Our Team

Kathy Gallegos – Founding Executive & Artistic Director

Avenue50Studio@gmail.com   “From 2000 to the present, I have been the Founding Executive and Artistic Director of Avenue 50 Studio, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts presentation organization located in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park. Previous to the Avenue 50 Studio, I had a successful career as a legal secretary with Stutman, Treister & Glatt, a bankruptcy law firm. I was also an exhibiting artist. In 1986, along with muralists Barbara Carrasco, Yreina Cervantez and Francisco Letelier, I painted a mural at the Plaza De las Madres in Managua, Nicaragua. In 1995-96, I lived in Honduras spending the year painting and teaching myself B&W photographic darkroom techniques. In 1996, I was asked by artist Leo Limon to teach photography to teens at the Aztlan Cultural Arts Center at the old Lincoln Heights Jail. I also operated their gift shop and organized exhibitions. I founded the Avenue 50 Studio in order to give artists a venue where their voice could be heard. In October of 2014, I was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to sit as a Council member on the Board of the California Arts Council. In 2017, we received an award from World Learning to produce an international art exchange with Athar Lina Initiate in Cairo, Egypt to take place in 2018.”

Jamie Martinez – Gallery Manager

Jamie.Avenue50Studio@gmail.com   Jamie Martinez is a Boston-born, Los Angeles-based multimedia artist and art professional. They began their work in the arts as a student worker at Oxy Arts, working in a variety of roles before graduating from Occidental College with a Bachelor’s in Studio Art with minors in Education and Politics. Much of their goals during their undergraduate career surrounded developing equitable and accessible community arts programming for the Highland Park community, the work which they are now able to continue as Gallery Manager at Avenue 50 Studio.

Kevin Silva – Administrative Assistant

Avenue50StudioKevin@gmail.com   Kevin Silva is a Los Angeles Oaxacan Musician and multimedia artist. He has served Los Angeles youth and families through music lessons, art and garden workshops within an indigenous lens, storytelling, and live radio training for the past 9 years. He is one of the founders of the Jovenes Uniting Neighborhoods To Overcome Struggles (J.U.N.T.O.S.) Dream Resource Center. Kevin has also supported the community by developing relationships with local organizations through J.U.N.T.O.S. Dream Center for workshops that touch on immigrant rights, indigenous language preservation, resource centers, college access and mental health. Through his developed skills of organizing the community and art, he now serves the community of Avenue 50 Studios and Bridge the Gap KQBH live radio show.

A Thank You to Our Past Team Members:

  • Jovany Gonzalez, Administrative/Social Media Marketing
  • Jessica Ceballos y Campbell, Literary Programming Curator
  • Angelina Sáenz, La Palabra Poetry Coordinator
  • Hataya Tubtim, Grants Writer
  • Jade Puga, California Arts Council Arts Administrator of Color Fellow
  • Nica Aquino, Digital Content Creator
  • Elise Viapiano, Pasadena Unified School District Intern
  • Sara Aceves, Administrative Assistant
  • Kassidy Penso, Administrative Assistant 
  • Naza Zaman-Zade, Administrative Assistant
  • Roni De Leon, Administrative Assistant
  • Alvaro D. Marquez, Administrative Assistant
  • Peter Woods, Administrative Assistant
  • Jessica Rocha, Administrative Assistant
  • Abdiel Lopez, Administrative Assistant
  • Christian Espinoza, handyman, valet
  • Lea Chavez, food handler
  • Marcelo Morga, Security, valet
  • Garrett Richardson, Occidental College Intern
  • Maggie Smart-McCabe, Occidental College Intern
  • Jacki Jackman, Occidental College Intern
  • Nina Barnett, Occidental College Intern