Staff

Alan Guttirez, Youth Advocate, is a queer hombre who grew up in Hollister, California. He traveled to the Bay Area as a teen and was subsequently lured to San Francisco as a Sociology major at San Francisco State University. His curriculum in sexuality studies and women and gender studies fueled his desire to participate in humanizing community based health that is rooted in harm reduction. Upon graduating SFSU, Alan enriched his said interests in community health and wellness through his work at Tenderloin Health, The Trevor Project, Instituto Familiar de la Raza and the St. James Infirmary. In his free time, you’ll find Alan working in a printmaking studio, cooking, and planning theatrical actions with fellow AIDS activists in San Francisco. Alan can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x25 or alan@lyric.org.

Anayvette Maria Martinez is a GuaNica High-Femme QSMOC (Queer Single Mother of Color) of two little rambunctious nene’s, Theory-Enthusiast, Passionate baker/lover/spoken text artist/youth-worker and eternal nerd who *hearts* making escandalo and manifesting theory into barrio praxis… She is tickled pink about joining the fabulousness that is LYRIC as the Initiative Director and believes deeply in youth development and queer youth advocacy. Anayvette can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x13 or anayvette@lyric.org.

Charles Stevens is ecstatic to join the LYRIC team. Hailing from the city of wind, Chicago, he has been a strong advocate for the economic and social advancement of P.O.C., Queer folks and other marginalized populations in the states and abroad. Having received his B.A in English at DePaul University, he currently attends SFSU and CCSF to see where his academic goals will take him next. Charles has worked as a teacher, educator and mentor for the past 8 years at such organizations as Mission Learning Center and Nuestra Familia; he has also lived in Honduras for two years working as an ESL teacher. Charles is LYRIC’s newest Youth Advocate and has a penchant for writing, music and fashion from the 1930’s. Charles can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x18 or charles@lyric.org.

Denny David is the Deputy Director here at LYRIC. He grew up in Seattle, WA and became involved in social justice issues at a young age, learning about labor issues, urban poverty, economic globalization, and U.S.-Mexico border policy. He attended Grinnell College, where he earned a B.A. in Religious Studies, continued to do work around globalization issues, and became involved in anti-sexual assault work. In 2002, he interned with LYRIC’s Health and Wellness Team and was hired as a Program Coordinator shortly after graduating from college in 2003. He was promoted to Program Director in 2006, and to his current position in 2009. He is passionate about anti-oppression issues and seeks to support young leaders who work for social justice. Denny can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x28 or denny@lyric.org.

Erik Martinez, Youth Advocate, is excited to join the LYRIC team. Originally from Modesto, where he first began his youth empowerment journey, Erik moved to San Francisco and was quickly dazzled by cityscapes, culture and activism. Erik has worked with such fabulous agencies as Making Waves Educational Program, National Sexuality Resource Center, San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. He is also a member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s LGBT Advisory Committee. Erik earned a bachelors in Psychology and Masters in Sexuality Studies at SF State with a passion for social and educational justice for queer youth of color. In his spare time, Erik loves to indulge in comic books, cooking, and photography. Erik can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x12 or erik@lyric.org.

Isa Noyola, Program Coordinator, was born in Houston, Texas and comes from culturally rich family roots from Comitán, Chiapas and San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The passion for building community through cultural organizing and activism grew from witnessing the way their family connects – religious beliefs to acts of faith and courage in the communities they continue to serve. Today Isa is passionate about popular education models of sharing racial justice history, multi-generational knowledge, and amplifying art and culture to transform and develop leadership in the queer youth and transLatina community. Isa can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x21 or isa@lyric.org.

Jim Scott, Administrative Assistant, is a life long resident of the Bay Area and comes to LYRIC with a passion for youth empowerment and systems change. Jim received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UC Santa Cruz where he focused on the psychosocial impacts of war, poverty and exploitation on the children’s development. Later, Jim received his Masters in Social Work from UC Berkeley. His studies focused on management and planning, policy design and research focusing on exploited minors in the Bay Area. Jim has a love of the arts, social justice and enjoying the amazing outdoors of Northern California. Jim can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x14 or jim@lyric.org.

Jodi L. Schwartz had the honor of becoming LYRIC’s Executive Director in 2005. She has over 30 years of experience in nonprofit work and an ardent commitment to social justice. During Ms. Schwartz’s tenure at LYRIC, she developed San Francisco’s first LGBTQQ youth-specific case management program and facilitated the formation of the Community Partnership for LGBTQQ Youth – an eight-agency continuum of services for LGBTQQ transition age youth (ages 16-24). Additionally, she led the launch of capacity-building initiatives to promote LGBTQQ youth inclusion in San Francisco’s behavioral health and workforce development systems, in San Francisco’s public schools, and in youth organizations citywide. Ms. Schwartz is an invited participant in the prestigious Gap Inc. Leadership Initiative and Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builder’s Leadership Program. Before joining LYRIC, Ms. Schwartz was the Managing Director of Resource Development Associates – a consulting firm working to strengthen public and nonprofit efforts to promote social and economic justice for vulnerable populations, and the Executive Director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice – a private, nonprofit criminal justice organization she co-founded to reduce society’s reliance on incarceration as a solution to social problems. Throughout her career, Ms. Schwartz has worked with youth and their families in their struggle to disengage from the juvenile justice system, has been an advocate for youth to succeed in and out of school, and has supported youth in serving their peers and the broader community through civic activism and youth philanthropy. Ms. Schwartz began working for social justice as a teenager, during which time she was fortunate to have mentors of all ages. These relationships solidified her belief that for true social justice to exist, every generation’s contributions must be seen as invaluable. Stemming from her life experience and personal values, Ms. Schwartz believes that sustained achievement of positive social change must be a collective community effort, where everyone shares in leadership and visionary roles. She works to ensure that youth, in particular, are afforded opportunities to give voice to their stories and are supported as community leaders, now and in the future. Ms. Schwartz resides in San Francisco with her partner of 21 years. Jodi can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x19 or jodi@lyric.org.

Kenny Gong, an alum of LYRIC’s board, is thrilled to come back to the family as the Communications and Development Coordinator. Born in San Francisco but raised in the anonymous tree-lined suburbs, politicization crept up slowly as a young queer man of color found community in youth empowerment work, Ethnic Studies, and critical cross-cultural dialogue. After a stint at UC Berkeley, working with some of the worst and a lot of the best, Kenny returned to the foggy haze and is now dedicated to bringing the power of the people to fundraising. Back at home, you may find him hovering over a pot of yummy goodness, failing to learn Cantonese, daydreaming about being a writer (without much writing), or simply simplifying his life. Kenny can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x24 or kenny@lyric.org.

Mia Tu Mutch, Program Assistant, is a queer femme advocate, organizer, and educator originally from Texas. First immersed in social justice issues as a teen in the post 9/11 anti-war movement and animal rights activism, Mia’s advocacy continues to reflect her love for all beings through satyagraha. As a former Equality Rider and featured speaker on the Vanguard Queer History Tour, Mia  has facilitated community conversations on LGBTQ issues and identities at over 25 universities and now serves on the SF LGBTQ Speaker’s Bureau Advisory Board.  In  the Bay Area Tu Mutch has organized for a variety of issues including: racial justice, LGBTQ equality, affordable housing, street safety, and much more. Commissioner Tu Mutch is currently Chair of the Housing LGBTQ and TAY Committee of the San Francisco Youth Commission and uses her position to create, advocate, and implement policies that create safer and more equitable communities for all. Mia is positively thrilled to continue working with LGBTQ youth at LYRIC as Program Assistant! Mia can be reached at 415.703.6150 x16 or mia@lyric.org.

Myra Levy, Fiscal Manager, is proud to be a member of the LYRIC team. A native San Franciscan, she grew up riding bikes, marching against wars, and walking precincts for candidates who were just a bit to the left of electable. In college, she found a political home in the direct action movement against nuclear power. Myra came to bookkeeping out of organizational necessity (i.e. nobody else wanted to do it), and has worked for more than 25 years in Bay Area social change groups. In recent years, she has worked at Maitri Residence and the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. She believes that dealing with issues of power and privilege is central to making real change. When not crunching numbers, Myra likes to paint, hike, study Italian, and spend time with friends. She and her partner, Charlie, are raising two teenage sons. Myra can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x17 or myra@lyric.org.

Vanessa Li is a proud queer + Chinese femme hailing from the foggy streets of San Francisco. A former Queer Educator and facilitator of Transmagic and Honey, she is now a Program Assistant at LYRIC. She began working with youth at the age of 15 and hopes to continue for years to come. Her passion lies in art as activism and art making as a means of community building. One of her favorite projects was working with fellow interns on Gender Dialogue, a series of posters about gender oppression displayed at the 16th & Mission BART station. She is currently a student at San Francisco State University. Vanessa can be contacted at 415.703.6150 x15 or vanessa@lyric.org.