STAFF

Kevin Erickson, Director

Kevin Erickson, 29, was studying religion and cultural politics at Whitman College in tiny Walla Walla, Washington, when he discovered the Pacific Northwest's vibrant underground music scene and fell stupidly in love with the radical potential of incubating DIY cultural resistance in small communities. Before AMP, he spent almost 3 years as part of a team of artists, musicians, and friends running a unique arts infrastructure called Department of Safety. The facility was housed in Anacortes, Washington's old fire & police station and contained an all-ages music venue, gallery, recording facilities, art studios, and zine library. He is active as a writer, recording engineer, and musician, with one recent collaboration touted as “intermittently tolerable" by Pitchfork.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Shannon Stewart,

Shannon has co-founded two youth and music nonprofits (the Vera Project and All-ages Movement Project), written much on the subject of youth music opportunities in the US and, taught and performed with several dance companies in Seattle and San Francisco. Whether working with words, music, movement, organizations, buildings, or policies, Shannon’s interest is piqued by the intersection of space, creativity, and social justice.

Diaris Alexander, Oakland, CA

Youth Movement Record
www.youthmovementrecords.org
Diaris Alexander first got started in the all-ages movement while a junior at Skyline HS in Oakland, CA. She became actively involved in the youth-run record label & development organization Youth Movement Records (YMR) as a founding participant and one of two youth board members. While part of YMR, Diaris became increasingly interested in the intersection of the arts, education, technology, youth, the community, and social change at large. The passion Diaris found in her work with YMR inspired her to write her college & scholarship personal statements on her experience, earning her a full-ride to the university of her choice as a Jackie Robinson and Gates Millennium Scholar. While an undergraduate at UCLA, Diaris conducted research for AMP before joining the advisory committee. She was also a key figure in the campus's cultural programming as the director of its chapter of Hip Hop Congress for 2 years and a member of the executive team of the Jazz Reggae Fest for 3 years. Diaris earned her B.A. from UCLA in Psychology with a minor in Theater in June 2009. She now resides in Oakland, CA and is working with YMR in a Program Director capacity.

David Gonzales, Chicago, IL

Glencoe Center
David Hommy Gonzalez is an artist / instructor / sound engineer / social activist who worked as program director for AS220 Broad Street Studio, a youth arts non-profit located in Providence, RI. During his time there, he developed the "Rhodeshow," a Hip-Hop performing arts project that taught young people how to perform, book, and market their socially conscious art. Over a five year period, David and the Rhodeshow project have performed over 300 times and have traveled to various conferences, universities and like minded organizations across the country to share their use of Hip-Hop as an educational tool and help cultivate relationships within community. With the aid of Rhode Island's 21st Century Community Learning Centers, David also developed a workshop called “Thinking Outside The Turntable” directed towards secondary and post-secondary educators on the history of Hip-Hop, its evolving culture, and how to integrate the art in the classroom. Since, January 2009, David now lives in Chicago, IL where he is continuing to teach arts workshops.

Katy Otto, Philadelphia PA

Positive Force
www.positiveforcedc.org
Katy Otto is a musician, writer, and social justice activist living in Philadelphia. For ten years she was part of the punk activist collective Positive Force in Washington, DC where she gained invaluable experience organizing all ages shows. She runs an independent record label Exotic Fever and plays drums in the duo Trophy Wife. She works at a human services agency in Philadelphia called Face to Face, and operates a small social justice development consultancy. Her regular columns are featured in Give Me Back and Sexreally.com.

Chris Wiltsee, Oakland, CA

Youth Movement Records
www.youthmovementrecords.org
Chris Wiltsee is Executive Director of The Recording Academy San Francisco Chapter. He has15 years experience in developing innovative organizations combining music, community, and education. In 2003, Wiltsee founded Youth Movement Records (YMR), a nonprofit youth-run media company based in Oakland, Calif. In 2006, Wiltsee went on to co-found AMP. Additionally, Chris has been instrumental in developing publishing deals for emerging songwriters, which have resulted in co-writes with prominent artists internationally. Wiltsee earned a Masters degree from the University of Michigan and his undergraduate degree from University of California, Santa Cruz.

George Wietor, Grand Rapids, MI

Division Avenue Arts Cooperative
www.thedaac.org
George Wietor is a principal organizer of the Division Avenue Arts Cooperative (DAAC) a collectively run music and arts venue, co-founder of the G-RAD online community and NEST collaborative workspace, and the Portable Cinema project. George is a Nonprofit Administration graduate student at Grand Valley State University. He has lived in Grand Rapids since 1984, and grew up in the South East End.

BIG UPS

AMP Contributors: Mark Ristaino, Zack Rosen, Nica Lorber, Claudia Bach, Lori Roddy, Gavin Leonard, Emily Finkel, Kameron Mitchell Moore, Joshua Powell, Annie Sartor, Megan Wurster, Jessalyn Aaland, Molly Neitzel, James Keblas, Jessamyn Sabbag, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, James Kass, Sarina Roscigno, Erin Potts, Deydon Tethong, The Rappaport Family Foundation, Skyline Public Works, all the orgs that contributed information thus far and all the ones that will in the future.

SITE CREDITS

Andrio Abero designs

This beautiful website is his. Designer for the Music Underground. www.33rpmdesign.com

Chapter Three LLC executes

Industry leaders in grassroots organizing through web communities and open-source web technology. Drupal Ninjas that make sites work. chapterthreellc.com.