4C LAB is a 501(c)3 arts organization based in Los Angeles, California, that provides arts immersion programming led by professional teaching artists and centered around the four C’s: CREATE, COMMUNICATE, COLLABORATE, and COMMUNITY.
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OUR MISSION
4C LAB inspires positive social impact in our communities by creating safe spaces for young people to share their stories through artistic expression. We work with youth to create original work across a variety of art forms and grow the creative community across Los Angeles.
Our roster of Teaching Artists reflects the diverse spectrum of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. A team that can relate to the life experiences of the communities we serve allows for trust-building, deeper understanding, and a connection to the youth in our programs that supports authentic storytelling and uplifts our communities.
The 4C LAB pedagogy always starts with story, facilitating a safe space for our youth to process their experiences through creative and artistic practice and connect those experiences to the larger movement for social change. Research shows that creative youth development programs are most effective when they center the lives of young people within a curriculum that promotes healing, social-emotional wellness, and opportunities for community advocacy. Our programs have been proven to improve participants’ positive mental health, self-confidence, and social thriving, and to connect them to career paths in the creative economy.
4C LAB programs initiate dialogue and bring awareness and attention to social issues that promote critical thinking to address structural and systemic injustices, and provide a platform for young people to be the leaders not just of tomorrow, but of today.
OUR STORY
4C LAB was founded in 2016 by Marissa Herrera and Darci-Manzo Piron, two Latina/Native American women and artivists born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, each with careers in the arts spanning over two decades.
In Marissa's experience working with high school and early college-aged youth, she observed that many students were starting to find their voice through the arts in high school or early college, just as many of them were aging out of no-cost public arts programming. She saw a need for more arts programming for teens and young people.
Marissa's vision and passion for creating original multi-disciplinary work seeks to amplify personal and social issues through the lens of young people in our communities to inspire necessary dialogue as a way to move the needle towards social justice.
The work of 4C LAB isn't just "art for art's sake." We strive to give our young creative visionaries and emerging community leaders the safe space to share their stories through the arts. We provide tools for self-care, mental health, mentorship, and support to thrive in their emerging creative careers. Ultimately, creating a sense of "family" is at the heart and soul of everything we do.
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PROGRAMS
Creative Residencies
Our professional teaching artists lead these multi-week immersive arts programs within a school, community, or arts organization. Using trauma-informed and healing-centered programming, we build an artistic ensemble through dance, poetry, and multimedia art activities, exploring themes of social justice, inclusivity, and culturally relevant storytelling. These various art forms are integrated into a final culminating performance to share with an audience. Creative Residencies support leadership development, improved mental health, and a safe space to process individual and community experiences through creativity.
Performance Ensembles
Youth (ages 16-23) create original work across various art forms to create an artistic community working together to affect positive social impact. Through multi-disciplinary workshops, guest artists, and mentorships, the young creative visionaries of the 4C coLAB partake in story circles, personal narrative writing, dance technique, visual and multimedia art activities, which culiminate in an annual live performance for families and community members, and various public events in order to spread their message of social justice awareness and advocacy through creativity and artistic storytelling.
Creative Partnerships
4C LAB partners with organizations working at the forefront of creative practice, community healing, and empowering education for all. Through collaborations with K-12 schools, colleges, and universities, we support teaching artistry, keynote speaking, facilitation, and community-building. We develop arts education programming, present live arts and education assemblies, and facilitate staff retreats, curriculum, and professional development. Our custom-designed community programming is uniquely tailored for each partnership at the intersection of creativity and community.
Professional Development
4C LAB facilitators and professional development workshops are at the forefront of effective and responsive pedagogical practices supporting positive and sustainable social change. Our inclusive team creates safe, brave spaces for dialogue, disruption, and dismantling old paradigms, providing tools for schools, community, cultural and arts organizations to shift to more conscientious and culturally responsive practices that best serve our next generation of leaders. 4C LAB utilizes trauma-informed, healing-centered creative practices that lead to Transformative Social-Emotional Learning in the classroom.
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OUR TEAM
Marissa Herrera (she/her)
Co-Founder and Executive Artistic Director
A native Angeleno, Marissa (she/her) is a visionary and leader who believes in using art as a tool to empower youth to address personal and social issues affecting their communities.
She strives to nurture young artists and empower arts educators to build personal, artistic, and global relationships to build community through art, professionalism (on and off stage), and love for their work, themselves, and each other.
She is the CEO/Founder of De Mi Alma Productions, sharing the stories of the American Latinx experience creating work for stage, film, and TV, and she continues to work as a choreographer and actor. She strives to connect us through the storytelling of the human experience.
With over 20 years of professional experience in the entertainment industry and arts education, Marissa leads workshops nationally and internationally and works as a writer, choreographer, producer, and director.
Maggie Spann (she/her)
Finance Manager
Maggie is the Co-Founder of Green Accounting & Consulting. She has spent over a decade helping small businesses and nonprofits thrive. She comes from a background in institutional investment and nonprofit finance, but has found her passion in supporting mission-driven clients. This includes orgs across the arts, health and wellness, and other industries focused on community-building and sustainability.
CREATIVE ADVISORY BOARD
Christopher Jackson
An actor, singer, musician, and composer. A cast member in the original Broadway cast of Disney's The Lion King, he went on to perform leading roles in Broadway musicals and plays, including After Midnight, Bronx Bombers, Holler If Ya Hear Me, and Memphis, and drew critical acclaim in several projects with Lin-Manuel Miranda: originating the roles of Benny in In the Heights and George Washington in the smash hit Hamilton.
Wayne Brady
An American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. A five-time Emmy Award winner, he is widely known for his work on the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? He was the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show, the original host of Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics! and has hosted Let's Make a Deal since its 2009 revival. Brady also performed in the Tony Award–winning musical Kinky Boots on Broadway as Simon, and as James Stinson on the American TV series How I Met Your Mother.
Dominic Colón
An award-winning actor, writer, and director from the Bronx. Dominic has appeared and guest starred in over 60 movies and television shows, including guest appearances on Power, The Blacklist, and Orange is the New Black. Dominic’s screenplay for his short film CRUSH won the HBO/New York International Latino Film Festival Short Film Script Competition. His second short film, SKIN, won the 2016 BRIO Award for screenwriting. Dominic is also a professional teaching artist, having taught acting and playwriting at Riker’s Island Academy, high schools, hospitals, and juvenile justice facilities in New York City.
OG Arabian Prince
Also known as Professor X, Arabian Prince is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ, best known as a founding member of N.W.A. The son of a prolific author who ghostwrote many of Iceberg Slim’s books and a music-teacher mother, Arabian Prince's story reflects the innovation of the early West Coast hip-hop scene, from his days amongst the likes of electro-rap legends Egyptian Lover and the World Class Wreckin Cru to his work with N.W.A.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ricky Abilez, MPA (they/them)
Program Director, Create CA | Board Secretary
Ricky is a Queer, Latine artist, educator, and advocate whose work centers equity and civic engagement.
For nearly a decade, Ricky has worked as a performing artist, producer, and nonprofit administrator with esteemed organizations including South Coast Repertory, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Ford, McCoy Rigby Entertainment, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition. They previously served as Director of Policy & Advocacy at Arts for LA, the region’s leading arts advocacy organization, where they advanced local and statewide initiatives supporting equitable access to the arts.
Ricky also developed and taught a culturally responsive curriculum in using art for social justice at high schools across the US. They were honored with the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Award by the CU Denver Alumni Association and the Robert Earl McConnell Foundation in 2022 for their dedication to equity and civic engagement in the arts and society.
They currently serve on the Board of Directors at 4C LAB and Celebration Theatre, one of the nation’s longest-running Queer theatres. Ricky holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from California State University, Fullerton, and an MPA in Education Policy and Public Policy Analysis from the University of Colorado Denver.
Tomas Benitez (he/him)
Development Director, Plaza de la Raza
Tomas Benitez is the former Executive Director of Self Help Graphics & Art, the leading visual arts center serving the Chicano community in Los Angeles. Founded in 1973 and based in the heart of East LA, Self Help Graphics operates a printmaking atelier, presents exhibitions, promotes artwork internationally, provides artists the chance to gain professional experience, and serves as a community center. A working artist himself with a background in theater and writing, Tomas has been a strong and enduring voice for Chicano arts in Los Angeles and beyond.
Joseph Collins (he/him)
Executive Director, CL5
Joseph is the executive director of C5LA and a founding member of the UNDEFEATED Foundation, previously the President and CEO of Inner-City Arts. A native New Yorker, Joseph relocated to Los Angeles with his family to lead the Kanye West Foundation after the untimely death of his mother and its founder, Dr. Donda West. Alongside Mr. West, he executive produced the nationally televised stay-in-school concert series S.H.O.W (Students Helping Our World), bringing national awareness to the staggering dropout rate among High School students in the United States. Joseph spent his early career as a teacher in the New York City Department of Education and led two of the premiere non-profit agencies in New York City, The Door – A Center of Alternatives and University Settlement House. Serving over 12,000 youth annually, he built the visual and performing arts programs, launched a national career awareness model for out-of-school youth, and led the partnerships of several NYC school initiatives. Joseph also created and produced Roots! An intergenerational hip-hop culture celebration and a yearlong arts and education initiative, he formed a rigorous college prep program and managed a multi-year summer residential community service project. Joseph holds a BS and an MA from New York University and a Non-Profit Executive Management certificate from Columbia School of Business. He is the proud father to two amazing kids, Jeilani, who is currently on the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, and Mikel, a student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts majoring in film and TV. His partner Michelle is the President/CEO of LIFT, inc.
Melissa Flores (she/her)
Director of People & Programs, Arts for LA
Melissa is a program and operations specialist with a strong track record of building inclusive partnerships, expanding community-focused programs, and leveraging data to create long-term impact. At Arts for LA, Melissa leads the programmatic direction for the organization’s leadership development programs, ACTIVATE, ensuring local leaders are empowered with the skills, knowledge, and an expanded network to effect change in their communities. She also builds and maintains strong relationships with key partners, cultural organizations, and civic leaders, and spearheads Arts for LA’s annual State of the Arts Summit, which convenes 400+ arts and civic stakeholders each year. Melissa’s experience in the arts and culture sector is diverse – she has been a dancer since the age of three, studied film production at Santa Clara University and expanded her arts administration career through the former Leadership Council of Emerging Arts Leaders, Los Angeles. In her downtime, Melissa can be found rooting for her favorite sports team, exploring different restaurants in Los Angeles or having passionate discussions about various prestige TV.
Leticia Santos (she/her/ella)
Financial Crimes Compliance Manager, City National Bank
Leticia is a Certified Anti Money-Laundering Specialist. She has been in the banking industry for over 25 years, with a strong background in risk management. She is an active member and ally of CNB colleague resource groups and a co-chair in the philanthropy team for the Latino Community Network. Her passions include providing financial education and mentorship, especially for underserved communities.
Grecia Sarmiento (she/her)
Relationships Manager, City National Bank | Board Chair
Grecia has been in banking for almost 14 years, starting as a teller and moving to Branch Manager. She truly enjoys building relationships and helping people achieve their long-term financial goals. She loves seeing through a person’s dream, from planning for a new home to growing their business to the next level. Grecia’s biggest passion is to serve others in positive ways, and through City National Bank’s colleague resource group, the “Latino Community Network,” she has been able to partner and collaborate with organizations that share the same purpose. As the new Co-Chair for City National’s philanthropy arm, she looks forward to continuing to serve to make an impact on youth. Grecia loves traveling with her husband and two athletic teen boys outside work.
Corey Young (he/him)
Founder, Wish Advisors LLC
Corey is an advisor and business owner with a passion for seeing great ideas realized and for supporting founders and entrepreneurs on their visionary journeys.
For more than 20 years, Corey has provided internal audit, risk management, regulatory compliance, operational improvement, and other advisory services to leading companies around the world. Along the way, he has mentored scores of young professionals, serving as a source of guidance and encouragement.
Corey is the founder of Wish Advisors LLC, an advisory and business services firm supporting entrepreneurial, community-minded individuals in their endeavors.
PARTNERS & DONORS
