Meet Our Team

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CO-FOUNDER

Lauren is the co-founder of Give a Beat. A passionate activist, Lauren spent 10 years addressing the AIDS orphan epidemic in Africa with her first nonprofit, before switching her focus to the enormous domestic injustice of incarceration.

A longtime member of the dance music community, Lauren launched Give a Beat in 2014 and has since engaged DJs, music technology companies, festivals, and event promoters in the fight against mass incarceration.

In addition to Give a Beat, Lauren also owns and operates a retail store and custom printing business in Laguna Beach, which her family established 40 years ago. The store is tagged "the t-shirt shop with a conscience” through its social good initiatives and the support of local and international non-profits.

PROGRAMS & LABEL DIRECTOR

A lifelong musician and DJ, Todd is driven by his passion and a lifetime of personal experience in music and social justice.

Serving as both Program Director and lead Teaching Artist, Todd has created, developed, and delivered our prison, reentry and youth programs.

Since joining Give a Beat in 2018, Todd has expanded Give a Beat’s impact by increasing the depth of experience for program participants.

Prior to Give a Beat, Todd worked at numerous groundbreaking record labels including Sub Pop, Geffen/DGC and Alias Records before a successful career at Microsoft as an executive in marketing, business development and sales.

PROGRAM MANAGER & TEACHING ARTIST

In 2012, Billy founded b.e.a.t.s. movement, a music project serving the criminal justice system, community organizations, and workplace wellness initiatives. His organization provides sessions combining his passion for cultivating self-empowerment and community-building with the physical/mindful practices of yoga and meditation. He participated in a variety of festivals and special events and has been teaching yoga and meditation with the Prison Education Project for the last three years in five facilities. He has also attended multiple training programs with the Prison Yoga Project and a wide variety of additional trainings and workshops in order to further develop, refine and integrate his teaching skills and curriculum.

TEACHING ARTIST

Chaz is an LA-born producer who goes by the alias of ELOS. He has been creating electronic music for over ten years and has been signed to Alpha Pup Records since 2011. A frequent special guest of LA Times’ #1 rated club Low End Theory , Lewis has played with a multitude of talented beat-makers and musicians, including Flying Lotus, James Blake, and DJ Shadow. In addition to playing an integral part in the LA beat scene, Lewis is part of Team Supreme, the collaborative music collective that is steadily gaining worldwide recognition. He has been conducting Give a Beat music production workshops to youth and adults inside and outside of juvenile halls and prisons for the last three years.

MARKETING & DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE

Christie graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Marketing. She spent a year volunteering as a tutor inside of a jail with the Petey Greene Program, helping incarcerated people meet their academic goals, including getting their GED. She is also a former member of Enactus, an international non-profit organization that takes entrepreneurial action to empower people in need. Through Enactus Christie became the Founder and Project Manager of a program called New Beginnings to help formerly incarcerated individuals successfully assimilate back into society through employment, with a vision of reducing recidivism rates throughout New Jersey.

NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT

Katrina Zavalney is an organization development consultant and coach for nonprofits with a Masters in Organization Development, she is dedicated to creating sustainable livelihood for all with 20 years of experience in community organizing. Katrina has been at the forefront of the sustainability movement, including greening Disney – writing environmental policies that went company-wide. Katrina has gone on to work with communities around the world to be the change they want to see, particularly in Nepal and Uganda. She has partnered with Rotary International to support community development in deprived areas by multiplying funds raised to increase impact. Katrina started a nonprofit called Aranya Solutions, the purpose is to enrich the quality of life and develop systematic improvements to help communities be self-sustaining. AranyaSolutions.com

CALIFORNIA MENTORING PARTNERSHIP - MENTORING PROGRAM EXPERT

Dustianne North Ph.D, M.S.W. has worked in the fields of youth mentoring, mental health, development, and empowerment since 1995. She created the first mentor program to receive official approval from LA County agencies who govern foster care (Florence Crittenton Center, Los Angeles), and has provided training and technical assistance for a variety of youth programs nationwide. Dr. North specializes in working with youth in highly distressed situations (foster care, probation, homeless, children of prisoners). Her scholarly work in Social Welfare at UCLA allows her to implement effective research to practice efforts, evidence-based services, program evaluation, and qualitative research methodologies. Dr. North is a community organizer, practitioner, and scholar with a commitment to emancipatory youth and family services. Her diverse scope of knowledge covers issues such as communicating with youth, mezzo-level program design, organizational development, interagency partnerships, and community mobilization. She is the co-founder of California Mentoring Partnership and has consulted to Give a Beat on all mentor-related programs since 2018.

GRANT WRITER, PROGRAM EVALUATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

Candice has an extensive background in business development, biotechnology, nonprofit management and grant writing. She founded the nonprofit organization We Are The Movement (WATM) and served as the Executive Director from 2010 to 2014. This DJ, music production, and freestyle dance workshop program worked with high risk youth at Optimist Youth Homes, a residential group care home in Los Angeles,. She began to volunteer at OYH in 2010 and became the head of the Young Professionals Advisory Board. By 2012, she was hired as their staff grant writer and then started her NPO's dance and music program at the facility shortly thereafter. Candice began volunteering with Give a Beat in 2013, has been a member of the dance music community in Los Angeles for over 20 years, and has deep knowledge of and belief in the power of music to affect personal and global change.

TECHNOLOGY RECRUITER - META

A strong supporter and advocate of Criminal Justice Reform as well Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging generally, the mission of Give a Beat is in exact alignment with Vlad's ideals and values. Vlad has been working as a Human Resources professional for the better part of 20 years and is well versed in, but not limited to, skills regarding Recruitment, Interviewing and Employee Development/Training.

Vlad has worked at various companies such as Amplify Education, Barclays, Pfizer and Shutterstock and currently hires technical focused talent for Weight Watchers. He looks forward to continuing to contribute to the Give a Beat mission.

TREASURER

Danielle is a nonprofit professional who is passionate about building more equitable systems and empowering people by providing them with the tools, skills, and services they need to live their best life. Prior to working as grants manager for a national foundation focused on postsecondary education, Danielle worked and volunteered at multiple nonprofits that used music and arts as instruments for healing and growth. Early in her career, she served in the Peace Corps as a Health Education volunteer in Cambodia. Now, she spends most of her free time writing and producing music with artists around the world.

Danielle holds a masters in Nonprofit Leadership and Management and is thrilled to channel her two passions of music and nonprofit work to contribute to Give a Beat.

VICE PRESIDENT & CO-FOUNDER

Virginia has over 10 years of non-profit development experience helping organizations create and implement fundraising strategy and infrastructure.

She is the Director of Advancement at Wu Yee Children's Services providing an outlet for her passion for immigrant, women and children's rights. Previously, she raised funds for the Chinese American International School, Artspan and Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco.

MUSIC EXECUTIVE VP, MNRK MUSIC GROUP

Todd C. Roberts has been a creative executive in the Music Business for 30 years. He has been an A&R executive at Virgin Records, Astralwerks, and Verve Records. He spent the last 15 years working with artists as a manager as well as music consultant to brands like Levis and Microsoft. He is currently Vice President A&R Music Publishing for Entertainment One. He continues to teach and mentor aspiring students on Music Supervision for Film & TV at UCLA Extension.

Julia Bistriceanu is an Austin-based music lover launching her professional career. She graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara with a degree in Global Studies and is currently studying for her MBA degree from Kingston University in London. She was part of the Give a Beat team for four years fulfilling various roles including social media coordinator, artist relations liaison, and project manager. Julia has immersed herself in the dance music scene since the age of 16 and fully believes in its power to spread positive values of love, inclusivity, and unity.

Eli Goldstein’s mission-driven career spans 20+ years on the decks and beyond. Best known as half of DJ and production duo Soul Clap, Eli wears many hats in the music universe. He hosts a radio show on New York City’s The Lot Radio, isone of the founders of Black Flamingo, a plant-based taqueria and discotheque in Brooklyn, and he spins eclectic, vinyl oriented-sets and curates a 7” record series called HOUSE ON 45.

Eli also played a key role with DJs 4 Climate Action andis working towards an M.S. in Climate Science at Bard’s Center for Environmental Policy. In addition to his social justice work with Give a Beat, he also supports The Loop Lab to empower Womxn and People of Color in the media arts.

Terri Harel is a freelance writer, researcher, project manager and DJ currently living and working in Berlin. Since 2012, Terri has been involved in the social impact space, particularly focused on media, fundraising, digital rights and technology. She's also contributed to online platforms like Resident Advisor (the world's leading electronic music news website), FWD.DJ and Music Is 4 Lovers. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she is enrolled now in a Masters program at Freie Universität Berlin and has been an active member of the underground dance music communities in California and Berlin.

Lara Lyko is a graphic and web designer who brings brand messaging to life. With over a decade of digital experience, Lara combines current best practices and trends with an understanding of lasting design.

She works hard to ensure that her client’s have a cohesive and effective design foundation to support their goals. Whether it’s a simple social media post or a full-fledged website design, Lara considers the full picture and maps out a creative strategy. Lara has a demonstrated history of working with non-profit businesses (grassroots and large-scale), creatives, and local businesses.

Michael embodies ARC's ideals and vision for a more just world. As a 15 year-old, Michael was sentenced to 15 years to life and was told that he would spend the rest of his life in adult prison. Through the unyielding advocacy of ARC, SB 260 was passed in 2013. It was this bill that gave Michael the opportunity to parole in 2014. Since then, Michael has graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Political Science and was previously the policy associate with #cut50.

Tomas Palermo aka DJ Tomas works at Apple Inc. as a content creator and has been an active radio and club DJ for 25+ years. A seasoned music journalist and former editor at XLR8R Magazine, Tomas’s work has appeared in the Give a Beat blog, SFGate, Ableton, Bandcamp, SF Weekly among many others. Tomas hopes to share his music experience in production, DJing, label operations and digital music with the next generation of artists and has a deep commitment to social and economic justice.

Founder of Highway West Entertainment, Jack Piatt is a filmmaker, writer, songwriter and producer who has worked on various productions, from major feature films to independent films, television series, commercials, music videos and content for The Grammys, Epic Records, Quincy Jones Films and Fender among others. Piatt helped build Jammcard, Inc. coined by Forbes as a "musicians’ LinkedIn." He also developed Jammcard Films which he oversees.

Piatt has long demonstrated his passion for global issues, working with Participant Media as a field producer on the Save My Oceans Tour and various other projects and campaigns such as the Palau Project, Imagining Geographies, Meals on Wheels, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Manifest Equality and Black Power Live. His most recent project is developing music programs for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Piatt released his new poetry book, Poems From My Phone in early 2020 and is working as an Executive Producer on his first album in 2021. He remains committed to raising awareness for important causes and creating profound content that empowers viewers and shifts global consciousness.

Jessica is a dynamic and energetic contributor to the cultural vibrancy of niche communities across the country. First in Chicago in the ‘90s, then in New York City and South Beach Miami beginning in 2003, she puts on multifaceted events with nightclubs, beach bars, restaurants, retailers, nonprofits, museums, art galleries, theater companies, and cultural sites. She currently resides in San Diego and has had her boutique conference and festival, West Coast Weekender, running for 5 years.

Christina is the Lead Board Certified Behavior Behavior Analyst for San Francisco Unified School District. She supports the district’s most vulnerable students by providing support and services to ensure that each and every has the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century.

Christina has been actively involved in dance music culture since the mid 90’s as an avid fan and tour manager. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis, along with a teaching credential in Career Technical Education, and is a registered Yoga teacher.

Mat Segal has an extensive background in strategy consulting and business management. He is currently Senior Vice President of Global Business Development for Trojan Battery Company where he is responsible for developing and implementing Trojan’s goal of bringing clean, affordable energy to developing communities around the world. An avid outdoorsman, Mat lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children.

Melissa has three decades of experience in brand management and partnership marketing including senior management roles at Disney and The Jim Henson Company. In 2014, Melissa founded The-M-Zone which is a successful partnership marketing and brand licensing agency representing many global family brands such as Sesame Street, Henson, and Highlights Magazine. She has also worked with non profit clients including Girl Rising and Innovations for Learning on business development.

Asya Shein is the Founder and Publisher of Fusicology "The Source for Progressive Events, Music & Culture" aggregating listings in major North American cities along with exclusive content that defines the Soul Diaspora via her podcast on Worldwide FM.

As a music marketing entrepreneur, Asya has been a part of the Prince Tribute, Miles Davis 90th Birthday Celebration, Producer of the J Dilla Fest, Central Avenue Jazz Fest and Grammy Events that have featured the likes of Stevie Wonder, Common and Robert Glasper.

Working in the music business since the age of 15, as a promoter and later a talent agent for various house DJs, Asya was raised in Toronto and attended Wayne State University in Detroit before settling in Los Angeles.

For nearly three decades, Green Galactic Founder Lynn Tejada has been the go-to publicist in Los Angeles for alternative art and culture producers, representing clients on a local, regional, national, and international scaleEstablished in Hollywood, California in 1993, Green Galactic (GG) is is based on its founder’s passion for her hometown music, Detroit Techno. GG provides consulting and publicity services to a delightful array of mind-blowing and soul-touching arts & culture clients that frequently blur the lines between fine art and popular culture. Tejada has also curated live experimental electronic music concerts at various venues in and around Hollywood and in addition to music, works to promote theatre progressive art, film, dance/choreography, restaurants, fashion, books, and more.

Jim Tremayne is the Editor of DJ LIFE magazine and, since 1990, has been a co-organizer of DJ Expo, America’s longest-running trade show/exhibition for professional DJs. From 1991 to 2021, he was the Editor of DJ Times, America’s first monthly magazine for professional DJs. He joined the publication in 1990 and, since then, has written, edited, and assigned hundreds of stories on DJs, clubs, events, and equipment/technology. He has moderated numerous panels at industry conferences and has written for a variety of industry publications/sites. He is a University of Georgia graduate, with a degree in Journalism.

Russell Wardlow (aka WayOfLife) is a father, artist, and activist, currently serving time in Omaha Correctional Center. Wardlow’s passion for writing first began after helping other prisoners correspond with their loved ones. This evolved into creating poems, parole board hearings material, eulogies, and spoken word. In 2017, Wardlow started Prose of a Con which tells the story of his life as an artist behind bars and covers themes such as family, spirituality, freedom, love, justice, and redemption. While incarcerated, he has helped to bring new incentive opportunities into the prison through his work with the warden and administrative figures such as President of Harambee Afrikan Cultural Club. Wardlow continues to write and has contributed to Give a Beat and the Compassion Prison Project. Learn more at proseofacon.com.

LA Creative Technologies’ President and Founder Josh Weiss is an IT visionary with more than a decade of experience in the technology and entrepreneurial worlds. A lifelong music fan, his career began in college radio and the arts have remained a touchstone throughout his professional life. His love of music and technology itself is exceeded only by his passion for delivering IT solutions that empower architects, arts non-profits and other creative organizations. Whether delivering trainings at industry events or solutions to clients, education is his favorite part of delivering cybersecurity solutions. Josh is constantly looking for new ways to connect his worlds so they complement and strengthen each other.