Founder, Joe Gonzalez
Joe Gonzalez has spent his professional career in a multitude of fields including work in television, film, theatre, special events, design, construction & green consulting. Capable of wearing many hats, Joe has served as a Producer, Technical Director, Logistical Manager & Production Manager.
With an ever evolving passion to “make things happen”, Joe has also been a tireless volunteer his whole life, having spent thousands of hours working with kids as a mentor and in school programs.
As an individual who spends nearly every day reading and learning more about global issues, he was eager to find a way to develop real solutions to some of the problems that we all face. Co-founding The Project Solution with Tara Bracco is just one step toward making a significant difference in the world community.
His philosophy is that we must change our perspective and understanding of our place in the world. We don’t live alone in a town or a city or a country, we are global citizens who live together on the same planet. It is only when we see ourselves together that we can begin to work toward common goals and solutions.
Founder, Tara Bracco
Artist, writer, and non-profit consultant Tara Bracco is the co-founder of The Project Solution and the founder of Poetic People Power, an ongoing project in New York City that combines poetry and activism. Her op-eds and non-fiction writing on feminism, the arts, and economics have appeared in a range of national and local publications including The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, American Theatre, Brooklyn Rail, Clamor, and BUST. She is also a Fellow at the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership.
In 2003, Bracco created Poetic People Power to raise awareness on social and political issues by engaging audiences through the expressive art of poetry. Since then, she has provided work opportunities for emerging poets by commissioning nearly 50 political poems and premiering the new work to public audiences. Now with the project moving into its eighth year, Bracco is becoming a recognized leader in the area of art and activism. Her work with Poetic People Power has been profiled in Time Out New York and has received awards from the Puffin Foundation and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She has spoken about her career as an artist and activist at Barnard College, Marymount Manhattan College, and has been a guest teacher at Teatro La Tea’s “What’s In a Word” program. Bracco performs her own poetry at colleges, fundraisers, and venues throughout New York.
Bracco’s activism and leadership is also reflected in her non-profit work. She has a deep knowledge of the non-profit sector with over ten years experience working for feminist and arts organizations. As a non-profit consultant, Bracco has advised on and developed fundraising strategies for Our Time Theatre Company, the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, Savvy Ladies, Bitch magazine, and Girls Write Now. She is also on faculty at the Woodhull Institute, where she has traveled across the country training hundreds of women in public speaking and advocacy. In fall 2007, her teaching was featured on Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty website. In April 2009, Bracco co-founded The Project Solution with longtime friend Joe Gonzalez.
Board Member, Kevin Yuhas
Despite the fact that his job as a commodities trader paid a handsome salary, especially for a 25 year old, Kevin Yuhas quit his first job in search of something that satisfied his creative desires and sense of moral purpose. After a brief stint at the School of Visual Arts and founding an eco-conscious T-shirt printing company, Kevin discovered an untapped talent: teaching. His early work within the New York City Department of Education as a substitute teacher eventually led to a position as a technology coordinator, a position which allowed him to apply his engineering skills and natural teaching abilities in order to integrate technology into school curriculum. After suffering a near fatal run in with an automobile, he returned to the Department of Education as a mathematics teacher in the largest Middle School in New York City. Drawing from his own personal life experience as a student of mathematics Kevin set out to teach mathematics in a manner “that allowed and encouraged students to take a more active role in constructing their understanding of the subject”. His pedagogical practice caught the eye of the mathematics coach at his school who encouraged him to apply for a full tuition grant for the math leadership program at Bank Street College. Kevin was awarded the grant and over the next 4 years he discovered a venue in which to exercise his sense or moral purpose and natural talents as an educator.
During his career Kevin has taught children from Kindergarten to graduate school students. He has mentored many student-teachers and also worked as a mathematics coach for the Department of Education in an attempt to improve the quality of mathematics education by working with both teachers and school administrators. He firmly believes that “all students, regardless of their ethnic or socioeconomic background have the right to authentically understand the mathematics that they are (often poorly) taught in schools”. An advocate for high quality and unbiased public education Kevin has served on the planning board of several schools including the Lyons Community School that was founded by a fellow cohort member at Bank Street.
Currently, Kevin works at The Shuang Wen School, a dual-language school in Chinatown. He teaches 7th and 8th grade students mathematics and is active in working with the student council. In 2007 he was awarded the Fund for Teachers fellowship grant and has spent time in Taiwan studying Mandarin so that he can both better serve the needs of his students and communicate with the non-English speaking members of the school community. Kevin has played a pivotal role in implementing the pilot program of The Ten-Cent Project Solution at the Shuang Wen School. In the future he hopes to help expand this wonderful program to schools throughout New York City.
Outside of his interests in issues related to social justice and equality in education, Kevin is an avid musician, breakdancer, and fan of the Arts in general. He enjoys learning new languages, travel, fitness, and meeting most anyone that is passionate about what they do and thinks “outside of the box”.
Accountant, Mike Mendiola
Mike experienced first-hand some of the complex challenges facing developing countries while participating in a conservation program in Zimbabwe in 2006. This life-changing adventure reinforced his desire to support conservation efforts and to improve the lives of others. Finding like-minded individuals in Joe and Tara, he enthusiastically commits his support and skills to this incredibly forthright program.
Mike’s professional career includes seven years in public accounting at Ernst & Young specializing in the non-profit, manufacturing, and healthcare industries; as well as, controller and CFO positions in video post production, imports, investment banking and content publishing. Also an actor, singer, and writer, he is currently developing a play based on the life of Sister Dorothy Stang—a nun assassinated in Brazil in 2005 helping the impoverished peoples of the Amazon.
If you would like to contact Joe or Tara, or if you have any specific questions about The Project Solution, please email us at:
theprojectsolution@gmail.com
