Staff

Stephanie LaFroscia

Executive Director

Stephanie LaFroscia was the Director of Grants and Community Engagement at the San Antonio Area Foundation, a community foundation serving San Antonio’s urban center and rural areas in seven surrounding counties. In her role at the Area Foundation, she advocates for the centrality of the cultural organizations, artists and culture bearers in equitable community development. LaFroscia has been instrumental in developing the 2021 Recovery Fund for the Arts and the Youth Development Artist Fellowship program, supporting artists working to advance youth leadership and mental health. LaFroscia previously served as a program officer at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Prior to that, she led education and public programs at at El Museo del Barrio, NY, where she developed a performing arts residency and interdisciplinary programming  in the visual, performing, and literary arts, including Action Actual: Performance Art at El Museo and El Barrio’s Freshest, an annual b-boy/b-girl competition. LaFroscia received a MA in Visual Arts Administration from New York University and a BA in Art History, Summa Cum Laude, from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. She lives in San Antonio, TX with her wife and children.


    Alex Ramirez

    Media Arts Director

    Alex Ramirez (he/him) is an award-winning Mexican-American filmmaker, playwright, and educator based in San Antonio, Texas. He is the head of his own film production company, Mala Bruja Pictures. In 2021, he was named “Best Local Filmmaker” by San Antonio Current Magazine. He has been featured in many other publications for his film work such as KLRN The Beat, UTSA’s The Paisano, CultureSA Magazine, VoyageDallas, La Prensa Texas, and the San Antonio Express-News. He has served as a panelist for ¡Tú Cuentas! Cine Youth Festival, a judge for the San Antonio Film Festival, and formerly as the Education Coordinator on the Board of the San Antonio Film Society. He has been with the Media Arts Studio and SAY Sí since 2018. View some of his work here!


      Amalia Ortiz

      Theater Arts Director

      Amalia Ortiz is an actor, playwright, and performance poet. She was awarded the 2020 American Book Award for Oral Literature and appeared on three seasons of Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry on HBO. She also starred in the indie film, Speeder Kills. NBC Latino named her book of poetry, Rant. Chant. Chisme. one of “10 Great Latino Books of 2015,” It was also awarded the 2015 Writers' League of Texas Poetry Discovery Prize. She was chosen to speak at TEDx McAllen 2015. She was awarded the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation Grant, a writing residency at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, and the 2018 NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant to film videos for her book The Canción Cannibal Cabaret & Other Songs. She won a 2021 City of San Antonio Individual Artist Grant to create poetry inspired by women in punk. She is a CantoMundo Fellow and a Hedgebrook writer-in-residence alumna. Amalia received her MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

        Ashley Lopez

        Media Arts Teaching Artist

        Ashley Lopez is a San Antonio Native who began her art journey when she was just 11 years old. She is an alumni grad from the Art Institute of San Antonio, Texas with her Bachelor's in Digital Film Making and has worked with the NCAA, Valero Alamo Bowl and Inc. 100 TML. When she's not creating, she spends time with her family, friends, and her two dogs.


          Ashley Perez, Class of 2003

          Visual Arts Director | Middle School Coordinator

          Ashley Perez is a proud SAY Sí alum and artist who works in various mediums centered around painting and drawing. Her work explores memory, identity, mental health, wordplay, and personifying elements of the natural world. She received her B.F.A. from the University of Texas at San Antonio in painting in 2010. Her work has been featured at Centro de Artes, Blue Star Contemporary, the McNay Art Museum, and Presa House Gallery.

            Denise Thieme

            Development Manager

            Denise Thieme is passionate about art, fundraising, and community impact! She has a BFA in studio art from Texas Christian University and is originally from the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Denise was the Marketing Manager at the Brighton Center of San Antonio for the past six years and has prior development experience from St. PJ’s Children’s Home. She was also an elected commissioner for the Fiesta San Antonio Commission, a board member of the San Antonio Junior League and a proud mother to her daughter, Amelia.

              Jackson Lundquist, Class of 2020

              Media Arts Teaching Artist

              Jackson Lundquist is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on photography and digital media. Lundquist grew up in San Antonio with a passion for filmmaking, and as a student in SAY Sí’s Media Arts program, they experimented with other mediums, working in photography, graphic design, and game development. Using their wide cast tool set, Lundquist’s work explores the effects of oppressive environments and systems on the health of individuals and communities.


                Jessica Beall, Class of 2016

                Communication and Marketing Associate

                Jessica Beall is an artist and graphic designer from San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from the SAY Sí Visual Arts program in 2016 and got her BFA in Graphic Design at the University of the Incarnate Word in 2021. With experience in both traditional and digital art, she often finds herself exploring many mediums when creating. A true Libra, Jessica acts with balance and harmony in mind, making sure everyone is heard and respected. When she isn't enveloped in the world of Adobe apps, you can find her playing video games or roller skating.


                  Jesús Cuevas-Martinez

                  Maintenance Supervisor

                  Jesús is an integral part of our organization and has worked with SAY Sí since 2007. The building is maintained by Jesús, as he helps with things like builds, carpentry, and much more. Every exhibit we have is brought to life by his REFINED skill and dedication. You can usually find him tinkering away with a power tool or hanging out with his church group.

                    Katie Hughes, Class of 2020

                    Visiting Artist

                    Coming from a family of creatives, it’s no surprise that Katie Hughes has a powerful connection to art. Over her years as an artist, she has experimented with many mediums, with specialties in dancing, tailoring, painting, and recent forays into digital art. Her work is often shaped by her complicated relationship with femininity and a deep obsession with art history. Katie is an alum of the VA program and graduated from SAY Sí in 2020.

                      Lilith Tijerina

                      Theatre Arts Teaching Artist

                      Lilith Tijerina is a San Anto native multi-disciplinary teatrista with a focus in performance art, lighting design, and teaching. Using teatro as a medium for empowerment through storytelling, their work reflects personal experiences of oppression, trauma, and healing as a brown Chicanx artist.

                        Lindsay Byrne

                        Operations Manager

                        Lindsay has worked as a performing arts and non-profit professional for over twenty years. Throughout her career, Lindsay has worn many hats including AEA and AGMA stage manager, director, house manager, producer, writer, and teacher. Lindsay has had the good fortune to work for world-class organizations such as the Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, and Houston Ballet, to name a few. Before starting at SAY Sí Lindsay served as the Operations Director at YOSA for almost five years. Lindsay holds a BA in Theatre Arts from San Diego State University, and an MFA in Film Directing from CALARTS. A native of the midwest, Lindsay currently lives in San Antonio with her husband and menagerie of animals.


                          Michael Foerster

                          Visual Arts Teaching Artist

                          Michael is a local artist from San Antonio. He earned a BFA with a concentration in ceramics from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2018, has studied at Haystack and Penland Schools of Crafts, and has exhibited work both locally and nationally, including creating temporary and permanent public art pieces in San Antonio. Michael’s work finds its roots in his subconscious and explores ideas of intimacy, separation, grief and memory. For more info on Michael, visit his website or instagram.


                            Ned Meneses

                            New Media Teaching Artist

                            A native from Bolivia, Ned Meneses completed his high school education in the US and received a BA in Art from the University of the Incarnate Word in 1996. He has shown digital art at various galleries locally and internationally. As a media arts instructor he has participated in the evolution of the Media Arts Studio into a high performance film program. Ned has worked with SAY Sí since 2002, and is currently on a much-deserved sabbatical. We miss you, Ned!


                              Stevan Živadinović

                              New Media Director

                              Stevan Živadinović (b. 1983, Belgrade, Yugoslavia) is a new media artist and educator working in web comics, robots, paper, paint, installations, and performance. He studied painting at the University of Texas in San Antonio. Since 2014 he has been the director of the HIVE New Media Studio at SAY Sí, where he has had the freedom and responsibility to define what "new media" means to a generation of young San Antonio artists.

                                Solstiz Ibarra-Campos

                                Theatre Arts Tech Assistant

                                Solstiz Ibarra-Campos, proudly born and raised in San Antonio, is a lifelong theatre maker and activist. Sol had the privilege of growing up deeply immersed in San Anto’s rich culture of radical Chicano art and teatro, working from a young age with local theatres and nonprofits such as the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, Jump Start Performing Arts Co. and the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center. In 2019, Sol toured with the San Francisco Mime Troupe during their production of “Treasure Island.” Solstiz’s greatest inspirations are the beautiful community of artists who surround them, especially their Mom, who dedicated her life to theatre education. Maria Ibarra, Presente!

                                   

                                  Board of Directors


                                  Jason Moran

                                  Architectural Designer / Owner

                                  Jason Moran is an architectural designer whose passion is collaborating with like-minded people and businesses on new challenges and ventures. He is a father of 3 amazing children. He loves to eat, bike ride, and walk through downtown admiring the amazing architecture that has created the urban fabric
                                  of the city of San Antonio.


                                  Jim Mendiola

                                  Independent filmmaker, curator, and writer

                                  Jim Mendiola is an independent filmmaker, curator, and writer based in Texas. His films have screened in numerous film festivals, museums, and colleges in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, public television, and cable TV. He recently completed an artist-in-residence program at the The University of Texas at Austin.


                                  Ana Cude

                                  Realtor

                                  Ana Cude is on the executive board and serves as the board’s Treasurer. When she’s not helping with SAY Sí, you can catch her being a real estate mogul in the heart of San Antonio.


                                  Mario Moreno

                                  Director Of Training at La Familia Cortez Restaurants

                                  Mario Moreno, a graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, began with La Familia Cortez Restaurants as a Busboy over 25 years ago. Mario’s passion for leading, teaching, and mentoring, led him to obtaining his teaching certification in the field of Social Studies in 2014. Mario was a substitute teacher for two years with the San Antonio Independent School District and remains actively involved with mentoring students within the district and La Familia Cortez Restaurants. Currently, he serves on the Texas Restaurant Association- San Antonio Chapter Education Committee.


                                  Guillermina Zabala Suarez

                                  Professor of Practice, UTSA

                                  Born in Argentina, Guillermina Zabala Suárez is an award-winning filmmaker and artist, curator, and educator whose art examines the intersection between the individual and their environment. Her works have been exhibited in museums, galleries, and film festivals nationally and internationally, including the McNay Art Museum, SAMA, Contemporary, Telluride Film Festival, and Showtime Latino Showcase. Guillermina is Professor of Practice of Film & Media Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio and was the Director of the Media Arts program at SAY Sí from 2005 to 2021. She holds a Master of Arts in Media Studies from New York’s The New School and is currently working on her dissertation for her Ph.D candidacy in the Doctor of Arts program at the University of La Plata, Argentina. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including from The New School, the Luminaria Foundation, the San Antonio Artist Foundation Award, and the NALAC Fund for the Arts Grant. Her documentary Las Artivistas won the Premio Mesquite for Best Documentary Short at the 2022 CineFestival.


                                  Léo Lee

                                  Independent Artist

                                  Léo Lee is a paper-based artist who works in books, print, publishing, and papermaking. She was born in Belgium to an Alsatian father and a Yankee mother. Léo strongly believes that everyone should have access to creative expression and support to find it. This belief has led her to teach all ages on several continents. Locally, has taught as an adjunct at Trinity and the former Southwest School of Art, where she briefly ran the Book and Paper department until May 2020. Motivated by concerns with toxicity in the studio and current environmental concerns she is continuously looking for empowering and sustainable ways to make and communicate in art. Léo holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, an MA, and an MFA from the University of Iowa. Currently, she teaches art at St. Paul’s Episcopal Montessori and is, slowly, starting her own art school. When she is not making art, she is planting native pollinator plants, fruit trees and plants useful for art-making, eating or napping with her cats.


                                  Michael Schroeder

                                  Partner at INSITE Architects, Inc.

                                  Michael Schroeder is a founding partner of INSITE Architects, an interior design and architectural studio in San Antonio, Texas. INSITE Architects was founded in 1988. He is also a founder of SAY Si and has remained active on the Board of Directors. “It has been a real pleasure to see SAY Si grow and flourish as an exemplary youth development arts program throughout the community and the United States.”

                                  Leadership Council

                                  • Lainey Berkus
                                  • Stephen Cavender
                                  • Liz Chiego
                                  • Teresa Corbin
                                  • Doug Cross
                                  • Dr. Mike Flores
                                  • Susan Toomey Frost
                                  • Brenda Gilpin
                                  • Gisela Girard
                                  • Maureen Gonima
                                  • Debra Guerrero
                                  • Kaye Lenox
                                  • Dennis Martinez
                                  • Michael Mazzei
                                  • Marcia McKinley
                                  • Dan Naranjo
                                  • Margaret Schellenberg
                                  • Diana Schumacher
                                  • Cheri Seabers
                                  • Lisa Wong