Staff

Luis Antonio Pichardo
Founder, Executive Director
Founder, Smiley Faze Productions

Luis Antonio Pichardo didn’t exactly grow up speaking English in his household. He is a first generation Mexican-American who was much more comfortable speaking in Spanish than communicating in English until he started school. As the oldest of three, he is the first person in his family to graduate high school, the first person to earn an Associate in the Arts degree from Palomar College, the first person in his family to earn a Bachelor in the Arts in Literature and Writing from Cal State San Marcos, and the first person in his family to earn a Master in the Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts.

Since the age of five years old, Luis has been fascinated by art, and he began developing his drawing skills at that early age. With the support of his mom, his first art project was a set of cardboard masks which he used to play with in his backyard. By the age of 22, Luis was honored with two gallery exhibitions of his fine art, five publication credits for his poetry, and three awards in writing, including the International Library of Poetry-Editor’s Choice award and the California International Young Artist Competition-Poet of Promise award.

Luis’ artistic mind, in combination with his extensive experience directing nonprofit programs, particularly work-readiness and arts-based after-school programs, has lead him to believe that art can be a real career. He, along with co-founder Jennifer Fuentes, believes that the term “starving artists” should not exist, and if it still does, it is only because young artists have yet to be taught how to make a real living. This philosophy has lead Luis to form The Transit Center–Art and Production Gallery, the premier arts-mentorship and social-entrepreneurship focused nonprofit of Los Angeles.

Jennifer Fuentes
Co-Founder, Program and Gallery Director
Founder, Crayón Literati

Jennifer Carol Fuentes is a writer and fine artist with 6 years of experience teaching English to grades 9–12 in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She received a dual BA from San Diego State University in Comparative Literature and Spanish, a Single-Subject Teaching Credential and Masters of Education at University of California, Los Angeles’ Teacher Education Program, and a Master in the Fine Arts in Critical Studies from California Institute of the Arts.

For six years, Jennifer taught “at-risk” inner city youth critical thinking skills and inquiry through progressive and social justice-based pedagogy. She believes that all students should have equal access, and that all it takes is authentic caring. Her work as an AVID Program Coordinator at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles lead to the empowerment of many traditionally underrepresented students, who in turn were admitted into various four-year higher education institutions.

As an artist and teacher, Jennifer used art as a key teaching tool for problem solving and personal development, thereby empowering youth to find their own voice. Additionally, being born and raised in the City of Los Angeles to Salvadoran parents, Jennifer Fuentes is intimately familiar with the realities that many youth in Los Angeles experience. Her passion for breaking down the “starving artist” stereotype motivates her to empower youth at The Transit Center as the Program and Gallery Director.