Our Staff

• Emily Pilloton-Lam

  Founder / Executive Director

  Emily Pilloton-Lam is a designer, builder, educator, and founder of the nonprofit Girls Garage (formerly known as Project H Design). Using architecture and design as a vehicle to transform communities and classroom pedagogy, she works alongside youth ages 9-18 to co-design and build public architecture projects. She has built a farmers market with high school students, a playhouse with girls whose mothers have experienced domestic violence, a school library designed by its own middle school students, and microhomes for a homeless housing agency. Her work seeks to change the authorship of our built environment and cultivate power in underestimated communities, specifically young girls, undocumented youth, and communities of color. With an educational philosophy rooted in creativity, design thinking, and project-based learning, Emily also works with educators and schools to reinvent teaching and learning in more hands-on and community-focused ways. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California Berkeley, and a Master of Fine Arts in Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently a Lecturer in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California Berkeley, and is the author of three books, Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People, Tell Them I Built This: Transforming Schools, Communities, and Lives With Design-Based Education, Girls Garage: Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build The World You Want To See. Her work is documented in the full-length film If You Build It, and has been featured on the TED Stage, The New York Times, The Colbert Report and presented to the Obama Administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy at The White House.

• Kristy Higares

  Director of Development

  Kristy Higares is an educator, writer, and arts administrator who’s worked for over twenty years serving schools and communities in Oakland. She’s inspired by the intersection of arts, education, community, and impact. Her passion and vision have been motivated by her work with Bay Area teens at The Crucible, an industrial art school in West Oakland, where she worked for twelve years.

  In 2010, Kristy was honored with a Jefferson Award in Public Service, for her work at The Crucible, which included managing educational programs, teambuilding, volunteer and workforce development programs, studio operations, public art, and events.

  She was an YBCA Equity Fellow in 2016, and created a photojournalism exhibit, interviewing and documenting residents in Oakland, along International Boulevard. Kristy enjoys working with her fellow artists, educators, and activists, to bring relevant and innovative new programs to the greater Bay Area. In 2017, Kristy was selected as a fellow through the University of Pennsylvania, Executive Leadership Program to explore Arts and Culture Strategy.

  Kristy was born at Highland Hospital, and returned back to Oakland, nineteen years later to go to UC Berkeley. She’s proud of her deep knowledge of taco trucks, thrift stores, and Oakland’s musical history.

• Bethany Kaylor

  Communications Manager

  Bethany Kaylor is a writer, visual-notetaker, and illustrator in South Berkeley. She believes in the power of conversations, curiosity, and power-tools. In the Bay, she continually finds herself inspired by strangers, social activism, and the produce section at Berkeley Bowl. With her free time, Bethany paints dogs, plays ultimate frisbee, and hangs out at public libraries. Her short stories and essays can be found on Salon, DIAGRAM, Mid-American Review, Lit Hub, and CrimeReads. She holds a BA in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Oregon. Bethany is our multi-talented Communications Manager, combining engaging and authentic words and pictures to tell the Girls Garage story.

• Augusta Sitney

  Shop and Project Manager

  Augusta Sitney is a skilled welder and sculptor who runs her own metal fabrication business in Oakland. She has made all kinds of cool things out of metal, from furniture for commercial clients to kinetic sculptures. In addition to her roles as Shop and Project Manager, Augusta teaches welding in our after-school programs and Young Women’s Design and Building Institute.

• Maya Vilaplana

  Young Women's Design and Building Institute Instructor

  Maya Vilaplana is an artist, educator and organizer raised in New York City. Drawing inspiration from the labor and love of her family and community, Maya writes and performs music, assists various extraordinary artists, and supports programs at Girls Garage and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Through her work, Maya is focused on empowering young people to hone confidence and creativity in imagining and instigating social change. Maya co-leads the arts component of our Young Women’s Design and Building Institute.

• Tonia Sing Chi

  Design/Build Instructor

  Tonia Sing Chi is a transdisciplinary designer, builder, organizer, and licensed architect based in Oakland on Ohlone land, where she is from. She is the founder of Peripheral Office, a design studio that works at the intersection of built environment storytelling, place-based building practices, and reciprocal, cross-cultural approaches to design and preservation. Tonia has taught woodworking, carpentry, and community design-build at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and has partnered with several organizations advocating for food and housing justice in the Bay Area. She is an instructor and core organizer with Dark Matter U, an anti-racist design justice school, a founding member of Nááts’íilid Initiative, an Indigenous-led nonprofit strengthening the resilience of Dinétah through built environment initiatives, and a volunteer design mentor and curriculum writer with SF NOMA’s Project Pipeline. Tonia holds an MArch and a master’s of science in historic preservation from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation. Her favorite pastime is making nixtamal and corn tortillas from heirloom corn varieties.

• Allison Oropallo

  Carpentry and Woodworking Instructor

  Allison Oropallo is a high school shop and technology educator with over 15 years of building experience. She was featured (and voted Fan Favorite!) on HGTV’s All American Handyman. She currently teaches at the Marin School of Environmental Leadership and the Regional Occupational Program Construction Technology Class at Terra Linda High School in Marin County, California. Allison co-teaches our Advanced Design/Build classes on Mondays.

• HyeYoon Song

  Printmaking Instructor

  HyeYoon Song is an interdisciplinary artist with a primary focus on printmaking, painting and sculpture. She explores landscape, identity and narrative in her work by exploring the vocabularies of print and the multiple in an unconventional and multi-disciplinary context. HyeYoon obtained a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MFA at the California College of the Arts. She has recently exhibited at Embark Gallery, Minnesota Street Projects, CCA, Acción Latina Gallery, Adobe Books and more. HyeYoon has taught at various institutions like CCA, Berkeley Art Museum, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Youth Art Exchange and continues to be an arts educator in the greater Bay Area.

• Hannah Geitner

  Carpentry and Summer Programs Instructor

  Hannah is a Special Education Teacher in Richmond, CA, a soccer referee/coach/player, and artist. After studying Studio Art and playing collegiate soccer at the University of Rochester, Hannah moved to the Bay Area to focus her efforts on bringing creative, compassionate classroom experiences to all children. She is currently working towards her Masters in Special Education, and in her free time loves hiking, watching professional soccer, exploring museums, and spending time with friends and loved ones. Hannah co-teaches carpentry and summer programs at Girls Garage.

• Hallie Chen

  Architecture Instructor

  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 in the process of becoming a licensed architect, Hallie is the principal and co-founder of CAHA DESIGN GROUP, an inter-disciplinary design practice in Oakland,CA. She spends her free time working with youth at Bay Area Girls Rock Camp, drawing, cooking, pizza eating, surfing, playing with her niece and volunteering with Floss Editions. She believes deeply in the power of design to empower communities and is excited to continue working with Emily at Girls Garage.

• Lex Lesley

  Program Assistant

  Lex Lesley is an artist and graduate student based in Berkeley. Prior to moving to the west coast, they worked with communities to collaboratively design and build public gathering and play spaces across the DMV area and nationally. Lex is deeply inspired by the imagination and creativity of youth and is committed to empowering them to shape our built environment.

  They are currently pursuing their Master of Landscape Architecture degree at UC Berkeley and focus on centering the lived experience, needs, and values of historically marginalized communities in the design and planning process of public space and ecological restoration projects. They will support the Young Women’s Design and Build Institute at Girl’s Garage this summer. Outside of work you can find Lex making elaborate meals, learning the ukulele, hiking, and loving dogs.

• Harris Waltuck

  Graphic Design and Visual Arts Instructor

  Harris Waltuck is a graphic designer and middle school educator based in Baltimore. After working as a web designer, they earned their teaching credential from the Maryland Institute College of Art. They currently teach Design Thinking and Graphic Design at the Baltimore Design School and is the Co-Sponsor of the National Junior Arts Honor Society. Harris teaches digital and graphic design at Girls Garage’s summer camp.

• Erica Chu

  Alumna Ambassador

  Erica was born and raised in the Bay Area. She attended the first Girls Garage session in 2013, where she found her love for design and build. She continued to learn and grow with us as part of the Advanced Design/Build Cohort. Since graduating from the program, Erica has become an Alumni Ambassador. Her empowering experiences as a spokeswoman/advocate for the program has influenced her ongoing involvement with Girls Garage. Erica is currently studying Civil & Environmental Engineering with a focus in Construction Management at San José State University. She is motivated to obtain her bachelors and work in the industry.

Board of Directors

• Emily Pilloton-Lam

  Founder and Executive Director

  Emily Pilloton-Lam is a designer, builder, educator, and founder of the nonprofit Girls Garage (formerly known as Project H Design). Using architecture and design as a vehicle to transform communities and classroom pedagogy, she works alongside youth ages 9-18 to co-design and build public architecture projects. She has built a farmers market with high school students, a playhouse with girls whose mothers have experienced domestic violence, a school library designed by its own middle school students, and microhomes for a homeless housing agency. Her work seeks to change the authorship of our built environment and cultivate power in underestimated communities, specifically young girls, undocumented youth, and communities of color. With an educational philosophy rooted in creativity, design thinking, and project-based learning, Emily also works with educators and schools to reinvent teaching and learning in more hands-on and community-focused ways. Emily holds a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of California Berkeley, and a Master of Fine Arts in Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Designed Objects from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently a Lecturer in the College of Environmental Design at the University of California Berkeley, and is the author of three books, Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People, Tell Them I Built This: Transforming Schools, Communities, and Lives With Design-Based Education, Girls Garage: Use Any Tool, Tackle Any Project, and Build The World You Want To See. Her work is documented in the full-length film If You Build It, and has been featured on the TED Stage, The New York Times, The Colbert Report and presented to the Obama Administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy at The White House.

• Sarah Rich

  Editorial Director of Heath Ceramics

  Sarah Rich is a the Editorial Director of Heath Ceramics. During her career as a writer and editor, she has run a variety of culture, business, and design publication; authored and edited four books, and published articles in numerous media outlets. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Cultural and Social Anthropology. Sarah has proudly served on the board of Girls Garage since the organization’s inception in January 2008. She lives with her husband and two young children in Oakland.

• Veleta Savannah

  Nonprofit financial advisor

  Veleta Savannah is a strategic, facts-focused and well-connected CFO with 14+ years’ experience in business development, corporate strategy, nonprofit management, financial reporting and finance. She has held senior leadership roles at a variety of nonprofit and public service organizations in the Bay Area. Veleta holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of San Francisco and a Master of Science in Accounting from Golden Gate University, San Francisco. Her personal mission is to serve as a voice for the underserved, empower young girls to become great leaders and to educate communities on financial literacy. Her childhood passion for building and technology has led her to Girls Garage to live out her dream of helping young girls build more.

• Stephanie Mechura

  Documentary film editor

  Stephanie Mechura has been editing documentary films for nearly 25 years. A staff editor with Lucasfilm, Ltd. in the earlier part of her career, Stephanie has been freelance ever since, editing documentaries that have premiered at Sundance, Full Frame, San Francisco International Film Festival, Telluride, and Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Her films have received many of journalism’s highest awards, including the duPont Columbia Award, the Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking, and the Daniel Pearl Award for Excellence in Journalism.

  Stephanie’s work ultimately means teaming up with directors, producers and journalists who share a simple belief: powerful stories open minds, and can change our world for the better.

  Girls Garage embraces that ideal hands-on: empowering girls and young women with the skills and the courage necessary to affect real social change, to trust their voices, and to believe that they can build the world in which they want to live. As the mom of a Girls Garage alum, Stephanie has seen the power of the Girls Garage program glowing in her daughter, and feels humbled, privileged and inspired to be serving on this Board.

  Stephanie holds B.A. Degrees in Economics and Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She lives with her teenage daughter in Oakland, California.