families

Perlson began making documentary and experimental video in Philadelphia in the late 1980's. She is a founding member of the Termite TV Collective, an ongoing swarm devoted to the creation of alternative media. Her award-winning collective and individual work has been broadcast on PBS and cable, exhibited nationally in museums including MOMA (NYC) and the New Museum, and shown at a wide range of festivals. She has an MFA in Film/Media Arts from Temple University, and has taught at the university level for the past decade. She is currently a mother/artist in Medford, MA, where her life sequences between family, community, art and teaching is always subject to interruption.

Centro Nueva Creation's mission is to transform their neighborhood by working with youth and families to create a better community. They believe that the assets of West Kensington outweigh the problems and that the area's youth and families have incredible resources for change. Although our community is often called "The Badlands" by the media, they like to promote it as "The Goodlands," a name more reflective of its current reality as a place where dramatic change is possible.

Founded in 1990, Urban Bridges at St. Gabrielís "[provides] nurturing educational opportunities for people of all ages in the creative arts, computer technology and literacy." The program is located in the Olney-Feltonville section of Philadelphia, and provides after-school programs focusing on literacy, the visual and performing arts, and technology, for approximately 352 children.

Lise Yasui is a filmmaker and producer based in Philadelphia. She served on the board of the National Asian American Telecommunications Association, and serves as a consulting producer on independent documentary projects with the Long Bow Group of Boston. Yasui has worked extensively in the nonprofit funding arena and as a curator and educator with a special interest in multicultural media. In 1988, she was nomintaed for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short Subject for her film "American Experience: A Family Gathering." She was also a producer of 1995's "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" and the coordinating producer of 2003's "A Morning Sun."

Cindy Burstein is a documentary producer living and working in Philadelphia. She comes to the field with a background in community organizing and youth leadership development. Since receiving her MFA in 1997 from Rutgers University-Mason Gross School of the Arts, she has been teaching video production, producing documentaries, and collaborating with other filmmakers. Her most recent film, "Passionate Voices: American Jews and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" was created as a tool for dialogue. She served as regional outreach coordinator of theatrical release for New Yorker Films award-winning documentaries, Trembling Before G-d and My Architect. As an adjunct professor in the Film and Media Arts Department at Temple University, she continues to enlighten students about the merits of progressive media.

Montessori Genesis II (MGII) was founded in 1976 by sixteen low-income Black families. The children of these families had had a very successful Montessori pre-school experience at the Early Learning Center in the Mantua section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. These parents wanted their children to continue enjoying a high quality education during their elementary years. But there was no nearby elementary school prepared to follow up on the Montessori education that had been so successful.

The group of sixteen families joined together to take on this challenge. They solicited the help of two Religious of the Assumption nuns who were trained Montessori teachers to instruct their children and started their own school, Montessori Genesis II. Serving as something of a magnet, Montessori Genesis II now draws students not only from the surrounding community, but from throughout the Philadelphia area such as North Philadelphia, Germantown, Greater Northwest Philly and beyond. The quality of the education and personal growth afforded the students at MGII is such that when they leave, they can go out and successfully navigate the waters of all levels of higher education and post-academic life.