AnnMarie Baines, PhD, is the founder and executive director of the Bay Area nonprofit organization The Practice Space, which elevates underrepresented voices and supports young people and adults in developing authentic, clear, and engaging voices through public speaking. In addition to more than 20 years of experience coaching public speaking in West Contra Costa, California, and Boston Public Schools, she has held faculty positions at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley. She is a two-time winner of the competitive Title Nine Pitchfest Nonprofit Edition. Baines received her PhD in learning sciences from University of Washington, her teaching credential from Boston Teacher Residency, and a master’s degree in education policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Diana Medina, a senior staff member at The Practice Space, is a first-generation Mexican American poet, educator, and storyteller born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She has worked in the nonprofit sector uplifting communities of color for the last 16 years. Medina is an alumna of the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and the Education Pioneers Graduate Fellowship. In 2021, she released her debut poetry collection Healing Out Loud through Alegria Publishing. Her writing has also been featured in Modern Latina magazine and StoryCenter. Medina holds a bachelor's degree in political science from California State University Northridge and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.

Caitlin Healy, a senior staffer at The Practice Space, is an educator with more than 15 years of experience teaching youth of all ages, as well as adults. Before joining The Practice Space team, she taught social studies for seven years in public schools, where she helped coach teachers on project-based and blended learning. As a program coordinator for San Francisco Peer Resources, Healy supported high school students by facilitating peer education workshops for more than 1,000 middle and high school students. She uses her background in alternative education to advocate for youth pushed to the margins by public school systems. Healy has a master's degree in education and a teaching credential from Mills College and a bachelor’s degree in American studies from UC Santa Cruz.