STAFF & BOARD
Contact Info:
GENERAL INFO: INFO@BAYAREAGIRLSROCKCAMP.ORG
OPERATIONS MANAGER:
EVENT FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR:
AROMA@BAYAREAGIRLSROCKCAMP.ORG
PROGRAMS STAFF:
Mailing Address:
BAY AREA GIRLS ROCK CAMP
PO Box 72213
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone Numbers:
Office Number: 510-267-1808
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Staff
Laya Wig : Operations Manager
Laya is a self-taught music producer, Spanish speaker in the Bay area for 15 years by way of Los Angeles. Laya started out as a performer and volunteer at BAGRC in 2020. They have since become the Programs and Outreach Manager and are currently the Operations Manager.
AroMa: Event Fundraising Coordinator
Before joining BAGRC in Spring 2024, AroMa spent 7 years as an independent event producer & is not an Oakland-based music artist. Raised in Oakland & inspired by its diversity, they bring together a strong network of creatives, local businesses, & makers to create meaningful community experiences.
Che “Chichi” Castillo: Interim Program Manager
Che “Chichi” Castillo (they/them) is an Oakland based musician and filmmaker. They served as the Co-Executive Director and Program & Site Coordinator of Bay Area Girls Rock Camp from 2017-2019 and volunteered as a band coach and instrument instructor from 2013-2017.
Chichi has played drums, guitar, and bass in various indie bands over the last 15 years, they are a former radio host on Oakland's Lower Grand Radio, and were a 2025 resident of SF Film’s FilmHouse Residency.
Chichi loves hanging out in nature, spending time with their two chihuahuas, and is currently listening to tons of Son Jarocho and Cumbia.
E.A.: Interim Gear Manager
E.A. first volunteered at BAGRC as a roadie in 2009 with their bandmates (shoutout to Ms Earz!,) and since then has worn many hats at rock camp, including guitar instructor, gear manager, and band coach. They have also volunteered at Girls Rock Vermont and Boston and enjoyed working with awesome youth bands from coast to coast. Rock camp has brought a lot to their life including playing in two “grown-up” bands (Gorgon and Sapirwhorf) with folks they met there. They are excited to be on the team bringing rock camp back in the bay this summer, as gear and volunteer manager.
Professionally E.A. has worked as an audio engineer for radio, cook, and landscaper. They enjoy writing weird songs, spoiling their dog, and living in Oakland.
Board of Directors
Join our board! We are now looking to recruit more board members! Interested? Send an email to info@bayareagirlsrockcamp.org to learn more.
Arianna Cruz-Sellu - President
Arianna is a creative, equity strategist and youth advocate. Born in San Francisco, raised in Alameda, CA and Portland, OR, Arianna has been living in Oakland since 2012. Arianna grew up attending Portland Rock Camp and learned first hand the power of radical music education with a gender equity lens. Arianna worked as the Outreach Coordinator for Bay Area Girls Rock Camp for 3 years and has been on the board since 2023. Currently Arianna works as Senior Administrative Analyst at San Francisco Department of Early Childhood working towards equitable outcomes for young children in San Francisco. In her free time Arianna enjoys cooking, DJing, hanging with her pets and swimming in the various beautiful rivers that Northern California has to offer.
Emily Bouton - Secretary
Emily Bouton is a violinist, visual artist, and educator that uses strings to create sonic connection points wherever they arise – with projects spanning from ambient experimental to live tango music for elderly dancers.
Kendal Blum - Vice President
Kendal (she/her) is a musician, registered nurse, and parent. She moved to the Bay Area in 2012 to study at UC Berkeley and stayed in the East Bay until 2022 when she graduated from University of San Francisco's School of Nursing and moved north to pursue rural medicine. Kendal has volunteered with BAGRC since 2015 in an assortment of roles including Drum Instructor, Band Coach, and Peer Mentor Support. Now a Registered Nurse, Kendal still makes time for camp alongside her work as a hospital nurse and her life as a new parent. She continues to spread the spirit of rock camp in her bands Wayfairy and Soft Shell and the Seastars.
Allie Bach
Despite growing up around musicians and playing shows as an angsty teen in LA, Allie never quite found her place in music until she was welcomed as a vocals instructor and band coach at BAGRC in 2016. She was so excited to find a youth empowerment project that 1) empowered her, and 2) combined music and justice as its focus. She has been a rock camp regular ever since! Professionally she has worked as a longtime babysitter, preschool teacher, nanny organizer, music teacher, guitar instructor, and audio engineer/educator for gender diverse middle and high schoolers. Allie is particularly interested in utilizing art, music, science and technology as a tool of liberation. She is thrilled to increase her capacity to support, work with, and learn from young people as board member.
Hallie Chen
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Hallie attended UC Berkeley where she began examining the relationship between human beings and the environment through the study of sustainable agriculture, urban planning, critical urban theory and the visual arts. This line of inquiry led her to public space design projects in Kibera, Kenya and rebuilding abandoned houses into cultural spaces on Chicago's south side while getting her Masters in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. She spent 2 years teaching Design and Building to east bay middle school students with Project H Design. Now a licensed architect, Hallie spends her free time doing BAGRC related activities, drawing, cooking, pizza eating, surfing when possible, and volunteering with floss editions. She can play classical piano and harp but hopes to do women's rock camp and start a band one day.
Olivia Gonzalez
Hi, I’m Olivia, a 2spirit Yaqui Xicana raised in Kumeyaay land of Southern California. I have been living in Ohlone territory aka Oakland since 2007. I’m excited to be joining the BAGRC Board as an Executive Committee member as a former volunteer and staff member.
I now work in Operations supporting grass roots organizers committed to advancing social and economic justice.The heart of my work and volunteer life focus on political and community movements in areas of QTBIPOC liberation, housing/tenant rights and Indigenous sovereignty. Other things that bring me joy are gardening, time in nature, dancing, nail art, live music! and civil disobedience.
Elena Bouton
Since pandemic started many areas of need- investing in arts education and investing in young people is one of the most important things we can do without access to tools that help young people expand their imaginations and capabilities and new ways of living and being - I don't feel that we can create the world that we need together. Investing in supporting young people which builds self esteem and explore identities helps them become better community members and more aware of the needs of the world and how their own unique gifts can help benefit and create the susatainable future for all of us. Because arts education and arts in general is such a patriarchal space where girls and gender nonconforming youth is a space for that. No other organization creates that space.
Vivienne Alcantar
Vivienne (she/her) is a musician, storyteller, arts educator, and organizer based out of San Francisco, California. Knowing that art can be a catalyst for change and both a healing and empowering practice, she has been actively working to increase access to arts education for underserved communities. As a current educator, she spends her mornings as a Teaching Artist with the San Francisco Opera and her afternoons as the Audio & Music Production Instructor with the Media Education team at YR Media in Oakland, CA. Vivienne has also worked in various different capacities within music, sound, and education with Primary Wave Music, Pollen Music Group, Color of Music Collective, and more. She also has an extensive background in behavioral health and social services, most recently supporting the voices of transitional age youth (TAY) within the San Francisco Department of Public Health as the TAY Advisory Board Coordinator. Vivienne is incredibly excited to now be on the Board for BAGRC, as she has been a long time supporter of the work they do to empower girls, women, and gender expansive youth and adults, and is hopeful to bring her experience and passion for music and justice to support the BAGRC community.