Founder & Executive Director
AnnMarie Baines
AnnMarie Baines, PhD, is an educator, researcher, and public speaking coach dedicated to self-expression, literacy, and agency through inclusive education. She facilitates kind, welcoming places for people to develop their voice and navigate inequities to become transformative leaders. AnnMarie started her career as a volunteer speech and debate coach for her high school and a special education teacher. She still gives back to the program that developed her voice as a quiet Filipina who was petrified of public speaking. Her work in speech and debate with The Practice Space was recognized by the National Speech & Debate Association for an Activating Equity Award.
AnnMarie has held faculty positions at UC Berkeley and San Francisco State and was a program officer at the George Lucas Educational Foundation. She is a TEDx speaker and author of two books. She received her PhD in Learning Sciences from University of Washington, where she was recognized with the 2023 Distinguished Graduate Award, and also has a Master's in Education Policy from Harvard, a teaching credential from Boston Teacher Residency, and an undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley.
Senior Director of Programs
Maribel Lopez
Maribel Lopez, has expanded educational equity for the past twenty years through parent, student, and community engagement, curriculum, and leadership coaching in West Contra Costa. She developed skills and a passion to effect positive change for social justice and racial equity. As a former West Contra Costa student, bilingual elementary school teacher, and parent of two daughters—one a graduate and one attending WCCUSD schools—Maribel has deep community roots. Named WCCUSD Teacher of the Year in 2015, she uses her experience to foster trusting relationships with families and decision-makers centered on social justice and equity. Maribel leads community leadership development with a DEI focus, teaching participants to harness their power for advocacy. She holds a B.A. in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University. Maribel lives in Richmond with her husband, two daughters, and two French Bulldogs.
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Moneek Bhanot
Moneek Bhanot (she/her) is a strategist, coach, and facilitator with 20 years of leadership experience in education and non-profits. Her purpose and strengths sit at the intersection of educational and racial equity, organizational development, people & culture, and leadership development work. As a Punjabi Sikh woman, she is deeply driven by our need for collective healing and the dismantling of white supremacy, which has shaped her pursuit of access, healing, and justice for all people.
Moneek has held roles in the classroom as a K-12 teacher, as a leader in national college access and success nonprofits such as Summer Search and OneGoal, and as a racial equity coach and consultant. She has expertise in curriculum design, culturally relevant pedagogy, and equitable student mentoring practices. She has also supported organizations with holistic equity assessments, trainings, executive coaching, and strategic advising on how to address complex organizational leadership & culture challenges. Moneek received her undergraduate degree from UC San Diego, a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a Certified Professional Coach.
Manager of Talent
Aliza Heslop
Aliza Heslop is a seasoned and passionate HR professional with sixteen years of experience in the non-profit sector working towards equity, liberation and justice for diverse populations, including systematically marginalized youth, parenting families, incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, and dislocated workers. As an HR professional, Aliza is dedicated to fostering a workplace that centers humanity, diversity, inclusion, growth, joy, and fun.
Native to New Zealand, Aliza moved to the East Bay Area at the age of seven and is a proud graduate of WCCUSD schools. She became the first in her family to graduate from college, earning a Liberal Arts degree from St. Mary’s College of California and an HR Professional Certification from the Society for Human Resource Management. Aliza lives in the Bay Area with her son and rescue dog, and finds joy in practicing yoga, community spaces, nature, listening to podcasts, and going on adventures.
Manager of Learning & Impact
Caitlin Healy
Caitlin Healy has been involved in working toward transformative change and justice for the past 20 years through organizing, facilitating, teaching and learning. She has been with The Practice Space since its second year, where she leads with curiosity to ensure high quality programming and impact.
Caitlin has been a public school teacher, where she taught social studies, coached teachers on project-based learning, and supported students in facilitating peer education workshops. She has also been a labor organizer and helped launch an education startup to address negative impacts of technology. In all of her work, Caitlin is energized by the power of our collective strength, commitment to liberation, healing from the impacts of oppression, and reclaiming our innate, unwavering belief in ourselves and each other. She has a Masters in Education from Mills College in Oakland and a B.A. in American Studies from UC Santa Cruz. Many things bring her joy but especially spending time with her son, family and friends, being an auntie, adventuring outdoors, and being born and raised in Oakland, CA.
Manager of Programs & Events
Cynthia Pinto
Cynthia Pinto is a first-generation Portuguese-American with roots in Angola and the Azores. She has a decade of experience as an educator and educational professional, working as a professor of English and in Graduate Admissions at Mills College. Cynthia is aligned with The Practice Space’s mission to help folks find their voices and give them the confidence to elevate them. She believes seeing people and allowing space for all their Intersectional identities is the key to helping them unlock their potential. As a writer and former athlete, coaching public speaking skills feels as if everything in her life has brought her to The Practice Space.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College and a Bachelor's degree in Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. When she isn’t working at The Practice Space, she cooks meals for her loved ones and spends time resting with her partner and their senior dog.
Program Coordinator/Americorps VISTA
Ryan Miller
Ryan Miller is an experienced and passionate public speaking coach. He started coaching for The Practice Space in 2017 while getting his undergraduate degree at UC Davis, where he Majored in Civil Engineering with minors in Construction Management and Sustainability. As a student Ryan struggled with confidence and using his voice, but through public speaking he has overcome the fear and wishes to help others.
As a coach Ryan leads with kindness, respect, and empathy. He believes having a supporting community where people feel comfortable and safe allows for them to learn and grow to overcome their fears. He works hard to help all students with public speaking, teaching them skills to feel more confident and comfortable using their own voice.
Junior Development & Partnerships Coordinator
Catherine Collins
Catherine Collins (she/they) is a resource organizer and artist that brings five years of experience at the intersection of development and organizational storytelling to their work at The Practice Space. After graduating from Gonzaga University with a B.A. in Social Justice and International Development, Catherine returned home with a desire to more deeply understand the systems and communities that shape the Bay Area, and spent several years working to promote postsecondary opportunity in Richmond alongside the Richmond Promise. Since her time at RP, Catherine has partnered with local organizers in food sovereignty, prison abolition, and educational equity on various fundraising and design initiatives.
Having been raised in a family of educators deeply committed to advancing equity in/beyond the classroom, Catherine is incredibly passionate about the strategy and creativity that go into sustaining ecosystems of collective care - where centering the leadership of underserved voices becomes essential. In her free time, Catherine can be found cooking up a storm for loved ones, biking about Oakland, and trying to make a dent in their ever-growing reading list.
Junior Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Taylor Berberich
Taylor Berberich (she/her) found her passion for storytelling and filmmaking early on, leading her to study Film Production and Digital Marketing in Los Angeles. Taylor’s proudest college achievement was the completion of her Senior Thesis Film, inspired by her own Nana’s battle with Alzheimer's. Having experienced the challenges of navigating the film industry firsthand—especially as a woman—Taylor is a strong advocate for empowering female filmmakers to share their stories.
Her prior role was a Freelance Videographer for a Washington-based nonprofit organization focused on enriching the lives of adults with disabilities. She resonates deeply with The Practice Space’s belief that “Our voice is a source of power,” and is committed to helping others discover that strength. As the Jr. Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Taylor is dedicated to sharing the story of The Practice Space—its mission, achievements, and aspirations—with the world. When she’s not crafting social media posts, Taylor enjoys sipping iced coffee, calling her sister on FaceTime, and curling up on the couch with a good book.