Young Ambition

The Environmentalist

Tara Tinsley, Musicians for a Better Planet
www.musiciansforabetterplanet.org
Age: 25

A fond fan of beaches, and a wave-maker herself as Miss San Joaquin County 2010, Tara Tinsley continues to represent the vital elements that make San Joaquin thrive, by combining music and agriculture preservation.

A guitarist and acoustic rock singer, Tinsley hasn’t quit her day job for music—instead she’s made music her day job. When not teaching guitar lessons, Tinsley works on projects for her non-profit organization, Musicians for a Better Planet, to bring awareness and knowledge of our mark on the planet.

As a teacher, she’s transforming and patient, two strong suits Tinsley has called upon in setting a good example through music. “Musicians have a sort of influence in the world, and the club (Musicians for a Better Planet) helps direct that influence in a positive way to do something that is bigger than ourselves,” says Tinsley.

The non-profit group is made up of not only musicians, but also artists and volunteers who enjoy the performing arts. Each event put on by Musicians for a Better Planet is enhanced with live music, allowing attendees the opportunity to get to know the bands they love first-hand without a stage in the way.

In the effort to raise money to improve conditions on beaches and in waterways, Tinsley has also helped to connect musicians and artists to the local scene. “She got me a lot of doors opening,” says Kyle Thaw, a Tracy artist featured at one of Tinsley’s music shows this past October. “I met a lot of people and artists through her. I’m thankful.”

Tinsley is looking forward to bringing together more local talent, as well as helping the planet, in locations all around San Joaquin. “I love going to Bethany Reservoir (off Grant Line Road),” says Tinsley, as she looks forward to hosting events there and at Lake Del Valle in Livermore. “I love to swim, sail, and go surfing,” she says. “And most of all, watching the sunset over the hills in the west side of town in Tracy.” —Marcelina Blea

The Arts Maven

Sophoan Sorn, San Joaquin Film Society
www.sjiff.org
Age: 25

We don’t say this about many people, but for Sophoan Sorn, the sky is the limit—and if you ever get the chance to ask him, he’ll agree with absolutely certainty. Sorn does not take no for an answer, as evidenced by the self-started annual San Joaquin International Film Festival, which just completed its third run (this year’s film festival took place February 19-27). As a young filmmaker himself, Sorn has always been interested in learning how small films eventually become the work of big filmmakers, and the majestic quality of film festivals like Cannes and the San Francisco Film Fest. Enter our own San Joaquin International Film Festival.

If you’ve never been, the festival is a week-long celebration of everything film, from countries all over the world, with a special effort to include the work of local filmmakers as well. The event kicks off each year with a screening of the festival’s selected featured film, accompanied by a gala, this year at Stockton’s Empire Theatre.

“The film festival idea came first,” says Sorn. “I decided to make a lot of friends in the industry, both here and abroad. I follow about one hundred different film festivals throughout the year. It’s finally safe to say, with three years under our belt, that we have an annual film festival here in San Joaquin.”

Once Sorn—the overachiever that he is—came to the realization that the film festival only takes place once a year, he decided it was only right to have something year-round in San Joaquin to inspire film lovers and budding filmmakers. The result is the San Joaquin Film Society, which invites speakers, filmmakers, and film industry professionals to the area for special programs, and has created smaller scale film events throughout the year, like the Children’s Film Festival and the world cinema series.

“The first festival took over a year and a half to plan,” he says. “But we had nearly one hundred volunteers the first year. This is an ongoing collaboration with various people—community leaders, artists, and filmmakers—from around the world. But this is a community endeavor. This is our film festival.”          
    
Sorn and his family are first generation immigrants from Cambodia, arrived in America in 1991, and relocated to Stockton, where Sorn has called home ever since. “I am here in Stockton, living here, breathing here, want to make the most of my life here, and want to be a support to the growing arts endeavors of our community. Each project is a new monster, and you have to feed it.” —Jamie Menaker

The Community Advocate

Mimi Nguyen, Downtown Stockton Alliance
www.downtownstockton.org
Age: 24

Mimi Nguyen could easily be referred to as the ‘face of Stockton’, not because she’s constantly in the spotlight—much of the work she does for the city is actually behind the scenes—but rather she’s the face of what we, here in San Joaquin, would like Stockton to be. Nguyen spent her childhood years in less than optimal conditions, but hard work and support from the community has kept her full steam ahead in her goals to make Stockton a better place to live.

As Economic Development and Human Resources Director for the Downtown Stockton Alliance (DSA), Nguyen’s main focus is keeping business flourishing in the waterfront area, thereby bringing more people, positive attention, and funds into the city. Since first coming on board with the Downtown Stockton Alliance in 2006 as events coordinator, she has recreated the Stockton Farmers Market to be beneficial to the city instead of contracted out, created a year-long business seminar series to help keep Stockton businesses on the right track (each business receives a certificate of completion at the end of the series), and is currently focused on bringing visitors into the downtown area not just in the daytime, but into the evening as well, reinventing Stockton into an upscale nightlife destination.

“I love what I do with the Downtown Stockton Alliance,” says Nguyen. “Grow, create new programs, test my ideas for new businesses. We give businesses that are struggling or trying to open a new business all these resources. That’s the most satisfying part of my job.”

Nguyen has been contibuting to Stockton’s well-being since her high school days, when she joined the Youth Advisory Committee to learn more about improving the city for Stockton’s youth.

“We did all these amazing things as teenagers,” she says. “We worked on grants for the youth center, and all kinds of things that would benefit Stockton.” When the city received the All American City award in 2004, Nguyen was invited to come along.

While attending UC Davis, Nguyen continued to volunteer at Stockton events, and the rest is history. She has since completed her graduate degree at UC Berkeley, and volunteers her time coaching at Stockton Gymnastics, mostly for underprivileged kids, to prep the next generation of Stocktonians. “Both my parents didn’t speak English and were sick while I was growing up. As a coach, I am able to make these kids see that it doesn’t matter if you aren’t living with your mom, or where you were born, you can still work hard and get what you want.”  —Jamie Menaker

The Non-Profit Champion

Kate Macek, Women’s Center San Joaquin
www.womenscenterofsjc.com
Age: 28

Many of us dream of making a difference in the world, even in some small way, and Kate Macek is doing just this for women in San Joaquin. Through her work with the Women’s Center of San Joaquin County (she’s the Development Director), Macek oversees all fundraising for the organization—a free resource for any woman dealing with domestic violence or sexual assault. In this capacity, Macek spends her time out in the community to raise awareness of the Women’s Center’s purpose, works to secure grants for the center, and keeps enough funds coming in to help every woman or child that enters the doors. Macek also plans the Women’s Center’s major annual event, meant to both bring in funds and raise awareness of domestic violence in the community (this year’s Women’s Center Luncheon will take place March 31 at the Stockton Arena).

What Macek is most proud of is keeping the Women’s Center at the high standard of care that it’s always maintained, despite a down economy. “I’m so proud of our agency, that we’ve fundraised enough to sustain our programs,” she says. “We have to fundraise about $300,000 a year to make sure that the agency and its programs are sustained. I am proud that we are still able to find the community support even in rough times.”

Macek volunteered at non-profit organizations while completing her college education at Ohio State University, but found her niche here at the Women’s Center of San Joaquin. Her inspiration comes from the staff working at the battered women’s shelter or providing counseling at the center, with their stories of what the Women’s Center clients are dealing with on a daily basis and still succeeding. “The abuse that all of our victims have gone through, and then picking up and leaving their life to keep their children safe. Knowing that I am even a small part of this has been really rewarding,” says Macek.

Going forward, Macek explains that the Women’s Center is always looking for new funding sources. As demand increases, as it has in the past year and a half, the challenge is continuing to fundraise to keep all services free, to never turn anyone away, and to keep up with the needs of the community.

“Just being able to expand to meet the needs of the community, every new year is a challenge, but we always seem to find a way,” she says. —Jamie Menaker  [SJM]
                 

The Changemaker

Exodie Roe III, Office of Congressman Jerry McNerney www.mcnerney.house.gov
Age: 25

Exodie Roe is Stockton born and bred. He will sing Stockton’s praises to anyone who asks, and he is one of four Field Representatives for United States Congressman Jerry McNerney. The Congressman represents on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. for the 11th District of California, which includes most of San Joaquin and some parts of the Bay Area, while back here in California, Roe works tirelessly in the Congressman’s Stockton office. 

Roe has traveled far and wide—college in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and a five-year fellowship that took him to Madrid, Spain—and still chose to return to his hometown of Stockton. After helping to found a student-run Hurricane Katrina group called STAND (Students Taking Another Direction) to bring attention and resources to New Orleans, Roe wanted nothing more than to go back home and make the same difference in his own community.

Roe has been with Congressman McNerney from the start, during the campaign for the seat in the House of Representatives, and ever since. “He interested me so much with his passion for education and wanting to make a difference in San Joaquin County,” says Roe. “He really inspired me to want to work on his campaign, and after we won, the Congressman said that he loved the things I was doing to help.”

So what exactly is Exodie Roe doing? He’s out in the community daily listening to the people of San Joaquin, taking note of concerns, keeping the people (called constituents in political-speak) abreast of what’s happening on Capitol Hill, and working to make San Joaquin better. His specialties are small business and housing interests, and he’s made it his mission to help the Congressman turn around foreclosure rates here in San Joaquin, creating one of the biggest annual housing workshops in the area. “We really created that workshop to address the community’s needs. We are always looking for programs that we can put on that bring resources together for the community.”

While Roe is always optimistic about improving San Joaquin, he also looks toward the next generation. One of his greatest joys is speaking to the public schools. “One of the things that the Congressman talks about most passionately is education,” says Roe. “Kids going on to math, science, and engineering careers, but mostly just going on to higher education. This is his vision in creating new energy policies, his focus on renewable energy both for the environment and all the new jobs that this will make for the community.”

Ultimately, Roe splits his time between working with the community—volunteering with kids organizations like San Joaquin A+, San Joaquin Library and Literacy Foundation, and Leadership Stockton—and working for the community with Congressman McNerney, creating better policies and lifestyles.

“I love Stockton, it’s one of my major strengths, just being from here,” he says. “No matter where I am in the world, I am proud to be an ambassador for Stockton. It’s so important to have staff that are from this community and love this community and want to help serve.” —Jamie Menaker