Dawn Stueckle
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Dawn has worked with young people in San Francisco for more than two decades, starting campus-based girls’ support groups at Lincoln High School and A.P. Giannini Middle School in the early 1990s and co-founding in 1992 the organization that would later become Sunset Youth Services. In addition to providing leadership for the nonprofit, managing staff, connecting with donors, and building relationships with young people served by Sunset Youth Services, Dawn partners with numerous community coalitions and city agencies as an advisor, change agent, and voice for the disenfranchised youth of the city.
In 2018 Dawn was elected to co-chair the Juvenile Justice Providers Association (JJPA)–– a consortium of community-based organizations that she helped establish in 2004 and which plays an important role in local policy-making, youth advocacy and has a strong voice in how funds are used to meet the needs of vulnerable youth.
Give the gift of creativity and connection to young people who have experienced trauma, loss, and disconnection. Help us complete our Mobile Recording Studio sprinter van and drive empowering arts programs and wraparound services to young people in incarceration facilities, group homes, schools, and at festivals. Say yes and be our valentine today!
Read on to learn more...
Many of our youth struggle with chaotic family systems, destructive behavioral patterns, mental health issues, incarcerated parents, and violent neighborhoods. And our programs are designed to disrupt cycles of poverty, violence, and incarceration. In fact, over 90% of the young people in our Justice Services programs do not reoffend, instead investing their time in creative projects and working with staff to remove barriers to education and employment. Our Digital Arts and Technology program specifically engages young people as valued partners: artists, musicians, creators, and trusted leaders of our creative community. They are empowered to make music, connect to employment, engage in creative self-expression, learn new skills, and develop self-efficacy while positively impacting their local communities.
This van will literally be a vehicle for change, transformation, and love in the lives of our young people!
What's included in the build-out?
• a retractable awning and pop-up stage for outdoor performances
• an eco-friendly solar battery system that would allow us to power up without cords
• a sound-proof mixing room
• a sound-proof live recording area with ceiling-suspended mic stands
• a fold-away desk for beatmaking when the recording room is not in use
• an outdoor songwriting desk
• rear storage area to store stools, amps, cables, instruments
• most valuable components will be removable, so we can safely secure the vehicle each night!
Studio Interior Plan
