YES! Staff
Ocean Robbins. Age 33, Co-Founder/Director, organized a peace rally at his elementary school at age 8, founded Ocean’s Natural Bakery at age 10 (serving as baker, salesman and accountant for a home business that grew to have several hundred regular customers), and by the age of 14 he was facilitating international youth summits in Moscow and Washington, DC. At 16, he founded YES!. He is co-author of Choices for Our Future, has spoken in person to more than 200,000 people with a message of hope and a call to action, and has facilitated several dozen week-long events for young leaders from more than 60 nations. Ocean has served on the board of directors for Friends of the Earth, Creating Our Future, The Turning Tide Coalition, The Omni Center, and EarthSave International, and has been chosen by Audubon, Time Magazine, and Utne Reader as among the heroes of the new Millennium. Click here for a longer bio, or find out more about his plenary speaking and workshop offerings.
Tiffany Brown, Age 26, Program Manager, has always been passionate about finding ways to communicate compassionately and effectively across differences, and her starting point was how to communicate across racial difference. She has worked with a local anti-racist group called Women As Allies, as well as the national civil rights organization, the NAACP, in the Southeast Regional office's Prison Project in Atlanta, Georgia. It was in Atlanta that Tiffany connected with and became active with an organization called Be Present, Inc. Through Be Present, Tiffany came to YES! and within a year co-founded CAI, the Community Alliances Initiative, a local group that works across difference. Tiffany has facilitated a series titled Being Multiracial, sponsored by the local Santa Cruz branch of the NAACP, and she has also co-facilitated Mom’s & Kids Club through the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center, working with the children of parents who are survivors of domestic violence. Tiffany loves to cook, enjoy whole foods, and host little gatherings. She has been known to cut a rug, and wants more of that in her life. She currently resides in Portland.
Lorin Troderman, Age 42, Operations Manager, lives with his wife Jill and their two sons Dylan and Max. Lorin earned his MBA in Sustainable Management as a member of the Pioneer Cohort of the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco before joining YES! in July of 2005. Together with Jill, Lorin also runs Blue Lotus Goods, a web based manufacturer and distributor of sustainable goods. Currently Lorin is working to connect YES! deeper with the Santa Cruz community through developing relationships with the local environmental and social justice changemakers.
Nga Trinh-Halperin, Age 34, Development Manager, has worked with nonprofits and public agencies for over 15 years as a consultant, director, board member, and volunteer. Her community-building experience weaves together civic engagement, economic development, and arts & culture for positive social change. She spent six years with Project Cornerstone, part of a national movement to create a culture that supports and empowers young people. Nga has a BS degree in Mass Communications and Masters in Public Administration from San Jose State University. She loves living in the Santa Cruz mountains with her husband, Justin, and two young boys, Milo and Khai.
Jenny Uribe, Age 22, Office/Project Coordinator, has been helping out in the YES! office since January 2006 and has loved every moment. She truly appreciates the time she has had at YES! and the many opportunities she has had in meeting the amazing people that make up the YES! community. She graduated from UCSC in June 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and absolutely loves the freedom of being out of school and exploring the various paths out there, while embracing the moments of confusion and unknowns. She is also working at a non-profit organization in Watsonville helping high school students lead workshops to their peers about safe sex and abstinence. She thoroughly enjoys working with youth leaders and is currently delving into future possibilities of youth oriented work. While on this journey of self-discovery, she is trying to make the most of each day she is here on earth.
Devinder Sahota, Age 28, Office Manager, graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in American Studies. He has worked with various campus organizations, including Rainbow Theater, Juice Guerrilla Theater, the Asian Pacific Islander Student Association, and Third World and Native American Student Press. Through these vehicles, Devinder has performed, written, spoken, and facilitated for hundreds of participants and viewers in order to engage audiences and build social awareness. He is a strong believer in the use of creative expression to both sustain and propel social consciousness to a higher ground and continues to pursue work in the creative arts world, working as a recording engineer and music producer on a variety of social and environmental projects.
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