Staff

Bob Perkins: Executive Director
Bob Perkins joined Youth in Focus as Executive Director in January 2006. He has more than eight years' experience in non-profit management, primarily at The Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle. He has also worked as an actor, boatbuilder, carpenter, sailor and fisherman and in children's television. He holds a degree in theatre and art, is a certified high school teacher and a father of 3. Bob's adolescent funding was provided via his father's 30-year career at Kodak.

Bob believes that every person has an important story to recognize and celebrate. He finds energy and hope in the artistic visioning and exploration of our students as they examine their world and imagine their role in it.

Brett Jelinek: Operations Manager
Brett has spent nearly half of his life working with youth in and around Seattle. He's been a camp counselor, teen program developer, lifeguard, swimming teacher, reading tutor, teaching assistant, a mentor, and is now happy to be channeling his energies into YIF. When he's not working or playing with kids, Brett works in the community to raise awareness and support for human rights in the US, the Philippines, and around the world. He also likes parks, comic books, backpacking, and improvisational vegetarian cooking.

Sam Smith: Freelance Project Manager/Teaching Artist
Sam graduated from Bard College in New York State in Spring of 2006 with a B.A. in Photography. Born and raised in South Seattle, he is happy to be out of the snow and back home as YIF's Freelance Coordinator. Sam loves photography in all its ways, shapes and forms: artistic, documentary, recreational, journalistic, and on cell phones. Sam enjoys riding his bike, baking vegan cookies, saving the planet, fighting for social justice, and singing karaoke to Salt-n-Pepa.

Supraja Subramanian: Volunteer Coordinator/VISTA Volunteer
Supraja's under graduation was in a business degree from Ethiraj College, which is in India, where she was born and raised. Most of that time was spent participating in anything that was remotely non-academic somehow leading to her being on the student council. After completing private studies in visual design and multimedia, she moved to Boston where she completed her Masters in Media Arts from Emerson College with a video documentary specialization. Marriage brought her to the bountiful Northwest in 2006 and she joined YIF after completing internships with local media organizations. Always tuned into her family, her music and our journey as a society, Supraja is also always looking to improve her sense of humor.

l o t i Walker: Program Director/Teaching Artist
l o t i earned an Associate of Applied Arts in commercial photography from the Art Institute of Seattle.  She has worked as a freelance photographer for more than a decade specializing in the art of portrait photography. l o t i considers it an absolute honor and a privilege to teach, organize and learn form the students here at YIF. If she calls you "stinky" don't worry; it's a term of endearment. She makes a mean macaroni 'n cheese, and her chili's not half bad either.

Teaching Artists

Kristen Imig: Teaching Artist
Kristen works as a freelance documentary and editorial photographer. She received her BFA in photography at Parsons School of Design in Paris, France. While studying at Parsons, she was the personal assistant to the Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Anthony Suau, and a photographer for "This City Paris" magazine.

Her photograph of an Independence Day Parade in Long Island, NY won her the Grand Prize in a National Geographic Traveler photo contest, which was published in the Jan/Feb 2002 issue. Other shows include a group exhibition at the Photographic Center Northwest, a solo show at the Priceless Works Gallery, and a two-month exhibition at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado.

Kristen's work has appeared in many feature films, including Spider-Man, Crazy/Beautiful, Welcome to Collinwood, Quinceañera, A Lot Like Love and Rocky Balboa. In most of these, her photography is used for decoration of sets and is seen in the background, but for A Lot Like Love, her work is part of the story. In the film, Amanda Peet plays a photographer and Kristen's work is represented as hers. It is seen in the apartment, discussed with the character played by Ashton Kutcher, and featured in an art gallery scene.

In addition to assignment work, Kristen sells fine art edition prints, rents existing and/or creates unique images for use in film, licenses stock images, and does portrait photography.

Sherry Loeser: Teaching Artist
Sherry is a Canadian born, Seattle based photographer. She graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle with a Commercial Photography degree in 1997. Over the last ten years she has been actively involved in the Seattle photographic community as a photographer, producer, assistant and teaching artist. Some of her clients include Time Inc., Microsoft, Make A Wish Foundation, Vulcan Inc., and Seattle Magazine. Whether conceptual, documentary or fine art work, Sherry finds herself deeply connected to everything and everyone she photographs.

Dorothy Ng: Teaching Artist
Dorothy was a student at Youth in Focus from 1998 to 1999 while she was at Franklin High School. She went on to graduate from the Commercial Photography Program at Seattle Central Community College in 2001. She has really enjoyed returning to YIF to teach the beginning black & white photography class. It has been a special opportunity for her to reconnect with a program that has always been very important to her. Dorothy always carried with her many fond memories of being a YIF student, experiences that brought her confidence, a sense of identity, empowerment and self-expression. In addition to photography, she also enjoys running, softball, ceramics, music, movies, writing and karaoke.

Zorn Taylor: Teaching Artist
In addition to his photographic knowledge, Zorn brings to Youth in Focus his background in youth social services. Zorn worked as a youth case manager and youth advocate with YMCA's Youth Opportunities program, offering "at-risk" youth an opportunity to pursue career goals by providing them access to educational and employment resources. Zorn gained his photography skills and knowledge through the Commercial Photography program at Seattle Central Community College as well as by working as a photo assistant. Zorn currently works as a wedding and commercial photographer.

Laura Wright: Teaching Artist
Laura Wright received her MFA from the University of Washington in 2004 and her BFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1996. She has over nine years of experience teaching art to diverse populations of youth in Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle. Laura has been working with Youth in Focus since 1999 developing and teaching such projects as a photography class dealing with issues of race and racism in photography in conjunction with SAM's Only Skin Deep Exhibit, a neighborhood photo-documentary zine with Seattle Housing Authority's Rainier Vista youth, and a series of workshops aimed at giving Seattle's homeless and transitional youth a voice through photography. Laura is also a practicing mixed-media artist who has been exhibited at COCA's 2004 Northwest Annual, The Henry Art Gallery MFA Thesis Show, Fiber Arts Magazine, The Jacob Lawrence Gallery, and Steve Martin Studio Gallery.