Ja Ronn Thompson

Co-Founder & Executive Director
Ja Ronn Thompson is an East Oakland native and music instructor with more than 15 years of experience as a gospel, R&B, classical, and jazz performer and instructor. Ja Ronn has directed various gospel choirs and vocal ensembles, directing workshops around the world, including in Costa Rica, Africa and Ireland. He is founder and director of the San Francisco State University Gospel Choir and the esteemed vocal ensemble Ja Ronn & FLOW. Ja Ronn has served as director of The Oakland Interfaith Youth and The California State University East Bay Gospel Choir; and as a music instructor for The Oakland Youth Chorus, The SF Arts Education Project, and LEAP, a nonprofit based in San Francisco dedicated to bringing visual and performing arts to classrooms around the Bay Area.

Listen to Ja Ronn’s latest project:

Mike Blankenship

Co-Founder & Managing Director
Mike Blankenship has built a career of dream gigs and collaborations, recording and touring as a keyboardist for Lauryn Hill, Sheila E, Ledisi and Michael Franti. Fluent in jazz, R&B, hip-hop and gospel, Mike uses music as a way to make powerful human connections. His debut album Living for the Future is a musical journey that draws on his commitment to love, fatherhood, community, culture and the pursuit of a better tomorrow. Mike's latest project, a musical trio named BLACKLONDON, aims to bring Oakland music back to its roots, giving Black musicians creative and financial opportunities in the increasingly gentrified Bay Area arts scene.

Listen to Mike’s latest project:

C.j. Johnson

Co-Founder & Creative Director
As a songwriter, performer and recording artist, C.j. brings his creative media chops to the Yeah, Art! Big Kids. C.j. serves on our marketing team to help imagine the Yeah, Art! brand identity. With colorful content and smart communications strategies, C.j. works to connect us with blossoming young artists of color and their allies.

Listen to C.j.’s latest project:

Francesca Mauricio

Education Director
Driven and passionate College Counseling Intern with Career Counseling experience, Francesca uses her skills to guide and support students in discovering their abilities, interests, and needs through academic and career counseling. Now interning at City College of San Francisco, Francesca continues her work as an academic counselor to becomes an effective, holistic, multicultural counselor and bringing the Bay Area community a step closer in making our world a more gratifying and blissful place for others to succeed personally and professionally.

Lauren Stevenson

Executive Administrative Assistant, Human Resourcing

Madeline Lambie

Co-Founder, Creative & Communications
Madeline is a writer for an award-winning Bay Area advertising agency. She started her career working on Facebook’s global philanthropy initiative, rallying the tech giant’s workforce to connect with causes around the world. The work helped earn her the title of one of media’s “Rising Stars” from Shots Magazine. Since then, Madeline’s offered her creative and strategic point of view to campaigns for Amnesty International, Covered California, NBC Universal and Vote From Home 2020, a nonprofit getting mail-in ballots to disenfranchised voters.

See Madeline’s latest project, an integrated campaign for Covered California.

Become a Big Kid.

Get with the Yeah, Art! team of dedicated players.

Bookkeeper

Tax season is coming. Help up, please. We’re seeking a bookkeeper or accountant with experience working with 501(c)(3)s.

HR Specialist

Insurance and contracts and onboarding, oh my! We’re seeking an HR specialist who isn’t scared by any of that.