DINA ZARIF / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR / MANAGING DIRECTOR
Dina is an Iranian immigrant, performer, designer, and vocalist who combines Western classical singing with Middle Eastern styles inspired from her Persian roots. Some of her credits include SF International Arts Festival, Palace of Fine Art, San Jose Stage, Golden Thread Productions at Brava Theater, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and the staged reading of Layla & Majnun at BAMPFA as part of the symposium with Mark Morris Dance Group and the Silk Road Ensemble. She tours both nationally and internationally as a costume designer and actress in the shadow light production Feathers of Fire. Dina is also a part-time architect and received her MA in Landscape Architecture from the University of Tehran, College of Fine Arts.
CHELIS LOPEZ / OPERATIONS ASSISTANT
Chelis López is an award-winning Mexican journalist who has lived in San Francisco since 1996. For almost ten years she hosted the national radio show Línea Abierta at Radio Bilingüe, the National Latino Public Radio Network where she interviewed and produced diverse stories including the live broadcast of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, an annual celebration of communities and cultures in the U.S. and around the world presented annually in Washington, D.C. She is the host and producer of two Spanish-language shows on KPOO 89.5FM in San Francisco—Pájaro Latinoamericano and Andanzas—where she explores and offers news, comments, and interviews with newsmakers and artists throughout Latin America. López is also the San Francisco correspondent for Rompeviento TV in Mexico and hosts locally at Marin TV
NICK LO KIM LIN / VIDEOGRAPHER / VISUAL CONTENT CREATOR
Nick Lo Kim Lin is a Surinamese born upcoming American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is currently living in San Francisco, California and hopes to make San Francisco a place that produces more films rather than an area films are known to be based in. Born in Suriname, South America, he moved to America in 2003 at the age of 13. Nick has worked with various artists in the bay, short documentaries that brought awareness to diverse artists and their struggles, short films that touch on the psychology of horror found in everyday life. His passion is to capture and share the dilemmas of the human experience and the surroundings that create them.
ANDREW SCOTT / SOUND / PERFORMANCE HOST / HOUSE MANAGER
Andrew Scott, born in London, has been an active musician, producer, and audio engineer in the Bay Area for the past 30 years. His journey is deeply rooted in a family history marked by resilience; his mother, a Holocaust survivor from Berlin, endured the loss of 29 family members in Auschwitz. Andrew’s professional career is as diverse as his heritage, encompassing roles as a college instructor at the University of London and San Francisco State University, as well as positions as a public policy advocate and non-profit administrator.
Andrew was the executive at three Bay Area-based non-profits – YMCA of San Francisco, Campfire of Alameda/Contra Costa, California School Age Consortium. He is the proud owner of Studio 401, a recording studio in San Francisco, where he offers a wide range of services, including audio and video tracking, mixing, production, post-production, and live sound for clubs, festivals, and events. Andrew’s work has garnered recognition both locally in the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally in London, Brazil, and Argentina.
Before his career in music, Andrew spent 35 years working in child development and community roles. He worked with several nonprofits in the Bay Area, including the YMCA of San Francisco, Campfire of Alameda/Contra Costa, and the California School Age Consortium. In London, he served as the Director of Youth Programs for the Wandsworth Borough. Andrew has also shared his expertise as an instructor in early childhood, adolescent, and community development at institutions like San Francisco State University and the University of London.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Andrew’s personal journey is enriched by his family. His wife Pauline is a highly-regarded local artist, and their children, Chloë and Jody, are talented musicians in the local scene. You can learn more about Andrew and Studio 401 on our website: www.thestudio401.com.”