Meet the Team Members
Keqing Li
Hello! I’m Keqing Li. I’m a senior neuroscience and psychology student at UC, Santa Cruz. I have joined art initiative since the winter of my second year. At the beginning, teaching art classes at the county jail was a little intimidating. However, soon I felt in love with what I am doing there. You would never expect that people who are incarcerated could have so much respect, enthusiasm and artistic talents! I wish Organizations like art initiative can connect community with incarcerated population and bring greater understanding to marginalized populations
Jessica Goralski
Native to Southern California, Jessi decided to journey north to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she was immediately inspired by the beauty of nature and community in the area. She is interested in the endless ways in which human beings are creative and how people interact with their environment to create beauty. She believes everyone deserves the chance to express themselves and wants to help give people the tools to do so. She hopes to help others discover their own passion for art and believes that ART Initiative is way to bring this opportunity to those who wouldn’t normally have.
Sophie Restall
Hello, my name is Sophie. I'm a senior at UC Santa Cruz majoring in Art and Psychology. I hope to use these degrees to become an Art Therapist. While I've mainly worked with children, I'm passionate about using creative processes to help any and all people in need. I've experienced the therapeutic benefits of art myself, and I love using my experiences and knowledge to help others heal and grow. In my free time, I enjoy doing wheel thrown pottery and going on adventures in nature.
Thomas Bebbington
I am a fourth year Psychology major who has been involved in ART Initiative as an Art facilitator for about a year. Although I have experience teaching all units in the Santa Cruz County Jail, I generally teach maximum security men's unit. I am a passionate social justice advocate and care deeply about prison issues and the problem of mass-incarceration. Besides teaching art in the County Jail, I enjoy spending my time playing music and hiking.
Hi! My name is Noah Schreiber and I'm a Sophomore at UCSC. I'm very excited to be part of such a transformative program. The art initiative is unlike other volunteer opportunities as it dives straight into a population generally out of sight within the community. The potential art initiative has to make a positive impact on inmates lives is tremendous, and I am honored to be a part of that journey.
Noah Schreiber
Kathryn Garcia
Kathryn Garcia is a first year student at the University of California Santa Cruz. She is pursuing a double-major in Psychology and Art with the aspirations of becoming a professional art therapist. In her free time, Kathryn loves creating visual art, listening to music, going to concerts, and being in nature.