At The Practice Space, we care about keeping you and your children safe. Until the risk from COVID-19 is significantly reduced or eliminated, all of our programs and events will be offered online so you never have to choose between learning and your health. You can assume everything is online until we update you otherwise. …

A Message From The Practice Space: Moving Forward Read More »

Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer Quiroz and I am a Summer Intern at The Practice Space. This is my second instalment of my Fly on The Wall Series. This time I had the honor of observing The Practice Spaces very own Young Speakers Camp. This immersive one week camp was composed of various young …

Zoom Zone Read More »

Hi everyone! My name is Jennifer Quiroz and I am a new summer intern at The Practice Space! I am a Richmond native that graduated from Leadership Public Schools Richmond and I am currently entering my second year at Berkeley City College! Both of these academic environments have allowed me to practice my leadership and …

Youthful Pioneers Read More »

Each of us has a unique voice and perspective to share. Too often, the same voices dominate. At The Practice Space, we aim to help people share their stories and connect with others. That is one reason started this new blog project: #YourStoriesMatter. It enriches each of our lives to hear a diversity of perspectives …

#YourStoriesMatter: Rediscovering Cast Iron Read More »

“I’ve always been passionate about youth advocacy, and I’ve been involved with a lot of other programs within the community. Just getting to do something like that on my own and carry out a project, that I’ve been passionate about for a while, was exciting for me. I’ve been passionate about learning about public speaking …

Youth Leaders Speak Out: A Sneak Peek at Our Upcoming Expressive Leaders Live Event! Read More »

Have you ever wondered what voices aren’t heard? I personally wish more people did. While we hear plenty of viewpoints every day on societal issues, there are always so many more untold stories and so much more diversity in the perspectives we don’t usually hear. Sometimes, this silencing is due to the institutionalized oppression that …

Why We Need Leaders That Listen: A Note From Our Founder Read More »

All of us are likely feeling a sense of loss right now. Since the pandemic, our lives have drastically changed. One thing that seems to cut through this feeling of disconnect, monotony and isolation we might be experiencing is: telling stories. If you’ve participated in a program, lesson or event at The Practice Space then …

#YourStoriesMatter: Building A Company to Help Transform the Food System Read More »

In this episode of Youth Aloud, we’re talking about the importance of having a voice. You’ll be hearing from Nancy Correa on sharing her experience in the foster system, students from Davis High School on the urgent need for everyone to have a voice, and Mela Seyoum on why we still need to speak up and …

Youth Aloud Podcast S3E3: Journeys of Self-Confidence Read More »

It’s our birthday today! It’s hard to believe we’ve been open now for three years. It feels like just yesterday we were painting our walls, trying to figure out how to make the space feel like home and opening our doors for the very first time. Although we are greatly missing seeing everyone at our …

The Practice Space Turns 3! Read More »

Teachers are the backbone of our society, the people who spend the most time with our young people other than parents and guardians. We rely on teachers to care for our children, teach them important skills, nurture and guide them in decision-making. Many people are now recognizing the indispensable work of educators as our schools …

Who Else Had a Teacher That Changed Their Life? Read More »

In case you haven’t seen our earlier “Staying Connected” posts, our team at The Practice Space has shared little ways that we are expressing ourselves at home these days. It’s helped us feel more connected with you all and we really hope you’re enjoying hearing a little more from each of us. Today we hear …

Staying Connected: Cooking is My Creative Outlet Read More »

Happy National Volunteer Appreciation Week everyone! Although we show appreciation for our volunteers throughout the year, we want to take this opportunity to extend our huge gratitude to all the people whose efforts and community care make our work at The Practice Space possible. Community members dedicate hours of time to make sure public speaking …

Volunteers: The Heart of Our Team Read More »

Hello everyone! My name is Mela and I’m an intern for the Practice Space. The past couple of weeks have been stressful and sometimes confusing between figuring out online school and finding ways to cure my boredom. More recently, I decided to restart a hobby that I had been too busy to do before. I’ve …

Staying Connected: Finding Creativity and Calm Read More »

In this episode we’re focusing on differences and how they can both divide and unite us. You’ll be hearing from Lindsey Lam who talks about how she defines difference, and her personal experience with observing differences at school. You’ll also be hearing from Caitlin Healy, the Program Associate at the Practice Space, on how we …

Youth Aloud Podcast S3E2: Embracing Sudden Difference Read More »

As we enter week 5 of Shelter in Place in the Bay Area, we at The Practice Space are thinking a lot about a few of the things we hold near to our hearts: connection, community and communication. Communication is not just about building skills, but how we live and stay connected. After weeks of …

The Practice Space COVID-19 Compilation of Community Resources Read More »

Do you have a story you’d like to tell? Is there a particular moment, training, coaching session, summer camp or program at The Practice Space that made an impact on you that you’d like to share? Are you using your voice in new and unexpected ways? Do you want to share an experience you’ve had? …

Share Your Voice With the World: Storytelling on The Practice Space Blog Read More »

What small steps are you taking to express yourself at home? How are you keeping your spirits up? This week Cristy, our Program Advisor at The Practice Space, answers these questions, and explains why she has enjoyed her quarantine life a little more than she expected. Becoming a mom has been the anchor I didn’t …

Staying Connected: Reading With Amaya Read More »

In light of COVID-19, we’re taking a step back to reflect and think about what we can still do while in quarantine. In this episode of Youth Aloud, we’ll be focusing on the self improvements and small steps that we can take, even today. You’ll be hearing from the Loma Vista Science Academy Debate Team, …

Youth Aloud Podcast S3E1: The Slow Scramble Towards Self-Improvement Read More »

As promised, here’s another team member’s response to our question, “What small steps are we taking to express ourselves at home?”  Hello! I’m AnnMarie, Founder of The Practice Space. You have no idea how much I miss teaching our students, it’s like there’s this piece of myself that has nowhere else to go. To keep …

Staying Connected: Songs Keep My Spirits Up Read More »

These past couple weeks have been quite a whirlwind! Every day we have new information and big changes and we are now all “sheltering in place”. At The Practice Space, where all of our programming is done in person and often in schools, we are adjusting, like so many, to how we can serve our …

Staying Connected While Physically Apart Read More »

The Practice Space wants to personally let our community know that your safety, is, and always will be our top priority. We are monitoring the status of news around coronavirus (COVID-19) and are taking concerns seriously as a local business. As of now, some of the steps we are taking include: limiting or canceling any …

A Message From The Practice Space: What We’re Doing to Keep Our Community Safe Read More »

If you’ve ever been to The Practice Space, or taken part in a workshop or event we’ve led, you have no doubt met AnnMarie. As the Founder and Executive Director of The Practice Space, she plays a role in everything we do. So we thought it would be fun for those of you who don’t …

An Interview with AnnMarie Baines, Founder of The Practice Space Read More »

We are so excited to have Nancy Correa join our team at The Practice Space as our Digital Strategist. We wanted Nancy to get a chance to introduce herself and can’t wait for you all to meet her. ¡Hola! My name is Nancy Correa and I joined The Practice Space as the Digital Strategist in …

Welcoming Our Newest Team Member Nancy! Read More »

For Valentine’s Day, we want to celebrate our community and share a little about why we love what we do here at The Practice Space. We envision a world where diverse communities of youth and adults feel free, cared for, and capable of manifesting their voices in the world.  As The Practice Space continues to …

Valentine’s Reflections: Our Voices and Our Passions Read More »

By AnnMarie Baines To be a leader, you have to feel like your voice matters and you have something of value to say and contribute to the world. Unfortunately, we live in a society where many people are taught from an early age that their voice is less important. As a naturally shy student, I …

The Impact of Fear on Equity Read More »

Have you ever felt like it’s too early or too late to build your confidence with public speaking? At The Practice Space we believe there’s never a limit on when or who can develop these skills, which is why we offer programs and services to all ages, from young children to working professionals to elders. …

Young Speakers Camp — Youth Aloud Podcast Bonus Episode! Read More »

As the world changes, so do our dreams for the future. In our final episode of the second season, the Youth Aloud podcast team voice their opinions about the “American Dream” in a candid group discussion. Beginning with their stories of growing up with immigrant parents, these high school students define what they see as …

What is Our American Dream? — Youth Aloud Podcast Episode 10 Read More »

Students are no strangers to stress and burnout. It’s hard to find the energy and willpower to do everything we should, especially when we aren’t doing what we love and are stretched too thin. This episode features high school and college student interviews and stories about how they cope with stress and figure out how …

Student Stress – Youth Aloud Podcast Episode 9 Read More »

How do we fight against societal messages that make us feel like we aren’t beautiful? In this episode, we interview teens and family members and tell our own stories about experiences with body image and how we accept who we are, despite cultural stereotypes. “It doesn’t matter what anybody else does, it only matters what …

Battles with Self-Image – Youth Aloud Podcast Episode 8 Read More »

Why do young people want to speak up? In this episode, we hear from high school students about why they think their voice matters and what stands in the way of being heard. Members of our podcast team, Lindsey Lam, Sophie Ciurlik-Rittenbaum, and Hawi Abraham, share their own stories as well as how other teens …

Youth Voice Matters – Youth Aloud Podcast Episode 7 Read More »