HIGHLIGHTS

2008

The dream started at Willard Elementary in Compton, where Sara (Christensen) Bomani volunteered in her friend’s classroom to teach arts education to 3rd graders.  

2010

Community Arts: Re-Imagining Education (C.A.R.E.) was born after Bomani and Jennifer Alvarado met while working on their Master of Art Education degrees at California State University, Long Beach.  

2011

Bomani led over 400 hours of community service, including the painting of 70 community murals at 10 public schools in the Compton Unified School District and provided free art classes at local elementary and middle schools.

2012

Community conversations took place at City Church of Compton, regarding the needs of the community. After researching the statistics and witnessing the challenges surrounding education, crime, poverty and unemployment, an expanded vision seemed necessary.

2013

Unearth and Empower Communities was born.

1st UEC Summer Art Camp serving over 80 students

2014

Each One. Teach One. After School Program started with 15 families

1st Ladies of Integrity Retreat

1st Men of Integrity Retreat

1st Trip to Mexico to volunteer at orphanage

1st EntreArts Summer Internship Program learning about entrepreneurship

2015

1st High School Graduate & College Scholarship awarded

2016

Increased the number of families served to 30 at our after school program

2017

Awarded over $8,000 in college scholarships to graduating seniors and college students

2018

Students learn how to play the ukulele at our Each One. Teach One. after school program

2019

UEC college student teaches at Summer Art Camp

Featured in VoyageLA magazine (click to read)

2020

Created Houses of STEAM for Compton families to experience building projects that are related to science, technology, engineering, art and math.

Hired 1st Intern

Featured in New York Times op-ed article by David Brooks (click to read)

UEC IN THE MEDIA

Houses of STEAM Staff:

Barak, Sara, Kora, Paty & Jen

Registered Charity: 46-3566978

BOARD of DIRECTORS

De'Jon Jackson

Non-Profit Management

UEC President

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De'Jon Jackson is the Director of Operations and the OSH Officer for The ACLU Foundation of Southern California.  De'Jon has found success as a small business owner and entrepreneur in the fields of engineering and nonprofit management. He consults on multi-million dollar projects for community based non-profits and develops operations plans and budgets.  He has a passion for health, wellness, and investing in other people.

Bruna Soares-Thompson

Family Therapy & Social Work

UEC VP & Secretary

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Bruna is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been working as a children’s mental health therapist for the past five years. She has a husband and two beautiful kids. One of the treasures we appreciate about Bruna, in addition to her generous spirit, is that she is multi-lingual and is raising her children to learn Portuguese, Spanish and English.

Victor Chew

Environmental Engineer

UEC Treasurer

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Victor currently works for SCS Engineers and is enjoying 17 years as an Environmental Design Engineer in the areas of Landfills, Litigation, Remediation, Evaluations and Geology.  He was elected a deacon at his church, has been married for 12 years and is a father of five.

STAFF

Barak Bomani

Executive Director

& Co-Founder

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Barak is the Executive Director & Co-Founder of Unearth and Empower Communities. As a revolutionary educator who disrupts broken educational systems, during his tenure as a middle and high school principal, Bomani led the way for a 100% 4-year college acceptance rate for African American and Latino students from East Oakland, California. He is the visionary behind Cultivating Hope LLC, an educational consulting company that coaches educators to build the whole village through Math Proficiency, Equity, Diversity & Race and Social Emotional Learning. Barak earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Dartmouth College and his Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from San Jose State University, where he graduated with highest honors. He has been married for nine years and has two sons.

Sara Bomani

Co-Founder &

Co-Executive Director

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Sara Bomani is the Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director of Unearth and Empower Communities. This UEC vision started in 2008 when she first volunteered to teach art in her friend’s classroom in the Compton Unified School District. With a bachelors in Graphic Design and a masters in Arts Education from Cal State Long Beach, Sara loves to share her artistry that she learned from her mother while growing up. Sara has created art camps and workshops that have served over 1,000 youth in Paramount, Long Beach and Compton over the past 13 years. As a business owner of Color Your World Design Studios, she has created art and gardening classes for homeschooled youth as well as providing graphic design services for over 15 years. One of the treasures we appreciate about Sara is how she always finds a way to include all kids regardless of their abilities to create art.

Valerie Leyva

Program Assistant Intern

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Valerie was recently hired as a Program Assistant Intern for Unearth and Empower Communities. Valerie attended Paramount High School, and during her senior year she volunteered over 40 hours for UEC. She was a mentor to our K-5 students before she started to attend Cerritos College. Upon high school graduation, she earned a $500 college scholarship from UEC for her exemplary commitment to our community.  In her new role with UEC, she is responsible for assisting with our three program areas of art, education and pathways. One of the treasures we appreciate about Valerie is her inquisitiveness and desire to always learn something new.