Joel Arquillos is the Executive Director at Snap Foundation. The philanthropic mission is to develop pathways to the creative economy for underrepresented youth in Los Angeles.Prior to Snap Foundation, Joel was Executive Advisor and Interim Executive Director at The Unusual Suspects Theatre Company, a nonprofit organization with a mission to mentor, educate, and enrich youth in under-resourced communities through the creation of collaborative, original theatre.Previously, for 13 years, Joel was Executive Director at 826LA, a non-profit writing and tutoring organization that serves youth ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and supports teachers by helping them get their students excited about writing. Joel expanded 826LA to include locations in Echo Park, Mar Vista, and Writers' Rooms inside Manual Arts Senior High School, Roosevelt High School, and Venice High School. 826LA is also the home of the Time Travel Marts--whimsical storefronts that financially support 826LA's free writing programs.Before relocating to Los Angeles, Joel worked alongside Dave Eggers and Ninive Calegari as the Founding Director of National Programs for 826 National. From 1998 to 2006, Joel was an award-winning educator who taught social studies in the San Francisco Unified School District at Galileo High School, where he coordinated the Advancement Via Individual Determination program and the Academy of Information Technology. Through a collaboration with the National Writing Project, Joel helped pioneer and implement curriculum using blogging and social media for learning in urban classroom settings. Joel was awarded Teacher of the Year in 2001 by the students of Galileo High School and was awarded 826 Valencia's first-ever Teacher of the Month prize in 2003.Specialties: Non-profits, public education, arts education, philanthropy, consulting, leadership