SFIAF Biographies

Salvador Duran
Bookkeeper
Salvador has 30 years of experience working with credit unions in the Bay Area, including Mission SF and Blue Shield of CA Employees Credit Union in San Francisco. He brings strong management and leadership abilities, a deep commitment to members, and a passion for the credit union philosophy of people helping people. Salvador has provided technical assistance to countless first-time home-buyers, members with impaired credit, and members with overwhelming debt. Salvador received a BA from Nuevo Liceo Centroamericano in San Salvador, El Salvador, with a major in accounting. He is also a graduate of the Western CUNA Management School, Pomona, CA., and completed a real estate course at Anthony Schools in San Francisco.

Joe Landini
Lighting / Production Manager
Joe Landini has been an independent production manager and curator in the Bay Area for 30 years. He is the founder of SAFEhouse Arts (Saving Art From Extinction) and has been one of the primary production managers at SAFEhouse for 17 years. He has coordinated technical projects at Z Space, the Joe Goode Annex and the Cowell Theater. Landini has a BA in Choreography from UC Irvine and an MA in Choreography from the Laban Centre (UK).

Phil Lowery
Stage / Production Manager
Phil Lowery works around the Bay Area theatre scene as a freelance director, production manager and educator, and as an AEA actor and stage manager. He has appeared on the stages of Central Works Ensemble, Lamplighters Music Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and Shotgun Players; behind the scenes with San Jose Playhouse, the Sing for America Foundation, and Opera Parallèle, where he serves a Director of Production; and and has been directing operas, operettas and musicals since the mid-1990s for companies such as Berkeley Opera, Lamplighters Music Theatre, Lyric Theatre of San Jose, Pocket Opera, Redwood Symphony and numerous smaller independent production companies.

Francelle Mariano
Venue / Production Manager
Francelle is a native San Franciscan and Sonoma State University graduate, rediscovering her passion in the creative process of production. She recently worked as the Stage Manager for Perfect. Response. with Cali & Co in 2023. Francelle currently works in higher education helping students pursue their dreams in the arts.

Bill Martinez
Artist Visa Attorney
Bill Martinez is an immigration attorney who has also produced and managed cultural events in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1973. A native San Franciscan, he is a graduate of the University of San Francisco and UC Law-San Francisco. He has worked in the Community Law Collective (’74-’79), New College of California School of Law (’79-’83), and the Volunteer Legal Services Program of the Bar Association of San Francisco (’84-’93). In 1981, he co-founded the Encuentro del Canto Popular, a San Francisco-based Latin American music festival. His work with the Encuentro led him to become one of the nation’s leading experts in U.S.-Cuba cultural exchanges and artists’ visas. He co-founded the Latino Entertainment Partners, which produced historically significant concerts of Cuban artists. He was awarded the 2023 globalFEST Impact Award for contributions to culture in the US.

Candi Martinez
Marketing Director
Candi has over 20 years of experience in publicity, marketing, event curation, production, HR and grant writing. She is committed to fostering equity, uplifting cultural arts, and supporting non-profits and small owned businesses with marketing, promotions, fundraising and graphic design. She is an Oakland Indie Award recipient for her work as a Cultural Steward, a Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Fellow and a 2024 California Arts Council Impact Project awardee.

Jazmine Nunez
Graphic Designer
Jazmine is a Latina graphic designer based in the Bay Area. She loves mixing her creativity with her problem-solving skills, to develop solutions for her clients. Jazmine enjoys working with raw materials and interesting textures to make work stand out. 

Vaishali Ramachandran
Box Office and Administrative Manager
Vaishali has eight years of production and administrative experience. She was box office manager for Jhankar Beats LLC and is currently the Production lead at Abhinaya Dance Company where she handles production, marketing and box office related activities.

Patrick Simms
Sound Engineer / Production Manager
Born in Jamaica, Patrick Simms moved to Bridgeport, CT in 1974 at the age of 10 and  moved to San Francisco in 1994 to pursue his interest in music. While doing so he founded and opened Patrick Simms Studios and also played and worked with some of the Bay Area’s top musicians. In 1999, he joined the Musicians Union AFM Local 6 and was introduced to the People in Plazas (PiP) open air concert program where he began to work as an audio engineer. Over the years he took on numerous roles at PiP and eventually became the organization’s Executive Director in 2021. As a San Francisco based audio engineer, Patrick continues to work with numerous artists and arts organizations.

Andrew Wood
Executive Director
A native of the United Kingdom, Andrew has worked in the performing arts in San Francisco since 1991. He founded SFIAF in 2002. Prior presenting experience has included: Life on the Water, The Chasky, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and ODC Theater. He also co-founded the queer theatre production company, Playstitute with Diet Popstitute and has managed several artist ensembles, including: Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

"Gavin" Yuhua Wu
Website Software & IT Manager
As a Website Full-Stack Software Engineer at the San Francisco International Art Festival, Yuhua “Gavin” Wu blends his extensive tech expertise with a passion for the arts. A graduate of San Francisco State University in Computer Science, Gavin has made significant contributions to the festival, notably enhancing audience engagement through innovative API integrations. Gavin's proficiency in technologies like React, JavaScript, Nhost, PostgreSQL, and his commitment to user-centric design, positions him as a key player in bridging the gap between art and digital innovation. His efforts not only enhance the user experience but also extend the reach and impact of the San Francisco International Art Festival in the digital realm.