PEER TALK at Willie Brown Middle School

Peer Talk Episode 10: Tech Forum Round Table

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 8 Apr 2026 13:00:00 +0000

On February 26, 2026, our Tech Forum event in the Willie Brown Middle School library concluded with a round table discussion featuring all five of our interview guests — Maynard Holliday, Taylore Givens, Jared Givens, Richard Jones, and Adam Perry. Susan, Gregory, and computer science teacher Jonathan Jacobson opened the floor to hear our guests' thoughts on how the event went and what it meant to them. Stay tuned to hear insightful reflections from the panel — as well as the answers to some questions that the students didn't ask!

Thanks for following along with our Tech Forum, and we'll see you next time on Peer Talk!

Special thanks to Wayne Perry, Adam Perry, and Cornerstone Concilium, Inc. for their help with this event.

Peer Talk Episode 9: Jared Givens, Richard Jones, and Adam Perry (Tech Forum, Part 2)

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

On February 26, 2026, Peer Talk held a live event in the library of Willie Brown Middle School, where three groups of students collectively interviewed five leaders in the technology industry. Our gracious panel guests gave insightful answers to the students' questions about modern tech — in particular, the current A.I. boom — and how it currently affects and will affect our society.

To conclude the panel, Mr. O's eighth grade peer resources class interviewed Jared Givens, a software engineer working for Tesla; Richard Jones, a technology executive from Intel; and Adam Perry, executive director of a nonprofit focused on connecting students with mentorship.

Thanks for listening — and see you next episode for a special round table discussion with all five of our interview guests!

Special thanks to Wayne Perry, Adam Perry, and Cornerstone Concilium, Inc. for their help with this event.

Peer Talk Episode 8: Maynard Holliday and Taylore Givens (Tech Forum, Part 1)

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:00:00 +0000

To begin, Mr. Jacobson's sixth grade computer science class and Mr. Mathews' seventh grade ethnic studies class interviewed Maynard Holliday, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies under the Obama administration, and Taylore Givens, current Product Manager for the Microsoft Edge web browser.

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for Part 2, where another group of students will interview three more guests!

Special thanks to Wayne Perry, Adam Perry, and Cornerstone Concilium, Inc. for their help with this event.

Peer Talk Episode 7: Theo Ellington, candidate for Supervisor for San Francisco District 10

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

At the age of 13, Bayview-Hunters Point native Theo Ellington lost his cousin to gun violence; from that point forward, he committed himself to uplifting his neighborhood. After deciding to work in San Francisco politics, Ellington served various commission posts under San Francisco Mayors Gavin Newsom, Ed Lee, and London Breed. As Community Investment and Infrastructure Commissioner, he helped to create over 1,000 new affordable homes and restore over $50 million in city investments for minority- and women-owned businesses. Later, as the Golden State Warriors' first Director of Public Affairs, he played an important role in bringing the team to the Chase Center. He is now the Executive Director of the Ruth Williams Opera House, as well as policy director at the law firm Brownstein. He lives with his wife and children in the Bayview — two blocks away from his childhood home.

In October 2025, Ellington announced his candidacy for District 10 Supervisor in the upcoming 2026 election — and since District 10 includes the Bayview, the seventh grade students of Willie Brown Middle School were eager to speak to him about his life, his mission, and his plans to make their neighborhood better for everyone. We hope you enjoy this interview with a local hero of Bayview-Hunters Point, Theo Ellington!

Peer Talk Episode 6: Willie Brown, former Mayor of San Francisco

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 3 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000

The Honorable Willie L. Brown, Jr. is easily one of the most recognizable and influential politicians in California. He served as Speaker of the California Assembly from 1980 to 1995, and as Mayor of the city of San Francisco for two terms from 1996 to 2004. While many politicians keep a lower profile after their service, the 91-year-old Mayor Brown still practices law and keeps up public appearances.

In November of 2025, the students of Mr. Mathews' seventh grade Ethnic Studies class at Willie L. Brown Jr. Middle School interviewed their school's namesake about a number of topics — and their questions cut straight to the point! Please enjoy this candid and heartwarming interview with former Mayor Willie Brown.

Peer Talk Episode 5: Bob Fisher of Gap Inc. (with KALW)

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Since 1969, the Gap brand has been a fixture of American retail despite nearly sixty years of challenges, persevering along with sub-brands Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athletica. Robert J. “Bob” Fisher is the chairman of Gap Inc., and the son of original founders Don and Doris Fisher. Bob was chairman of Gap Inc.’s board of directors from 2004 to 2007, as well as interim CEO in 2019.

Outside of his work at Gap Inc., Bob is also the chair of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He is deeply involved with environmental and educational initiatives; he is a member of the Board of Trustees of the nonprofit organization Conservation International, and he and his wife Randi co-founded the Pisces Foundation, which focuses on environmental education and sustainable resource management.

For this episode of Peer Talk, our Willie Brown Middle School students chose to interview someone from Gap Inc., and we were lucky to have Bob Fisher himself join us. Our partner KALW (91.7 FM) graciously hosted us at their San Francisco community event space on May 27, 2025, and broadcast the interview live with the students' families in attendance! For those who missed it on the air, enjoy the students’ interview with Bob Fisher!

Peer Talk Episode 4: Kimberly & Joseph Minafra of NASA's Ames Research Center

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

This week, the students of Peer Talk go space-bound with the dynamic husband-and-wife duo from NASA’s Ames Research Center, Kimberly and Joseph Minafra. As the Software Release Authority at NASA Ames, Kimberly oversees the release and licensing of NASA technologies. She drives tech transfer and commercialization, connecting with industry and public partners to bring space-developed software into real-world use.

Joseph leads Innovation and Technical Partnerships for NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) at Ames. His multidisciplinary background spans collaborative research systems, meteoritics, biology, project management, software and UI design, scientific illustration, and even professional cooking.

Join us and the Peer Talk students for a cosmic perspective on Kimberly and Joseph’s work and NASA’s latest projects!

Peer Talk Episode 3: Pam Moore

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 7 May 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Pam Moore is a legendary Bay Area journalist with over 30 years at KRON 4 as an anchor and reporter, now serving as a special contributor. Her career spans major cities including Detroit, Boston, Louisville, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

She earned acclaim for her series About Race and won a Northern California Emmy for Who Owns Your Health. A member of the Bay Area Black Journalists Association, she was honored in 2009 for her dedication to journalism. Beyond the newsroom, she volunteers with the East Oakland Youth Development Center and co-founded Friends of Faith, a breast cancer support group.

The Peer Talk team was proud to welcome her to Willie Brown Middle School for an inspiring interview with Mr. O’s students. Tune in to learn more about Pam Moore!

Peer Talk Episode 2: Congresswoman Lateefah Simon

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Meet Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, representing California's 12th Congressional District in Oakland. She's the first member of Congress who is congenitally blind, and the first Muslim representative from California. Before stepping into Congress, Ms. Simon served on the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board, the California State University Board of Trustees, and the San Francisco Foundation's board. She also made history as the youngest woman to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. When Rep. Barbara Lee announced she was stepping down in 2024, Ms. Simon ran for the seat and won. In January 2025, she was officially sworn in. Shortly after, Ms. Simon sat down with Mr. O's students, and we're thrilled to share their interview with you on this week's episode of Peer Talk!

Peer Talk Episode 1: Margo Hall

jae@swervstudios.com (Jae Yee) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Peer Talk at the Willie L. Brown Jr. Middle School, from the team behind Beyond The Fog Radio! Our first episode of Peer Talk is hosted by the 7th grade students of Mr. O’s Peer Resources class. These amazing students interviewed the prolifically creative Margo Hall, who is the Artistic Director of San Francisco's Lorraine Hansberry Theatre. The class did its own research about Ms. Hall before the interview, and learned all about her life, the highs and lows of her profession, and playwright Lorraine Hansberry's impact on American theatre.