Selected Volunteer Experience
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SOCIAL JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS
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ANIMALS / CONSERVATION
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EDUCATION
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M.I.S.S.S.E.Y. INC. (Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting, and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth)
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LA STOP THE TRAFFIK - 3 years, 2013 -2020In 2013, I joined "LA Stop the Traffik," a student-run, non-profit, Active Communities Against Trafficking (ACT) group at UCLA, which advocates for an increase in community awareness on the exploitation involved in human trafficking. With a team of fearless college students, we organized events throughout the year to stimulate knowledge and engage others to take a stand against such breaches in human rights.
We collaborated with other student groups, non-profit organizations, and businesses to raise funds for organizations that directly engage in rescuing victims from the trafficking trade and those that help victims to recover and re-establish themselves in the community within a safe environment. Well beyond after graduating UCLA, I continued to volunteer at the organization for events and coordinating office interns to help with transcriptions, graphic design, social media, events, and research for "California's Forgotten Children" documentary. |
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) - 1 year, 2013 - 2014In 2013, I began photographing events for The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on fundraising, advocacy, and education in support of the world's children. These images featured on their website, articles, and promotional marketing materials. In 2014, I received the Global Citizenship Award from UNICEF for my dedication to helping children by using my skills in photography.
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Mindful Music and UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior
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Building Futures' mission is to build communities with underserved women and children where they are safely and supportively housed, free from homelessness and family violence.
www.bfwc.org |
Building Futures with Women and Children
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Never Cry Wolf Rescue - 1 year, 2009-2010By working closely with Never Cry Wolf Rescue & Adoptions founder Sam Blake, a compassionate veteran who rescues and rehabilitates wolves across the country, I created two short award-winning documentaries about protecting wolf and wolf hybrids.
The documentaries raised awareness of the challenges wolves face to stay in existence and to educate the public of the myths and poor treatment of these beautiful animals in the United States. The Alpha wolves accepted me as a friend into their wolf pack and allowed me to get close to film them. I worked respectfully for a year, documenting the rescue and nurture of wolves and wolf-hybrids that have been abused or abandoned. Awards: - Audience Award for Best Documentary Short at the Riverside Saginaw Film Festival - 1st Place Best Documentary at The Palo Alto Humane Society Film Contest - Honorable Mention Best Documentary at the 3C Media Solutions Student Film Festival |
The Oakland Zoo has been serving the community since 1922 in locations all across Oakland, finally settling in Knowland Park. A center for wildlife conservation.
www.oaklandzoo.org |
Oakland Zoo - 6 months, 2011Growing up, I always loved to read Jane Goodall's books and dreamed about how she started her career filming animals at a zoo before going to the jungle. Fresh into college, I said to myself, "Why not learn to photograph animals at the zoo like Jane?"
A few weeks later, I got an internship for Anima Management and Education at the Oakland Zoo. The first day at work, I was shoveling zebra poop into a barrel and pushing it up a hill in the pouring rain; scrubbing potent Boa Constrictor poop off rocks; climbing up trees for Chinchilla enrichment; training a Pig to sit; being chased by a Comodo Dragon for its exercise while holding a hissing cockroach with tweezers. And my favorite, learning about all the monkey drama while cutting up fruit and vegetables for the animals. It was not what I expected, but I learned so much. Over the next six months, I observed and photographed 42 different mammals, primates, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Made an educational documentary about African Pygmy Hedgehogs featured on the zoo website. I completed an Animal Management Course for Certification in caring, feeding, cleaning, training, and providing enrichment for the animals at the zoo. |
www.thedogcafela.com
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The Dog Cafe - Photographer - 2017
Photographed puppy portraits, puppy holiday portraits, guests interactions with the puppies, and merchandise pictures. The Dog Cafe’s mission is to revolutionize dog adoption by reinventing the way people connect with rescues who need homes.
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The Pachamama Alliance - 3 months, 2009At the Pachamama Alliance, I assisted with events by helping set up, breakdown, and manage guests at yearly fundraisers. Pachamama Alliance is a global community that offers people the chance to learn, connect, engage, travel, and cherish life to create a sustainable future that works for all.
Website: www.pachamama.org |
Center for Biological Diversity - 3 months, 2008At The Center for Biological Diversity, I created PSA about all species hovering on the brink of extinction and the work done to protect the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive.
The film won 2nd Place for PSA/Documentary at the Laney College Film Festival Real Life Club Awards. Website: www.biologicaldiversity.org |
Camp Reel Stories - Cinematography Professor - Summer, 2017When I am not in the field, I enjoy mentoring youth who are interested in filmmaking. In summer 2017, I taught a hands-on cinematography and documentary production workshop to a group of 60 female directors in between the ages of 7 and 17. Camp Reel Stories works to empowers young women with the skills to create media, to view current media critically and thoughtfully, and to aspire to leadership in their field.
I later hired several of the young women to work on my film sets as a Production Assistant in San Francisco and Los Angeles. And I have met with them for coffee and lunch to give advice on their careers and connect with other professionals. |
Global Cinematography Institute - Assistant to Production Workshops - 3 years, 2013 - 2016
The Global Cinematography Institute is devoted to the education of cinematographers and their extension into the digital and virtual realms. I assisted with technical support for conducting camera and lighting evaluations during classes, crewed on sets, and shot promotional photography and documentaries. Mentored students in the professional industry-standard on-set protocol.
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InterLangua• Taught storytelling to 1st graders in Shenzhen, China. • Mentored and trained high school students in the film.
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