todd berman, project director

The Where Art Lives program is managed by Todd Berman, who has been working in San Francisco schools ever since arriving here in 1998. As a visual artist, he creates scenes that capture a chaotic sense of community in bright, expressionistic drawings and crowd-sourced, collaborative collages. You may have seen his City of Awesome paintings filling public buses as part of the SF Beautiful's Muni Art project.

Todd brought his art practice into every type of classroom in the San Francisco Unified School District for 15 years as a substitute teacher. He is an instructor with the Integrated Learning Specialist Program, provides professional development to teachers via Arts Ed Matters and Young Audiences of Northern California and he served as executive director of the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area from 2015-2020.

joe colmenares, lead teaching artist

Joe Colmenares, an SFUSD graduate, is a graffiti artist extraordinaire and entrepreneur with significant expertise in community-based youth development. He uses his art to connect the Bayview community with their local California State Park as the organizer of Growing Together Days at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area.

Joe shows students how to use art and graffiti as a vehicle for your students to develop skills in leadership, goal-setting, general competence, and activism. He is our most experienced graffiti artist and muralist. Also, Joe loves tacos.

wendy baker, program manager

Wendy Baker is a multimedia artist, educator, facilitator and project manager who has worked in San Francisco nonprofits for 20 years, mentoring young people, creating art, and advocating for social justice. During her time as a youth worker, she led a team of young media producers to document the power of public art in the Where Arts Lives Program from 2016-2021. Wendy’s work with youth in San Francisco’s public schools and after-school programs has explored the role that personal narrative, storytelling, and digital media can play in education, community arts, and social change.