Sharen Hewitt is the founder and executive director of the Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response (CLAER) Project, San Francisco's leading organization providing immediate crisis stabilization for victims of violence. With over 20 years of advocacy experience, Sharen is bringing heightened attention to San Francisco's burgeoning homicide rate and the impact it has on San Francisco's families. The CLAER Project operates by the motto: "We help neighbors change their neighborhoods for the better."

Yessenia Pozo a fourteen-year-old student who volunteers for the Weekend and Daily Meals Programs at GLIDE Church, tutoring students, participating in the senior visitation program, and assisting with developing childcare activities to support families in need. When she was asked what community building means to her, Yessenia said "It's a lot of people working and not thinking about themselves, but what other people need."

Community Works West has as its mission the engagement youth and adults in arts, education and restorative justice programming, which interrupts and heals the far-reaching impact of incarceration and violence by empowering individuals, families and communities. By supporting communities most affected by mass incarceration, Community Works West aims to keep people out of the criminal and juvenile justice system and provide viable alternatives and resources for them to move forward with their lives.