BayKids empowers children facing medical challenges to express themselves and find joy through the art of filmmaking.
BayKids began as a community outreach program for the San Francisco Giants. The program, which ran from 1994 to 1997, was built around a character, Giantasaurus Rex (a member of the Giants baseball team), who visited elementary schools with a message of Respect, Responsibility, and Teamwork. Rex also visited children with all types of disabilities at care giving facilities like the Shriners' Hospital and Children's Hospital.
In 1997, BayKids established independent nonprofit status. MediaMobile and ProjectImagine, mobile arts and crafts and multimedia programs, were developed in 1997. Launched in collaboration with Just Think Foundation, MediaMobile is a converted bus on which kids learn how to create their own media projects such as web sites, narrative films, animated pieces, documentaries, music, art, and dramatic pieces.
Today, BayKids continues to be a multimedia organization focused on serving disabled and underprivileged children in the Bay Area. BayKids provides children with a unique opportunity for enrichment. Our film making programs allow kids to explore their creativity while learning valuable teamwork and leadership skills. We are able to reach a diverse population through our partnership programs with Children's Hospital Oakland, UCSF Children's Hospital, and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford Medical Center.
Dave Spencer, MBA - Founding Director & Head of the Advisory Board
Dave is the Founding Director and former Executive Director of BayKids. Recently he launched Senspa, 13,000 beautiful feet dedicated to wellness. Dave spent many years in Major League Baseball with the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants doing community outreach work. Born in New York City, Dave has lived in the Bay area for eleven years. He enjoys travel, sports, and relaxing with friends and food.
Devora Kanter Kothari - Executive Director
As the Executive Director of BayKids, Devora brings expertise from both the nonprofit and corporate sector. At Hands On San Francisco, Devora has lead projects and events; working extensively with children's agencies in the Bay Area community. Prior to joining Baykids, Devora negotiated international business partnerships with Fortune 500 companies as the Latin America Marketing Manager at UUnet and the Partner Marketing Manager for AvantGo. Devora is a Bay Area Native and an avid hiker in her free time
Kim Cardoza - Vice President
Kim's has 7+ years in the health care industry and recently joined Kaiser Permanente as a project manager. She has been part of the BayKids family since January of 2003. Her professional background includes marketing, sales and business development for companies such as PSI, eFORCE, MCI WorldCom and Wells Fargo. In her spare time, Kim enjoys pouring wine at Page Mill Winery, traveling, appreciating art, and spending time with family, friends and her two pugs.
Michael Siegel - Treasurer
Michael joined BayKids as Treasurer in May of 2008. Prior to BayKids, he volunteered in San Francisco with the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Mayflower Foundation. Michael is an Investment Representative in the Private Wealth Management group at Morgan Stanley, where he started working in 2000. He is a graduate of Colby College. Born and raised in Palo Alto, he lives in San Francisco with his wife Jennifer. In their free time, they enjoy spending time in Lake Tahoe, skiing, running, golf, collecting and tasting wine, and spending time with family and friends.
Amber Banayat - Secretary
Amber works as an Undergraduate Education Coordinator for the Dean’s Office at Stanford University. In collaboration with the Dean, Senior Associate Dean and Associate Dean, she develops outreach initiatives to support and serve Faculty, Staff and students. She brings her nine years of Higher Education experience, including fundraising, eventcoordinating and programming to BayKids. She holds a BA degree from the University of California, Davis. In her spare time, she enjoys watching sports, reading and spending time with friends.
Alicia Chastain
In 2002, Alicia began volunteering with BayKids by contributing her design skills to the organization. During this experience, she was impressed with the kids' stories and the creative outlet BayKids provided. She recently joined the board and is working to expand BayKids's presence online. Professionally, she works with clients to create web sites and software products that make people happy. When not working digitally, Alicia enjoys traveling and binding books.
Amrita Daing
Amrita is a good-will ambassador for Engage Corporation and serves as a volunteer for Survivors International. Her primary focus has been to evangelize the BayKids mission and aid the executive administration. She holds a Masters degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in early childhood and a BS in International Relations: Economics from the College of Wooster. Her avocations include hosting dinner parties, reading, and escaping the city only to return to it!
Gretchen Krueger
Gretchen works as a historian at Wells Fargo, helping families learn about, share, and preserve their history for the benefit of future generations. She is a recent transplant to San Francisco, moving here from Baltimore where she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Gretchen received her Ph.D. in the history of medicine and science from Yale in 2003 and shares her unique knowledge and research expertise with BayKids. When she’s not at work, she’s always outdoors at the beach, on a trail, or just grilling with friends.
Dan Darcy
Dan joined BayKids in September of 2006. Prior to BayKids, Dan has been involved in fundraising for many non-profit organizations. His past work experience includes being the Director of Institutional Advancement for the Catholic Community of Stanford and running annual capital campaigns for many of the Catholic parishes in the Diocese of San Jose. In his spare time, Dan hosts fundraising events and loves to be active in the community. He also enjoys running (completed 3 marathons, triathlon, and multiple half marathons) and spending time with his family and friends.
Christy McDonald
Christy joined BayKids after seeing her niece's movie premiere at award's night. She was so moved by the movies and what BayKids has done for her niece Sammie she knew she needed to get involved. Christy has years of event planning experience and now Co-chairs events and fundraisers. In her spare time Christy enjoys cooking, wine tasting and spending time with her nieces and nephew.
Mike Sanders
Mike provides film industry expertise to BayKids and helps with special projects and film festivals. He works for LucasFilm's Industrial Light and Magic as a special effects and creature expert. Some of his credits include Titanic, Hulk, The Mummy, and the latest Star Wars Episodes. Of course he enjoys film and working with kids, but he also has interests with vintage cars, toys and movie memorabilia (oh yeah, and family and friends).
Ed Tafe
Ed has been practicing law in San Francisco for 12 years, with two published articles: Sentencing Drug Defenders in Federal Courts: Disparity and Disharmony, 28 U.S.F. L.Rev. 369 (Winter 1994); and Annual Survey of Nonprofit Law, 27 U.S.F. L.Rev. 123 (Fall 1993). Ed holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. One of Ed's hobbies is distance running and he has competed in several marathons and other races, once placing fourth in the San Francisco Half Marathon. As a long-suffering Red Sox and Patriots fan, Ed has been enjoying their recent changes of fortune.
Vanessa Wilcox
Vanessa manages Learning and Development for Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group and has over 12 years experience in Organizational and Leadership Development. Vanessa holds bachelors degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a Masters degree in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, wine tasting, and baking fattening desserts.
BayKids is proud to work with local hospitals. We currently partner with:
