Core Team
Desi Danganan
Executive Director & CO-FOUNDER
Desi is a serial entrepreneur. As the managing director of Plinth Agency, he has successfully grown businesses through strategic branding, design, and crowdfunding. He brings 15+ years of experience creating, funding, and branding unique business concepts which span the food, music, technology spaces.
As a dedicated community advocate, Desi is currently leading the strategy for the economic development of SOMA Pilipinas, a newly designated cultural district in San Francisco. He believes community consciousness and culture are the keys to developing today’s thriving commercial ecosystems.
Andre Sibayan
Creative Director
Andre has a passion for curiosity, discovery, and fun. He excels in solving problems through thoughtful design and creative strategy. Andre brings 15+ years of professional design experience creating work for clients like Target, Old Navy and the McCANN Worldgroup.
Andre brings that rare blend of artistry and business savvy. He is believes every creative decision, every design is built to move a brand forward.
When he's not working, he enjoys eating and making good food with friends, creating digital tools for artists and designers. He’s also known for having legendary living room dance parties with his wife and son.
Nicole Salaver
Program Manager
Nicole Salaver is a San Francisco native with a long family heritage of activism and community work in the Filipino American arts and culture scene. Her grandfather, Canuto Salaver, was a Manong of the International Hotel in the 1940's. He was also an original co-founder of the famed Bataan Restaurant and Pool Parlor in SF's Manilatown. Her grandmother, Estrella Salaver, also led the San Francisco-based Philippine American Cultural Foundation whose specific purpose was to promote social and cultural awareness in the community and produce programs and performances in the 1960's.
Nicole's own work has spanned over twenty years in the events, creative and theater realm from solo performance, new media production, filmmaking, screenplay writing and event production. Her extensive production and events background include an experiential pop up exhibit for Ariana Grande’s Sweetener Album in NYC and the Kapwa Cares comedy/musical event in SF with FilAm legends Rex Navarrete and AJ Rafael.
She believes that elevating the culture and helping heal generational trauma through art is part of her legacy.
Iggy Mora
Program Coordinator
Iggy is a first generation Ilocana, tattoo artist, multimedia specialist, and social science researcher based in the East Bay.
With a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and minors in Journalism and Public Policy, Iggy has conducted academic research on the changing expression of ethnic, Filipino identities in the revival of Batok or Filipino Tattoos in the diaspora. As the former multimedia director for Maganda Magazine at UC Berkeley, they are experienced in teaching and leading media production from podcasts and event coverage, to company culture content.
When they are not program coordinating for Balay Kreative, they help manage a private art collective/studio in Oakland and specialize in hand-poke tattoo techniques.
Kaithleen Apostol
Marketing Manager
Kaithleen is passionate about community building and being a cheerleader for small, local businesses. Through her agency Binibini Kreative, Kaithleen works with minority-owned, women-led businesses to nail their brand story-telling.
Kaithleen is very thankful for the chance to work with Kultivate Labs and come back to the Bay Area to help grow the SOMA Pilipinas community she grew up in....
Jy Jimmie Gabiola
Marketing COORDINATOR
Jimmie is a Bay Area-based interdisciplinary artist. With a Bachelor’s degree in Photography and minor in Literature from California College of Arts, Jimmie’s art practice reclaims personal & collective narratives surrounding the echoes of immigration.
His work creates dialogue centered around the multiplicity of what being an American means today – oftentimes exploring the photo collage, portraiture and visual poetics via digital, analog & alternative processes.
Jimmie’s 8+ years in the digital marketing space — helping entrepreneurs develop their brand strategies & creative campaigns bridges the duality of fine arts & media communications.