Young people’s stories have the power to heal, inform, and transform. These stories deepen our understanding of the past and present as we co-create our future.
Young storytellers are essential for building a world where everyone can thrive.
Young storytellers bring enthusiasm and innovation to redesign systems and structures to improve our communities.
Chicago’s West Side holds an abundance of culture, history, and community.
Intergenerational Collaboration is necessary for collective learning and healing.
Youth organizations must be co-created by young people
We
Believe.
Our Methodology.
Search our Resources to learn more about our Theory of Change and the principles that guide our work.
Our History.
Before Free Spirit Community Arts + Media, Free Spirit Media grew out of a collaboration in 2000 with friends and teaching artists Jeff McCarter and Jesse Miller at Street Level Media in collaboration with a founding group of young people from the West Side of Chicago. Beginning as a single filmmaking class focused on basketball broadcasting, Free Spirit, officially established in May 2001, steadily grew into a multi-site media arts education organization partnering with hundreds of youth over its first decade.
Formative partnerships included a pilot telecast with Chicago Access Network Television (CAN TV) at the Garfield Park Golden Dome, which led to the launch of the HoopsHIGH youth sports broadcasting program at Westinghouse Career Academy in the winter of 2000-2001. McCarter and Miller were then joined by Rafie Fields, a Westinghouse and Columbia College Chicago alum, and together, they developed Free Spirit’s first cohort of 15 young filmmakers. The success and investment made by young people through the HoopsHIGH program led to the expansion of programs, specifically into the realms of journalism, photography, and documentary and narrative filmmaking.
Following profound environmental shifts in 2020—the COVID-19 pandemic, the global impact of the extrajudicial murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and subsequent racial justice reckonings—Free Spirit underwent its own period of transition beginning with an executive leadership change. This led to an intentional organizational transformation designed to honor Free Spirit’s historical commitment to young artists while forging an intentional path forward with a recommitment to youth agency, organizational equity, and creative intergenerational community.
Our Team.
Core Staff:
Alex Herrera
Director of Programs + Partnerships
Alex (she/her) leads the strategy and management of all programs and external partnerships. Alex is driven by her experience in youth development and advocacy and her work is a testament to her passion for community arts and youth leadership.
Aurora Toshiko King
Executive Director
Aurora (she/her) facilitates the alignment of the organization’s mission across all areas, ensuring programs, fundraising, and operations move collectively. She envisions a world where young people have everything they need to step into their power and brilliance, including access to holistic creative spaces that uplift collective humanity.
Crislin Christian-Frazier
Operations + Communications Manager
Crislin (she/they) manages all operations and external communications and frequently partners with the Program Team to meet strategic goals. She envisions a world where systems work for people—not the other way around.
Juan Linares
Production MANAGER
Juan (he/him) manages all internal and external production planning and execution. He is dedicated to partnering with young artists to help shape narratives that reflect their truths and inspire change, providing guidance from initial concept to final cut.
Justus White
Program Manager
Justus (he/him) manages all programmatic offerings as well as the Teaching Artist cohort. He envisions a world where young people can creatively share and tell stories through media that will make an impact for today, and beyond.
Teaching Artists + Program Staff:
Our Program Team collaborates with staff to design holistic media arts programming for young artists to collaborate with their peers, develop technical skills in digital storytelling and create authentic media narratives.
Jason Roman
Emerging Teaching Artist
Jason (he/him) is a skilled filmmaker who supports Teaching Artists during the planning and instruction for Teen Programs. He envisions a world where art and shared experiences are valued for how they connect different communities together.
Rafaella Villamar
Emerging Teaching Artist
Rafaella (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and 2D animator with expertise in multimedia storytelling, documentary-style, experimental animation and fine art. She supports Teen Programs at our in-school residency at The Collins Academy High School.
Raysam Donkoh Halm
Teaching Artist
Raysam (he/him) is a video media professional who lends his creativity to Teen Programs alongside his fellow Program Team members. He enjoys making content with fun, finesse, and flair for various audience palates.
Stevia Ndoe
Teaching Artist
Stevia (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist and analog photographer who co-leads Teen Programs with their fellow TAs and ETAs. Outside of the classroom and studio, Stevia enjoys baking, exploring nature, and dancing.
Tye Moores
Teaching Artist
Tye (she/her) leads the in-school residency program at The Collins Academy High School focused on fine art, photography and production projects. She is a photographer, media producer and marketing consultant from the West Side of Chicago.
2026 creative pathways Production Cohort:
Every year, young artists ages 18-25 join our annual cohort program, comprised of the fall Screenwriting Cohort, winter Pre-Production Workshops, spring Production Cohort, and summer Post-Production Cohort. Throughout this program, artists collaborate to write, produce, and edit an original short film that enters the film festival circuit for the following year. Featured below are the core members of the 2026 Production Cohort.
Abril Soler Rocha
1st Assistant Director
Anthony Strader
Sound Mixer
Antrita Manduva
Producer
Eliaz Campoverde
Gaffer
Faith Wood
1st Assistant Camera
Jeffery Holmes
Cinematographer
Kara Zamora
Script Supervisor
Kareema Godhrawala
Props + Set Design
Lina Patton
Director
Marcil Maddox
Grip
Quonyel Shelton
Hair + Makeup / Marketing
Star Jones
Production Designer
BOARD:
Chair
Katie Green, Independent
Vice Chair
Keith Jamerson, Independent
Secretary
Eric Schnabel, Schnabel Marketing
Treasurer
Meg Hayes, Independent
Board Member
Adam Alonso, YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
Interested in board leadership? Let us know by reaching out to connect@freespiritmedia.org.
Press
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![A young person with short hair and star-shaped stickers on face, wearing a blue hoodie and headset, appears to be working with professional camera equipment in a dark room or studio.]()
WTTW
Future Media-Makers in Chicago Learn to Change the Narrative of Their Own Communities
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ABC7
Free Spirit Community Arts + Media gala celebrates 25th anniversary
Our Supporters.
