CO-DIRECTOR (2017-2019)

Nimsi began working with New Voices as Co-Director in June 2017. She previously was a participant in the program from 2012-2013 and later worked as a Program Intern during 2014-2015. She has been integral in adding databases of class lesson plans, materials, student participation data, and class evaluations to the program. Nimsi graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Economics in 2017.

(On Leave From Steering Committee, 2021-22)

DIRECTOR (2010-2016)

Ana Angel Avendaño is a first-generation Chicana/Latina born in the Bay Area and raised between borders. Her childhood experiences with her grandmother in Michoacán, Mexico, not only shaped her identity but her everyday work as a community leader, activist, and mama scholar. Ana has worked in the non-profit sector with youth and community development programs in leadership, advocacy, and cultural awareness.

Recently, working in the public sector, as a Human Services Coordinator, Ana works directly with the community and develops partnerships and programs that address the community's needs. Her community leadership includes co-funding a cultural coalition for the preservation of community-based art, organizing art-focused events, and co-facilitating a young women’s circle, Xinacthli- an indigenous-based coming of age curriculum.

In 2021, Ana received a doctorate in Racial Justice in Education from the University of San Francisco. Ana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies and a Master’s in Mexican American Studies. She is currently working on her doctorate in Racial Justice in Education at the University of San Francisco.

When not working or studying, she is exploring museums, parks, and eating her way through the Bay Area with her husband and daughter. Ana was the NV4Y Program Director for 10 years before transitioning to join the steering committee to help elevate the program’s mission in the community.

CO-FOUNDER

Kathleen Weisenberg co-founded New Voices for Youth in 2004 and, since then, has been an active member of the Steering Committee focusing on fundraising. A retired nurse, Kathleen has been a leader in the League of Women Voters at the local, state, and national level, founding the League's online election guide - VotersEdge.org.

Recognizing that voter turnout is so low in our underserved communities that their voices are rarely heard, Kathleen was excited for the opportunity to teach civic engagement to their children with the expectation that their parents may come to understand the power of participation and that these youth will grow into the community leaders of tomorrow.

Today, she treasures the time spent with the New Voices students and shares great pride with their parents when the students are recognized at the completion of each term. New Voices teaches students skills that help level the playing field for them as they join more privileged classmates in high school, college and future jobs.

CO-CHAIR, FINANCE

Veronica Tincher has been working with New Voices on the Steering Committee since its inception in 2004 and have been  Co-chair and financial manager since about 2012. Prior to and since retiring from her previous work as Executive Director of University Budget and Planning at the University of Southern California, Veronica was an active member of the League of Women Voters. Her financial experience has become a useful element of the management of New Voices. Veronica believes that the New Voices’ program is able to guide youth to an understanding of community issues leading to later active civic participation.

Learning to use video to express their experiences, makes the program fun for students and provides them an added skill, as well. Through her own experience in the League of Women Voters, Veronica joined the program because she recognized that young people, especially those in the underserved communities, need guidance to raise awareness and understanding of issues impacting their lives. New Voices for Youth is a perfect example of the League of Women Voters’ slogan: “Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport” Veronica has learned a great deal about the lives of New Voices students and the experiences of their teachers through the program.

CO-CHAIR, STRATEGY

Sheila has been on the New Voices Steering Committee since its beginning, in 2004, so she has participated in the evolution of the program.  Before she retired from San Francisco State in 2012, Sheila taught ESL and, before that, she worked as an IT consultant in the US, the Netherlands and Israel.  

Sheila cares about New Voices because it encourages young people from underserved communities to share their point of view about what’s going in their communities and because, through New Voices, she has had a chance to meet and work with people in those communities.

Sheila hopes New Voices can continue to evolve, gaining skill, experiences, and followers in social media, but it is difficult to remain optimistic when there are so many competing pressures for attention and for funding.

COMMUNICATIONS, PUBLISHING, EDUCATION

Patty Page has been an active NV4Y supporter since 2012 and joined the Steering Committee in 2016 because she believes in the power of media to amplify the ideas and concerns of youth. As principal of ‘Your Digital Health,’ she runs workshops and produces a public access program to give families and schools the skills and knowledge to use digital technology safely, fluently, and respectfully.

She believes New Voices introduces kids to community issues and gives them the skills and tools to make powerful messages that reflect their own dreams and needs. She loves watching these young people gain confidence when they see how much impact their videos have on their friends, families, and community.