Before coming to the Beacon Center in August 2004, Aaron James Gresens taught English to high school and college students at Hue University in central Vietnam. Before that, he worked for three years at a children's center on the south side of Chicago. He is currently the site coordinator for Beacon’s ACE program at Sherman Elementary School. He likes Beacon's approach to the community and how everyone is really concerned about how to best serve youth and families in Chinatown. When asked what he likes about the Beacon Center, Aaron responded, “Everyone at Beacon is really friendly and supportive and dedicated to what they do. Working here is fun.”
]]> Aaron James Gresens was born on May 26, 1981 in Buffalo, New York. He went to school in Buffalo and then he went to Illinois at the University of Chicago. His favorite food is hot soupy noodles and his favorite fruits and vegetables are bananas, mangoes, carrots, and red bell peppers. His favorite color is green and he likes to study history, languages, and cultures.Compiled by: Anna Wu and Angel Zhao
]]>Before she came to Beacon, Aimee Gantala Vicencio was very active in the Berkeley chapter of Circle K International (the collegiate level of Kiwanis International). When she started at Beacon in September 2003, she worked as an AmeriCorps Member and led the homework center and cooking workshop. She also helped lead Lunch Bunch with Joe Sullivan at Jean Parker and John Yehall Chin Elementary schools. Now, she works with other staff members and participants to integrate technology into their programs. She’s also working toward securing funds for a mobile lab.
Compiled by: Anna W. and Angel Z.
]]>Ben Wong was born and raised in San Francisco; he attended San Francisco State University, Lincoln High School, and A. P. Giannini Middle School, and Sherman Elementary School. Before coming to the Beacon Center, Ben was the counselor and case manager at the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center. He came to Chinatown Beacon in June 2001 as its executive director. He is still the director of Chinatown Beacon Center.
Q: What do you like about Beacon?
A: I like the staff and the young people are great to work with. The services the Chinatown Beacon provides are important.
Q: What is your hobby?
A: I enjoy long walks, walking my dog, hikes, skiing, reading, and spending some time with friends.
Q: What is your favorite food and fruit/vegetable?
A: vanilla ice-cream, and cantaloupe
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: Lunch and Math
Compiled by: Cindy Du
]]>Before coming to the Chinatown Beacon Center, Erin Gardner studied literature at the University of Santa Cruz. She also had worked in the Presidio Middle School After School Program. However, in Fall 2005, Erin became the program coordinator for lunch bunch at John Yehall Chin and Jean Parker. She is also currently the co-coordinator for FUEL! Erin loves the opportunity to work with youth with diverse personality and backgrounds and playing no hands balloon volleyball with the youths.
]]> Erin was born on May 1st in 1979 in Santa Clara, California. During her free time, Erin enjoys folk music, swing dancing or rock climbing. Erin’s favorite foods are ice cream moochi and strawberries. She loves the color orange and she also has a passion for literature.]]>Jae Posadas was born on May 23 in 1979 in Walnut Creek, California. Currently, he is taking courses at CCSF and SFSU, majoring in education. Before Jae came to Beacon, he was a 6th grade Program Leader at MLK middle school’s (now defunct) IRISE program. Then Jae came to Beacon in Fall 2003 as a 3rd-5th grade Program Leader for the Spring Valley ACE Program. Now, Jae is a Youth Programs Coordinator for the Chinatown Beacon Center and the Site coordinator for the Spring Valley ACE Program.
]]> Q: What do you like about Beacon?Q: What is your favorite food and fruit/vegetable?
A: Fruit is my favorite food since it can be a meal in itself (sustenance, beverage and dessert). My favorite fruits are bananas and oranges. Carrots are my favorite veggie.
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: My favorite color is blue.
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A:I love math and physics
Jennifer Cano was a teacher at Jean Parker Elementary School before she came to Beacon. She began working at Beacon in August of 2002 where she helped establish the After School Community Enrichment Program. Today, she supports the Beacon staff. What Jennifer likes about the Beacon Center are the young people she works with, the support Beacon gives the community, and her colleagues.
]]> Jennifer grew up in southern California and went to St. Alphonsus Elementary School, Ramona Convent High School, Pitzer College, John Hopkins University, and San Francisco State. And now for a little interviewQ: What is your hobby?
A: reading, rollerblading, and cooking
Q: What is your favorite food and fruit/vegetable?
A: peach and Indian food
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: green
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: history
Jenny Arcilla-Gonzalez graduated from San Francisco State University in 2002. She was an AmeriCorps volunteer and a Youth coordinator with the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center before she came to Chinatown Beacon in 2000. When Jenny started here at Beacon, she was the after school site coordinator at Jean Parker Elementary School. After that, she was the Site Coordinator at Spring Valley from 2002 to 2004. Now she’s the program manager and site coordinator at Gordon J. Lau. What she likes about Beacon is that the staff is extremely supportive and she loves working with the kids at all the schools.
She is also the first staff member at the Chinatown Beacon Center to have a wonderful baby girl named, Joi Arcilla Gonzalez.
Compiled by: Angel Z. and Anna W.
]]>Johanna Masis was born on January 4, 1979 in Managua, Nicaragua. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbra and a graduate degree from Holy Names University. Before Johanna came to beacon, she worked with the JET program in Okayama, Japan. When she first came to beacon in August 2005, she worked as a program coordinator. Right now she is the program coordinator at Jean Parker Elementary School. What Johanna likes best about working at beacon is that there is “tons of support from EVERYONE!!!”
Kelvin Chin was born on August 12, 1982 in Livermore, California. However, he had been living in Indianapolis for the last 12 years. Kelvin went to school at the Indiana University in Bloomington. Before coming to Beacon, Kelvin have worked as a waiter, a warehouse inventory taker, a pizza delivery man, a telemarketer, door to door Salesman, and a little bit of everything in between.
Kelvin started to work at the Beacon in September 2005. The first thing Kelvin did when he came to Beacon was walked around looking at the office and then went to lunch at Capital. Now, he co-manage the FUEL and Lunch Bunch programs for the Beacon Center
Kelvin likes the ability to work with youth and hopes to make a difference in their lives. He also likes the family atmosphere of the office.
]]> A small interview with Kelvin:What is your favorite food and fruit/vegetable?
My favorite fruit is Fuji Apples. I don't really have a favorite food because I just plain like to eat.
What is your favorite color?
My favorite color is red, no blue...ahhhhh...
What is your favorite subject?
My favorite subject is social studies. I graduated with an Anthropology and East Asian Studies majors and are extraordinarily interested in Chinese Archaeology. I've always loved to learn about history and how it affects acculturation/cultural issues.
Before she came to Beacon, Kiyomi worked for the Peace Corps at the schools in Dominica Island in the Caribbean. When she came to Beacon in January 2001, the first thing she did was work with the students and volunteers in a reading/mentoring program. She also did the database for the Chinatown Beacon Center. Since then, her role had changed several times. She has supervised center-based programs, working with high school and college staff and volunteers to run workshops, and is currently working with middle and high schoolers on community service projects. What she likes about Beacon is working with all the youth in different schools and planning fun field trips, like camping, hiking, and snowshoeing.
Q: What is your hobby?
A: hiking and backpacking
Q: What is your favorite food and fruit/vegetable?
A: persimmons, Indian and vegetarian food
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: green
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: history
Rui Bing Zheng was born in Zhongshan, China, went to public schools in New York City, then lived and studied in Middlebury College in Vermont before coming out to the Bay Area. Before coming to Beacon in mid-August of 2004, Rui Bing was a participant in the SOUL's Summer School, and worked in Oakland Chinatown assisting in an environmental justice campaign. Rui Bing is the Program Support Coordinator for Chinatown Beacon, which means she helps run the after school programs at Gordon J. Lau Elementary School.
]]> Rui Bing likes the friendly staff and the people from the community who come to the Beacon to do their homework, take workshops and classes, and hang out.Q: What is your favorite hobby?
A: My favorite hobby is reading and writing when I have time and dance crazy-style with my friends. I like to swim, bike, and on Sundays I play soccer with the Leftist Soccer League.
Q: What is your favorite food and fruit/vegetable?
A: This is a tough question. I am a big fan of my dad’s home-style sautéed clams with garlic and black bean sauce. My favorite fruit would be either papayas or watermelon.
Q: What is your favorite color?
A: Green
Q: What is your favorite subject?
A: Creative Writing
Compiled by: Amy Guan and Ying Wang
Before he came to Chinatown Beacon Center, Young worked in the Children Program at the Hamilton Family Residence. Then he came to CBC on September in 2003. The first job he took in CBC was as a program leader at John Yehall Chin Elementary. Now he is the site coordinator at John Yehall Chin. When asked what he likes at CBC, Young responded, “I like the fact that we work as a team and are challenged to grow individuals.”
Compiled by: Cindy Du