Hulya D'Arrigo
Hulya D'Arrigo holds a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Social Work from San Diego State University, and an art degree from Istanbul, Turkey. Previously, she worked at San Diego Hospice as a Pediatric Social Worker. She worked with terminally ill children and their families. She has trainings in art and play therapy. Prior to hospice, Hulya was a supervisor at an after-school program for emotionally and physically challenged youth and children. In her free time, Hulya likes to swim, run, read, and go to the movies and dinner. She also loves painting and sculpting and enjoy spending time with her 10 month old daughter and husband.

Matt D'Arrigo
Matt D'Arrigo graduated Portsmouth Abbey in 1990 and went on to study Fine Art from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Al.graduating in 1995. His concentration was in oil paints and realism.
After his freshman year at Spring Hill, his mother and sister were both diagnosed with cancer within months of each other. Matt took the next year off from school and helped care for them. During that year, Matt relied heavily on his art and love of music to get him through the tough times. It was so healing and therapeutic to him, that he vowed to one day start an organization that would provide free art programs to children facing challenges in life.

Matt moved to San Diego in 1998 and landed a job managing a scene shop for Pacific Event Productions. He spent three years gaining valuable business and management experience before he decided to make the leap and start his organization. With $5,000 and a book on how to start a non-profit, he began the journey to start ARTS(A Reason To Survive).

Matt and ARTS have been featured in over 35 media stories both locally and nationally. Matt has been recognized as "One of San Diego's brightest leaders under the age of 40" by San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, received the Channel 10 Leadership award, and two alumni awards from Spring Hill College. He was a semi-finalist for the prestigious 2006 "Volvo for Life Awards".

Jenna Mohler
Joining the ARTS team in July 2006, Jenna holds a BA in Public &Community Services from the University of California, Irvine. Previously, she helped launch a non-profit organization called Global Teen Network, mobilizing youth and young adults around the world. In her time at GTN, she traveled to several countries including Cambodia, Thailand, England, France and South Africa, providing aid to those in need. Through her experience with youth organizations both locally and overseas, Jenna gained a broad background in events, programs, and volunteer management, as well as a passion for serving the community.

Dana Nitti
Dana served as the Development Manager and interim Director of Development at the San Diego Center for Children for three years before joining the ARTS team in March 2006.  Dana brings with her a vast knowledge of the principals and techniques for fundraising as well experience managing all aspects and functions of development.  Before making her way into the non profit sector Dana worked for the Metabolife Foundation whose mission was to make a difference in the lives of youth in the community, their education, and future.  During her time with the foundation she successfully gave back to 160 organizations, schools and projects providing children and teens with the tools to succeed in life.  In her off time Dana sits on the board of the PQ Lax Club and oversees all their fundraising activities. 

Carolyn Smyth
Carolyn Smyth holds a BA in English from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and is currently working on a Masters in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Diego. She joins ARTS after working at SAY San Diego as a community organizer in the field of substance abuse prevention. She is currently the President of the Director's Circle (Board of Directors) at Shakti Rising, a holistic recovery and empowerment program for women 15-30 suffering from substance abuse, eating disorders, interpersonal violence, etc. She volunteers doing domestic violence crisis intervention for the Center for Community Solutions and visits the children at a local domestic violence shelter with her therapy dog Stanley.

Rob Tobin
From early childhood, Rob showed a great passion and talent for the visual arts. By the time he was in elementary school, he was already assisting his art instructors with their younger students. Rob went on to study art at Southern Connecticut State University. He has worked as a scenic artist with Pacific Event Productions since 1998. Rob also owns his own business performing extreme makeovers on store fronts in the Mission and Pacific Beach areas. Rob joined the ARTS team as one of its first volunteers in 2001, and over the years has become involved in many capacities. His shared vision and passion for A Reason To Survive makes him a valuable addition to our staff.

Adriana Escobar
Adriana Escobar joined ARTS in December of 2007, after attending a summer art course at Studio Art Center International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. Ms. Escobar graduated from the University of San Diego with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication Studies and a minor in Visual Arts. Though Adriana was born in Bogota, Colombia she has lived in the United Stated for ten years were she has been involved in the non-profit sector. She worked as a volunteer at Give to Colombia, a US based non profit that channels grants and donations to non-profit projects and organizations in Colombia. In addition, she volunteered as the administrative assistant at the Eyes of Haiti (EOH), a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the quality of life of Hatian children. As Program Coordinator, Ms. Escobar supervises "Van-Go!", coordinates trips to arts and cultural events in the community and teaches mixed media classes at the Pat D'Arrigo ARTS Center.

Kevin Ho
Kevin is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and Religious Studies. After first volunteering as an intern, Kevin joined the ARTS staff as the Development Associate. He is also currently applying to medical school. Kevin first discovered a passion for art in elementary school when he began training with a retired artist who lived next door. Every Sunday morning, from that time until he left for college, was spent in his neighbor's art studio exploring the many techniques and mediums of art. During college, Kevin also found a passion for working with underserved children as a Head Instructor for the Special Need Aquatic Program, which provides developmental and recreational aquatic therapy for children with mental and physical challenges. This passion, combined with his life-long interest in art, led him to ARTS with the hope of spreading his love for art to children as well as making a difference in the lives of children facing adversity.