WHO WE ARE

CO-FOUNDER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alexander Finn is a poet, husband, father,  author, public high school teacher, mentor, and proud Bay Area native. Born and raised in the 925 in a devout football family, Finn descends from Mexican Californios, Irish immigrants, and the t'rowt'raahl Salinan people of California’s central coast. A teacher of Creative Writing and Ethnic Studies, Finn lives in Pittsburg where he has been planting seeds and tending his community since 2015. In addition to being the 2023 Youth Speaks Radical Educator Award recipient, and the 2024 PUSD Equity Awardee, Finn coaches one of the top youth poetry teams in the country, The Pittsburg Prodigies, who recently had back-to-back Brave New Voices appearances. After 9 years of youth poetry and arts education development in Pittsburg, Finn is the Executive Director and co-founder of the alumni-created nonprofit, In My Section. He has two published collections of poetry from 2019 and 2021, with a 3rd arriving by the end of 2025. He is proud to honor his ancestral legacies of culture keeping, creating, and inspiring young people to leverage their gifts for a brighter future and a stronger community. READ BIO & CV HERE

DEPUTY DIRECTOR
PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Gabriel Perez Cano is a Chicano college student who majors in Chicano Studies and is pursuing to become an educator for both public schools and universities. Born and raised in the Bay Area to a family of immigrants from the municipality of Pénjamo Guanajuato Mexico. He is one of the founding members of the Pittsburg Prodigious who’s brought attention to La Raza with his powerful spoken word. He’s apart of several clubs and programs such as puente and LatinE club in Los Medanos College and is currently trying to transfer to UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz Cal Eastbay, or UC Berkeley. READ BIO / RESUME HERE

CO-FOUNDER
PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Jordan (jojo) Cisneros is a poet, creative writing mentor and behavioral technician based in the 925, where she was raised. Jojo was born into mixed descent with inheritance from the Hopi tribe of Arizona and Guadalajara Mexico by her father and Creole roots from her mother. Jojo resides in Pittsburg in the town that holds her entire upbringing. Jojo was a two-time top 5 finalist in the Bay Area youth poetry competition and a 2 time contestant in the biggest national Poetry competition BRAVE NEW VOICES. READ BIO/ RESUME HERE

PRODUCTION MANAGER
RESIDENT DJ

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

IMS Teaching Artist Resident, 2025-2026 Cohort

BOARD PRESIDENT

Ben Miyaji is an ardent supporter and patron of the arts and is very excited for this opportunity to serve on My Section board of directors.  Ben served on the Palo Alto Public Art Commission commission from 2013 to 2026.   He is also a Lead Advisor for Arts Contra Costa County (ArtsCCC), the new county arts council for Contra Costa County.  Ben also served on the San Jose Arts Commission from 1992 to 2014 and was chair for three consecutive years.  He has served on many grants panels on the local, county and state levels.

BOARD MEMBER

Jazmin brings with her a background in education and commitment to community empowerment. Her experience as a bilingual instructional assistant, followed by her time as a teacher at Pittsburg High, inspired her to pursue her current role as an educational administrator. Hernandez's dedication to empowering others is deeply rooted in heritage; having been born in San Jose, CA, to two immigrants from Michoacan, Mexico and proudly representing the Purépecha people. This influence of her upbringing and continued advocacy for the community instilled in her a profound sense of mission and liberation, which she continues to uphold. 

BOARD MEMBER

Tina Kumar was born and raised in Fiji and immigrated to California in May 2000. She holds a B.A. in English from Humboldt State University and a Master of Arts in Education from California State University, Chico. As a passionate middle and high school English teacher, Tina loves both learning and teaching. She is especially inspired by the power of storytelling—how the stories we tell about where we come from shape our understanding of people, places, and the world around us.

BOARD MEMBER

Ahnaya Reed is a social advocate and future educator in Contra Costa County. Working with youth for almost 5 years, she’s piloted social justice and mental health programs in her community. Through poetry and education she used her talents to accomplish several things within her community for the youth. Now working with Pittsburg Unified School District, Ahnaya continues to press boundaries and create spaces for youth to flourish. Pursuing her Bachelors degree in human development at CSUEB, she plans to continue on that path

BOARD MEMBER

Auxiliary (non-voting) Board Member

My name is Marshawn Duchine (A.K.A) 510Shawn and I am an Artist from Richmond, California. I’ve been in the Arts since as long as I can remember whether it was dancing with imajik dance team ,singing in school choir,or playing trombone in the marching band It's always been a part of my life but, rap specifically though is fairly new.I started writing just after me and my family from Richmond,Ca to Pittsburg,Ca(Pitt) when I was about 13/14 and started recording when I was 15. I eventually joined the Pittsburg Prodigies which is a youth poetry team in Pitt, who introduced me to Youth Speaks under 21 youth poetry slams where I performed my music for the first time.I then became president of the prodigies,I went on to compete in competitions such as brave new voices and mc olympics then eventually we started organizing our own Slams. As of recently I just wrapped up a tour with Stunna girl and now I’m teaching myself how to capitalize on the things I learned through that experience.

Auxiliary (non-voting) Board Member