Latest news with #CBSNewsBayAreaIconAward
CBS News
10-04-2025
- General
- CBS News
Peninsula horse ranch provides welcoming place for children on the autism spectrum
One in 36 children in the U.S. are on the autism spectrum, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California has an even higher rate with one in 27. A Peninsula woman makes sure they are included, hosting them at a fulfilling place for everyone to feel and "be okay." The work feeds her soul. Somehow, Tish Dipman always knew she's spend her life with horses. "And when I was 9, I declared to everyone that I would one day work in a barn," she said with a smile. Dipman has been riding since age four and competed in local shows. Years later, when she volunteered as a certified therapeutic riding instructor at B.O.K. Ranch in San Mateo County, she knew it felt like home. She took the reins of the ranch as executive director 20 years ago. Located on a corner of the Horse Park at Woodside, B.O.K. Ranch began 40 years ago as a therapeutic riding program for children with disabilities. It was founded in 1985 by Ann Kulchin and her family. But Dipman has expanded it into an all-inclusive nonprofit that serves 100 people a week, from children to adults, in riding, horsemanship, and vocational training. There are fees for the programs, but they can be offset in part by scholarships, grants and support from social service agencies. The significant change is that the nonprofit is no longer just for the neurodiverse. "It doesn't matter if a person is neurodiverse or neurotypical. Everyone shares the same common thread, which is a love for horses," said Dipman. She has created a special place, where families and friends can all grow together, according to B.O.K. Ranch vocational program coach Karen Mahon. "She brings together and creates this really warm sense of community that helps people shine when they come here," Mahon said. And neurodiverse participants who may face loneliness elsewhere can saddle into a place of belonging at B.O.K. Ranch. Take Riley Wolf and Kaitlin Bentley, best friends who also share a bond with Dipman. "She's like a second mom to me and a best friend to me," Bentley said. The young women are in the vocational program, where students harness a sense of purpose and confidence as they care for the horses and manage the barn. Wolf says she looks forward to the experience twice a week. "It makes me feel more connected to animals in a deeper way," she said. "It makes me happier, more positive." And that makes Dipman happy, for it embodies the B.O.K. name and mission. "B.O.K. Ranch means, 'Everything will be OK.' Our tag line is, 'Be kind. Be brave. Be OK. B.O.K. Ranch,'" she said. So for expanding B.O.K. Ranch into an inclusive place of growth and belonging, this week's CBS News Bay Area Icon Award goes to Tish Dipman.
CBS News
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Nonprofit led by San Francisco woman helps revitalize Mission District theater
This week's CBS News Bay Area Icon Award winner is a woman credited with saving and revitalizing a cultural centerpiece in San Francisco's Mission District. Anastacia Powers Cuellar remembers the first time she visited the Brava Theater back in 1983. "I came to see a film about Machito. And John Santos was giving a lecture about the history of Latin jazz and salsa and I was just blown away," Powers Cuellar told CBS News Bay Area. She has never lost that sense of awe. Since 2012, she's led Brava! for Women in the Arts . The nonprofit highlights productions by women, the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, youth and other underrepresented voices. "Whether it was through the movies or live performances, it's always been a vortex of creative energy," Powers Cuellar said. The theater first opened in 1926 as a vaudeville stage and eventually became a movie house with ownership and name changes before Brava bought the building in 1996. But some 15 years later, a recession nearly dropped the curtain on the cultural centerpiece. "It was $2 million in debt; there were 25 liens on the property. It was very sad," she recalled Powers Cuellar was hired to save it. "I knew what this place meant in the community," she explained. Drawing on three decades' experience in the arts and administration, she secured grants and community partnerships. She led the effort to resuscitate the theater center, renovated its storefronts along 24th Street, and carved a new cabaret space. Jose Carrasco, director of the Loco Bloco performing arts group at Brava, had a front row seat to the transformative work of Powers Cuellar, also known as "Stacie." "It takes an important skill set of knowing how to work with people," Carrasco said. "I really couldn't tell you what the secret recipe is for Stacie, but she makes it happen." Today, 30,000 people come to more than 200 events a year at Brava, showcasing local artists in music, theater, dance and more. Brava provides affordable rental space to nonprofits. And it's home to youth performing arts and paid internships for teenagers learning production. Empress Kehinde Koyejo, one of a dozen resident artists at Brava, celebrates Powers Cuellar's gifts of collaboration and innovation. "As an artist, you need someone who can see and believe in you and say without question, 'Let's go ahead and do it,'" Koyejo said, smiling. After more than a dozen years as executive director, Powers Cuellar said she is ready to step down in June 2025. She urges people to continue to support Brava and the arts, especially in today's climate, when costs are rising, and utility bills alone have more than doubled in the last few years. Powers Cuellar said she is proud that she helped usher a new period of stability for the arts community. "And we need it for our heart and soul and well-being," she said. For saving and breathing new life into the Brava Theater Center, this week's CBS News Bay Area Icon Award goes to Anastacia Powers Cuellar.
