What is there to write about Travis Burton that hasn't already been written in various technical journals and British tabloid weeklies? Not much, we're afraid. What you may not know is that, in his short time with 826LA, he has mentored a group of young detectives, witnessed the creation of a future city, and served as a production assistant on "The Evil Marshmallow" (a Tabletop Media staging with 826LA students). He has also tried very hard, albeit in vain, to keep Sean Liu from falling out of his chair.

Most weekdays, Travis is a student pilot at the US Air Force Test Pilot School. Most weekends he is a volunteer at 826LA East, where he is nearly as excited to help with that day's workshops as the students are to participate in them.

Barbara Dobkin, a retired professional dancer who can still be found in ballet classes a couple of times a week, has fostered a lifelong habit of writing mostly for the pleasure of it. After a successful dance career spanning stage, TV, and film, Barbara worked to bring the experience of the arts to LA kids who have had very little exposure or encouragement. She served as President of Design for Sharing, the outreach organization from the UCLA performing arts program, UCLA Live, to the Los Angeles Unified School District, bringing over 25,000 students a year to UCLA to experience both world-class performances and the university campus. That led to her commitment to not only make the arts more accessible, but also to help make college education a reality for more LA kids. She spearheaded the creation of a Steps to College brochure for middle and high school students who visit UCLA. Tapping her writing skills, Barbara also became a volunteer tutor to kids writing their college application essays, working through both College Match LA and (more recently) 826LA.

Barbara has enjoyed volunteering for many 826LA in-school programs, getting an insider's view of the "ins" and "outs" and pluses and minuses of LA high schools. The need is great, the resources few.

Ohudy Luna (pronounced O.D.) was supposed to be born with Down syndrome. According to the embryonic fluid test, Ohudy was going to be born with Down syndrome. Luckily, his Catholic mother could not bear to get rid of him, so she decided to keep him. Ohudy's parents decided to name him Ohudy, because his father had always signed his love letters as "Ohudy" in order to not be found by military personnel during the Salvadorean Civil War. After escaping to the United States from their war-torn country, the Lunas settled in the Little Armenia district of Los Angeles to have a family. When Ohudy was born, the area was filled with gangs and taggers; fortunately, Ohudy did not have Down syndrome and refused to be a part of any gang. (However, the graffiti that surrounded his childhood would later serve as an inspiration for adventures and writing.)

Ohudy's pretty much an average guy living his life. He enjoys urban exploration, photography, and writing. A typical day of his includes biking to an abandoned area and taking pictures of some cool graffiti art. In the evening he either gets together with friends to enjoy a new bar or a potluck dinner, or plays Ultimate Frisbee, or writes music with a friend or two. He's pretty amazing at guitar and enjoys people who are equally impassioned by music.

After graduating from San Francisco State, he has temporarily returned to his parent's home in Mid City, Los Angeles before his departure to South Korea in February. At the moment, he's learning Korean and focusing on a book of short stories concerning the places he's explored through urban exploration and fictional artists who fill abandoned places with art.

Sam Zuckerman recently produced the short film Chinese Box, which played at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. He is a producer for the long-running theatrical production Charlie Victor Romeo, which has won numerous awards including a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience as well as being cited as one of the Top 10 Plays of the Year by TIME magazine. Sam is also a founding member of the Manhattan Engineering District and the recipient of a Rockefeller Map Grant.

Sam won an audience award at Brooklyn Academy of Music for The Gathering, a short film he produced and directed. Sam's film Maid, which he co-directed, played at the CineVegas Film Festival. He has a BFA from the State University of New York at Purchase.