STAFF
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Frank EscamillaDirector of School Programs -
Matthew Cuban HernandezDirector of Community and Probation Programs -
Art QuirosRecording Studio Director -
Michelle SorgenGrants Director -
David SanchezTeaching Artist -
Alyesha Wise-HernandezDirector of Program Development -
Chris HenriksonExecutive Director
Known in the streets and open-mic venues of Los Angeles as “Bus Stop Prophet” for his propensity to bust rhymes in unexpected places, Frank has been deeply engaged in creative peace-making work for over 16 years, both here in LA, and as far away as South Africa and Sweden. A gifted poet, spoken word-artist, open-mic host, community-builder and teacher, Frank first connected with Street Poets in 2013 and has been working with us ever since. As our Director of School programs, Frank oversees Street Poets school partnerships, community events and outreach. In his capacity as a master teaching artist, Frank facilitates writing workshops for everyone from Compton elementary school 5th graders to formerly incarcerated adults at Homeboy Industries. In any setting, his passion for the healing power of poetry and storytelling is truly infectious.
Matthew is a celebrated poet/spoken-word artist and educator from Jacksonville, Florida. Matthew has over 10 years of teaching and mentoring experience in schools and youth detention facilities, including the past three as a program director and lead teaching artist with Street Poets. In addition to being a two-time winner of the Southern Fried Poetry Slam Competition, Matthew served as the co-coach of the Get Lit-Words Ignite Youth Slam Team and the Hollywood (Da Poetry Lounge) Adult Slam Team, a finalist in the 2017 National Poetry Slam. Matthew has traveled around the world, from Duval to Abu Dhabi, performing and teaching poetry, and coaching slam teams to great success. He has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, and has been featured on a wide range of live stages and platforms from KPFK radio to BuzzFeed.
Art is a music producer, engineer and rapper/recording artist with a passion for inspiring youth to realize their full potential. He began at Street Poets in 2007 as an intern through the Poet-in-Residence program and gradually expanded his skills and capabilities until on the responsibilities of recording studio engineer. He performs his poetry and music with Street Poets in a variety of public venues, and co-facilitates music production and rapping/writing sessions in the SP recording studio. Art is an interdisciplinary artist, writing and producing music and shooting video projects for Los Angeles’ underground hip-hop scene. As a teaching artist, he has over 12 years of experience mentoring youth in and around Los Angeles’ public high schools and probation facilities. Art is a graduate fellow of the National Juvenile Justice Institute’s Leadership Training program, and serves as Street Poets representative on the Arts for Incarcerated Youth Network’s advocacy team.
Michelle oversees the development of Street Poets’ foundation and government grant database. She is in charge of researching and developing new financial opportunities for Street Poets, in addition to maintaining our relationships with current funders. She is also a poet and former teacher with extensive experience teaching English, American Literature, Creative Writing and Poetry at a wide range of high schools, including Campbell Hall and New Roads (Los Angeles). At Street Poets, Michelle also helped design a 12-week poetry curriculum specifically geared toward pregnant girls and teen mothers, and created a comprehensive resource book of poetry and writing exercises. Michelle holds an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Maryland and B.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. She brings to Street Poets a vast knowledge of contemporary and classical poetry.
David Sanchez first met Street Poets when he joined their writing workshop in an L.A. County Probation Camp back in 2007. Thanks to a Street Poets sponsorship, David went on to receive his high school diploma from Eagle Rock School and Professional Development Center in Colorado, and later graduated from California Conservation Corps’ prestigious back country trails program. In addition to serving as a teaching artist with Street Poets, David is the proud owner of Seed & Sol, an organic gardening company he launched in 2014. He also works on the youth outreach staff at Wolf Connection, a unique educational sanctuary for rescued wolf-dogs and humans. A long-time member of Street Poets performance group, David continues to share his original poetry and hard-won wisdom in a wide range of school, community and conference venues throughout the U.S.
In addition to her teaching, performing, curriculum-writing and community-building work with Street Poets, Alyesha helps lead the all-women open mic “She Writes.” and a variety of other community events. The author of Carnival (NOT A CULT media), Alyesha Wise is a poet, teaching artist & TEDx speaker from Camden. She is the co-founder of Spoken Literature Art Movement (S.L.A.M.) and served as the Hollywood (Da Poetry Lounge) Slam Team head coach, leading the team to finals both years, most recently to 2nd place. She also served as the Los Angeles (Get Lit) Youth Slam Team co-coach from 2014-2017. Along with other slam highlights, she is a 2-time Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist.
The founder/Executive Director of Street Poets Inc., Chris has over 25 years of experience teaching poetry and mentoring youth and young adults within and around Los Angeles County’s educational, youth probation and adult prison systems. Through his ongoing work with Street Poets, Chris has served as a consultant, trainer and retreat facilitator for a wide range of companies and organizations including Snap, the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps. He has facilitated over 10 homecoming retreats for California State Prison parolees at Wolf Connection Ranch, as well as poetry workshops for law enforcement, gang intervention experts and community leaders in Los Angeles and beyond. Originally from Boston, Chris is a graduate of Duke University (B.A. English) and the American Film Institute (M.F.A. Screenwriting). He worked as an arts journalist in New York City and later as a screenwriter in Hollywood before a volunteer teaching stint in a Los Angeles County juvenile detention camp in 1995 inspired him to create Street Poets.
BOARD
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Ricardo (Ric) Torres – Los Angeles, CA -
Jake Falby – Venice, CA -
Robert Perrin – Santa Monica, CA -
Don Flood – Rancho Mirage, CA & San Miguel de Allende, MX -
Rona Mercado – Los Angeles, CA -
Chirag Menon – Los Angeles, CA -
Julie Arias Young – Santa Monica, CA -
Chenjerai Kumanyika – Philadelphia, PA -
Sean Scott – Los Angeles, CA -
Susannah Grant – Santa Monica, CA -
Alison Tatlock – Los Angeles, CA -
Travis Heath – Denver, CA -
Taylor Code Maxie, Jr. – Houston, TX -
Nick Streets – Los Angeles, CA
Recently retired as a Partner and Portfolio Manager in the London office of Capital International Investors (a division of LA-based Capital Group Companies), where he worked for 28 years. He is active with the Center for Action and Contemplation’s Living School, and also Camino Nuevo Charter Academy where he chairs the college scholarships committee. Ric is Mexican-American and fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
Senior Producer/Composer and multi-faceted musician (violin/viola) at New Math Music, Jake manages the bi-coastal music/sound company’s West Coast office, which has served as a “creative vacation home” and workspace for musically-inclined Street Poets youth over the past year. Jake also provides mixing and production support for the Street Poets Podcast and album projects. As a violinist, Jake has performed with the likes of Adele, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill and Mariah Carey among others.
Rob Perrin retired from the international law firm Latham & Watkins LLP in 2020, after a 23-year career, including 12 years as Chair of the firm’s Los Angeles Litigation & Trial Department. Rob has been a member of the Street Poets board since 2010. He is additionally the Co-Chair of the Los Angeles Committee of PEN America, and a member of the Board of Visitors of the UCLA Department of English.
Don Flood is a veteran photographer specializing in celebrity portraiture and beauty advertising. He also is founder and creative director of FliePaper, a photo-based wallpaper line that’s included in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian Design Museum. He is a huge advocate of architectural preservation and is active in the architecture & design community near his home in Rancho Mirage, CA.
Rona serves as the Chief Marketing Officer at Cashmere Agency, a “Culture Agency” providing strategic marketing/PR/branding consulting for a wide-range of entertainment/media companies and artists.
A recording/performing artist, writer, facilitator, educator and former Street Poets Program Director, Chirag now serves as a Principal with the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consulting firm Third Settlements, while continuing to record and release music under the name Chee Malabar.
Julie is an attorney and founding partner of Young, Zinn, Pazzani & Sandhu LLP, a boutique employment litigation firm. Julie has served on the Street Poets board since 2014.
An associate professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers University, Chenjerai is also a Peabody Award-winning podcast producer (Uncivil) and community activist. At the turn of the century, he was a member of the rap group The Spooks on Epic Records, and later served as the associate director of Street Poets where he launched our recording studio and produced our first compilation album.
Despite his best efforts, Sean learned a lot about the shoe business at great brands like Nike, ASICS, and Vans. Later, he struck out on his own helping to build companies like TOMS, and now COMUNITYmade who are manufacturing great designs locally while serving the community. Sean believes that there are very few valid excuses not to be happy and he rides his bike almost everywhere.
Susannah is a screenwriter/producer/director. Her credits include such projects as Netflix’s Unbelievable, HBO’s Confirmation, Ever After, and Erin Brockovich.
Alison is a tv writer/producer and playwright. She has extensive experience as a community organizer and served for many years on the staff of Street Poets, where she facilitated a writing program for teen mothers.
Travis is a licensed psychologist and an Associate Professor at the University of Denver where he is co-director of the International Disaster Psychology: Trauma and Global Mental Health graduate program as well as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Graduate School of Professional Psychology.
A founding member of Street Poets’ first performance group in the late 90s, Taylor later served as a teaching artist with the organization, returning to many of the same juvenile probation facilities that once housed him as a youth to mentor and facilitate writing workshops for our next generation of Street Poets. He is currently in the process of finishing up his college studies and professional certifications in Computer Science/Information Technology (specializing in Cyber Security).
Our board chair, Nick is a product design engineer in the consumer electronics industry and currently works at Snap Inc. on camera development. He helped to start SnapNoir which provides a forum for fostering cultural understanding, diversity, and professional development for people of the African diaspora at Snap and in the community.