Art is Social. Art is a Catalyst.

Silvie Hibdon - Founder, Executive Director & Chief Curator

Passionate about the arts, the human spirit, and the power of community, Silvie founded Arts Humanitas to cultivate a deeper and continually evolving connection to art. She believes that the artistic process reminds us of our innate creativity, sensitivity, and beauty. As the organization’s founder, Silvie leads the mission and vision of Arts Humanitas, bringing the project to life through directing the event production, community-building, and digital storytelling.

Prior to launching Arts Humanitas, Silvie’s commitment to creativity and community engagement led her to organize challenges and facilitate design-thinking initiatives for OpenIDEO, an IDEO program focused on addressing complex environmental and climate challenges. Her events regularly sold out, were hosted at co-working spaces across San Francisco and at Stanford University, and attracted City of San Francisco officials as well as executives from prominent organizations.

Em Havens, former Design Lead at IDEO and now at Deloitte, described Silvie’s leadership and impact:
“Silvie is a mover and a shaker and shines as one of our fellows in San Francisco. I often reference her work in San Francisco as a best practice. She has a great spirit, a way to motivate people to join her, and has started a volunteer training program within her San Francisco community. She’s mentored other facilitators and secured local partnerships for her community. As a fellow, she’s one of the very best.”

Helene Thibieroz - Board Member
Entrepreneur and Business Consultant with a focus on Energy Transition, Ocean infrastructure and Nature-based Health technology , PhD

Technologist and business entrepreneur who thrives on uncovering solutions to complex problems through a merger of technology, business and environment. With a doctoral degree in Electrical Engineering, my 20+ year work experience combines advanced research for deep sub-micron semiconductor processes, engineering for leading software EDA companies, and business strategy, development and branding for large technology corporations.

I strongly believe that applying conscientious technology and nature-based science can successfully create practical solutions to current environmental challenges so I created the firm We Grow Green Tech. I have performed various roles as mentor/advisor/board director at several world leading accelerators (Dassault 3DS, HAX, Samsung XTC, Silicon Catalyst), universities (UC Davis, Biomimicry institute) and green technology startups (energy, material, biotechnology, AI, Hardware, Big data, IoT, Blockchain).

In the last few years, I have grown hands-on expertise in various sectors: carbon economy, biomimicry, ocean regenerative technologies, plant-based and microbiome ecosystem, waste circular model, and smart building sectors. I also managed several internships with various universities focusing on forging the next generation of entrepreneurs required to tackle challenges inherent to green technology sector.

Tejal Shah - Treasurer and Secretary, Board Member

VP Investment Banking | Founder-Turned-Financier | Early-Stage Investor & Startup Advisor.

Investment banker and founder, bridging operational strategy with complex capital structuring. Proven ability to scale businesses from zero to $400M+ and raise significant venture funding. Currently at US Capital, leading full-stack capital raising and designs financing solutions for client expansion. Driving these outcomes by leveraging an extensive, trusted network, spanning venture capital, family offices, strategic corporates, and private credit, mastering the art of connecting the right investors to clients based on stage, size, and industry to accelerate deal execution. Offers over a decade of experience in the startup ecosystem, backed by strong financial services expertise in deal structuring, budgeting, and tax considerations. A mechanical engineering background provides a critical edge in evaluating tech-driven business models and appreciation of emerging technologies.

Adrian Danieli - Board Member

I like to build things: websites, applications, mobile, games, robots

I enjoy working across the divides: front of the frontend, back of the frontend, all of the backend

Specialties: product engineering, large-scale system design, public/private clouds, devops, active listening

Now: Elixir (Phoenix, OTP), JavaScript (React, Next.js, Node), Websockets, GraphQL, REST, HTML, CSS, UI/UX, Docker, Container orchestration

Past: Ruby (Rails), Swift (iOS), Java (Android), Lua (Redis), Objective-C (iOS), Java (Web), C++, C, x86 assembly, 6502

Clouds: AWS, GCP, cumulus

Books: Peak, Sapiens, Why We Sleep

Fun: DJ, mountain biker, snowboarder, father

Jan Hu - Digital Storyteller

Jan Hu (she/her) is a Chinese American multimedia artist and educator based in San Francisco. Jan’s background in science education and research, combined with growing up active outdoors, has shaped a lasting curiosity about materials, place, and the natural environment. She is interested in material as a way of understanding our connection to the earth and the environments around us. Materials come from specific places and carry the marks of natural processes, labor, and time, informing both Jan’s creative practice and their approach to clear, accessible communication. As the Digital Storyteller for the San Francisco Biennale, Jan supports artists and curatorial teams through thoughtful, inclusive outreach that invites broad public engagement. Across their work, Jan aims to connect research, lived experience, and observation, making complex ideas feel grounded, human, and approachable.

Stu Nolan - Community Development

Stu Nolan (they/them) is a queer writer and producer living on the unceded Ohlone lands of Oakland, California. They are interested in the intersection of community engagement, storytelling, and environmental stewardship and the ways we can deepen our connections with one another and with the more-than-human world. From arts non-profits, to public media, to podcasting, Stu's work has brought them into organizations including: ITVS, RadioWest KUER, Voxtopica, Sundance Film Festival, and 826 Valencia. Whether the medium is soil or stories, they are passionate about working collaboratively to seed a future where living beings thrive.

Their creative work explores the dynamic interactions between internal and external environments, ecological kinships, and emotional landscapes. Stu's first chapbookFor The Compost won the 2022 Flume Press Chapbook Contest judged by José Antonio Rodríguez, and their work has been published by Arcturus Magazine, GirlsRightTheWorld, Leopardskin & Limes, Scribendi, and by Humans and Nature Digital Press. Their poems appear in the anthologies In The Garden: Community Storytelling on Food, Ecology, and Place published by Torrey House Press, and in Distilled Devotion: A Trans Poetry Anthology. 

GRANTS
Center for Cultural Innovation, Los Angeles, CA

FOUNDING PRIVATE DONORS
Lalo Davis, Arun Bordoloi, Adrian Danieli, Olga Collins, John Balbach, Tehal Shah, Nathalie Brochstein, Peter Fowler, William Nighan, Josh Baillon, Bianca Beatty, Roys Gureli, Elle Shelley Black, Carla Rz, Dana Hermanssen, Ryan Medeiros.