an English B.A., and is a Spanish/English interpreter student/volunteer.

Bita Nazarian is currently the Assistant Principal at James Lick Middle School in the San Francisco Unified School District.

Mara Fuller O’Brien is the co-director of 826CHI. Before 826, she volunteered in Bolivia for two years and then taught in Chicago for seven years. She has her Masters of Administration in Education.

Amy Orringer spent her first two years out of college teaching English in East Los Angeles as a part of the Teach for America Program. Amy has a BA in Journalism from Indiana University, and received a Masters in Secondary English Education from Loyola Marymount University.

Betty Pazmiño is an educator with 27 years of teaching experience in bilingual education. She is currently working for SFUSD as a content specialist in elementary schools supporting literacy instruction. Her two children are students in SFUSD schools.

Alexandra Quinn has fifteen years experience in nonprofit arts and education administration. She has been education curator at the Sonoma County Museum, founding staff member of the Oxbow School, and a strategic planning consultant for the Katherine Michiels School.

Davy Rothbart is the creator of FOUND Magazine, author of the story collection The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas, and a contributor to public radio’s This American Life.

Scott Seeley is the executive director of 826NYC. He has worked in various capacities in arts and education for over a decade. Formerly the manager of McSweeney's East Coast office, Scott holds a degree in fine arts and received his masters degree in arts education.

Steve Seidel, Ed.D., the Director of Project Zero and the Director of the Arts in Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Amanda Uhle is the executive director of 826 Michigan. She has worked behind the scenes in visual and performing arts organizations in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio.

Ruben Urbina is a member of Everett Middle School's site council, their EXCEL After School Programs Coordinator, and leads the Cesar Chavez Club. He’s the proud parent of SFUSD students, and coaches sports teams.

Vendela Vida is the author of the novels Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name and And Now You Can Go. Her non-fiction book Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Initiations examines different coming-of-age rituals for young women. Vendela is also the co-editor of The Believer magazine.

Sarah Vowell is the author of the books Assassination Vacation, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World, and Radio On: A Listener’s Diary. Her criticism and reporting has also appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers.

Sally Willcox has been an agent at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, representing authors, screenwriters, directors, and producers, for almost two decades.

Rick Wolfgram is Managing Director and Head of Media investment banking at ThinkEquity Partners. Rick serves on the board of 826 Valencia and tutors on Sundays under the strict supervision of Andrew Strickman.

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