WeXL Org is a public arts and media nonprofit with a mission to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to the creative and influential industries of tech and media & entertainment.

1. Impact
Report
2020

2. The unprecedented year of 2020 brought us challenges and life lessons, oftentimes unwanted but necessary. On January 1, 2020, my
husband and I caught a bad case of Influenza A in New York City. We spent the rest of the week laid-up with canceled reservations to
plays and restaurants. Who would've predicted such a harbinger?
Soon after, work activity picked up at WeXL. We produced a video for Anthem's healthcare accelerator in Boston, covered diversity
programming at the Sundance Film Festival, and planned a weekend of back-to-back taping for our original show, REPRESENT. WeXL
Creator and Miss Wisconsin USA 2020, Gabriella Deyi, was to fly to the Bay Area and co-host the show with me in March. And just like a
film director yelling, "Cut!" COVID-19 forced all the action to a grinding halt.
Canceled productions dried up funding, and I put myself and our video editor, Antonio Garro, on furlough. In May, I started webcasting
We eXceL daily from my living room to stay connected and help share our community's passion, purpose, and story. Because of the
pandemic, our mission didn't seem important anymore. What's the point of diversity, equity, and inclusion when people are dying and
can't breathe? And then, in June, police murdered George Floyd. We were reminded all over again why our work here is not done.
While I have more experience selling production services to companies like Autodesk, my goal for WeXL in 2020 was to fundraise
based on our mission. Thanks to Streamlabs, a Logitech company, we were able to do that and more. Streamers gave and raised over
$2,800 for WeXL through the platform's charity portal. WeXL was also awarded the #Creators4BIPOC grant, an initiative created by
Chelsea Simms at Streamlabs.
Under the leadership of our recently appointed COO, Kirsten Spalding, we are building out our team and creating structure around our
programs to provide more mentorship, resources, and network connections to our diverse creators. Kirsten also translates my visions
and revisions for mass consumption.
This WeXL Impact Report details what we accomplished in 2020. I hope our work inspires you to find and share your passion, purpose,
and story. Please consider supporting WeXL with a tax-deductible donation today.
Together, We eXceL,
Arabella
Arabella DeLucco
Founder & CEO

3. O U R M I S S I O N :
WeXL Org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to the culturally influential
and profitable creative industries of tech and media & entertainment.
Through our programs, we champion diverse people from untapped communities by elevating their stories
and providing key tools to succeed: mentorship, resources, and network connections. As a public arts and
media organization, our programs also produce original content.
O U R V I S I O N :
To create a more equitable world with opportunities for all
Storytelling to create an
equitable world

4. Arabella DeLucco
Founder & CEO
Kirsten Spalding
COO
Vince Wang
Volunteer CMO
In 2020, our WeXL Org core team grew with Kirsten
Spalding joining as Chief Operations Officer and
Vince Wang as volunteer Chief Marketing Officer.
We also established the WeXL Media Lab in The
Presidio district of San Francisco, where you can
find illustrious media technology companies like
Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Industrial Light & Magic.
OUR LEADERSHIP:

5. United by passion, purpose, and story:
From Our Community
WeXL Creator Gabriella Deyi (top left), WeXL CEO Arabella DeLucco (top right), and Streamlabs grantor Chelsea Simms
(bottom center), discussing the WeXL original show, American Wellness.

6. "We are drawn to WeXL because of their team’s focus on storytelling and creators. WeXL’s
empowerment of diverse communities who raise their voices to speak for equity is
synonymous with what Streamlabs does to empower live-streaming creators. Both of our
organizations recognize that storytelling is an incredibly special part of creating impact."
- Chelsea Simms, Streamlabs, a Logitech Company
+
"WeXL helps fuel people’s drive to change the world for the better through storytelling. I am
so proud to be a part of this movement. With WeXL, I host and produce stories that aim to
bring topics to life and encourage thought, discussion, and most importantly, action.”
- Gabriella Deyi, 2020 Excellence In Residence and American Wellness Host

7. Our People:
WeXL Impact Network
An ecosystem of diverse professionals who support the WeXL mission and
participate in our programs as creators, show guests, mentors, and supporters
Josh Becker
California State Senator
Ian Storrar
Whitney Lawrence
Michee Smith
Chelsea SimmsArlene Guzman Todd
Marketing Capstone Students
John GillesKhepera Batties
Filmmaker

8. 43.5%
Technology
27.1%
Medical
8.2%
Arts & Literature
7.1%
Government
5.9%
Nonprofit
2.4%
Other
2.4%
Cis Female
56%
Cis Male
42.7%
Trans Female
1.3%
30.3%
White
28.3%
Asian
22.2%
Latinx
10.1%
Other
8.1%Native American
1%
by Professional Industry
W e X L I m p a c t N e t w o r k
by Racial Diversity
by Gender Diversity
Black or
African American
Media &
Entertainment

9. MENTORSHIP
RESOURCES
NETWORK
CONNECTIONS
In our first three years of operations, we focused
on building our community of promising creators
representing: racial, LGBTQ+, neuro-, physical,
age, and economic diversity.
Our creator programs provide key tools to
succeed: mentorship, resources, and network
connections; at the center is a content generation
engine.
In other words, WeXL is a public arts and media
organization that produces original shows and
stories.
With additional financial support, WeXL can give
our creators more resources while improving our
storytelling, production quality, and content
distribution.
Our Strategy

10. BOUNDLESS
YOUTH
WeXL
INTERNSHIP
PATHWAYS
JOURNAL
EXCELLENCE IN
RESIDENCE
(EIR)
We eXceL daily
WINstructor
START
KEEP GOING
There are many paths to success. At WeXL, we
empower diverse groups of people to discover
careers in tech and media & entertainment.
Our creators participate in multiple programs to
sharpen their skills and gain more insight into
opportunities they may have been unaware of
before joining WeXL.
In 2020, we launched several new programs,
including Boundless Youth Education and WeXL
Internships. Both nurture fledgling creators of all
ages.
Our goal is to build an ecosystem where together,
We eXceL to create a more equitable world for all.
Our Programs

11. We created WeXL's first youth education program in partnership with educator, Danielle Sacks Sierra, and
PlayersTV producer, Rey Jefferson.
Boundless teaches self-discovery through filmmaking by breaking down the creative process and allowing young
students to bring their imaginations to life. During our pilot launch, we connected fourth-graders at Girls Prep
Bronx Elementary to media & entertainment professionals. Due to the pandemic, the sessions were held over
Zoom. Students learned how to create their own short films and were taught video editing on the Google
Chromebook application, WeVideo. At the end of the nine-week program, the students screened their movies to
friends and family. One of our mentors and the inspiration for Boundless, WNBA Player and YouTube Creator,
Monique 'Mo' Billings, tuned in from Russia. It was a truly "boundless" experience for us as we covered multiple
time zones creating together.
We also gave the class 30 copies of The Goddess Twins by novelist, Yodassa Williams, who received a WeXL Creator
grant for teaching a session. Other mentors did not receive payment for their involvement. Financial support for
Boundless will enable us to continue this program in 2021 and expand to other grade levels and schools.
Success Program:
Boundless Youth Education

12. Our first Boundless class: fourth-graders from Girls Prep Bronx
Elementary with their teacher, Danielle Sacks Sierra (first row,
fifth column), and WNBA player, Monique 'Mo' Billings (third
row, fifth column).
LatinX
63.9%
Black and African American
34%
White
2.1%
Monique Billings
WNBA Player,
YouTube Creator
Seth Grossman
Hollywood Filmmaker
Yodassa Williams
Novelist
Rey Jefferson
TV Producer,
Sports Agent
Gabby Deyi
TV Reporter
student applications
57
students accepted
25
weeks of instruction
9
student films created
15
According to the NYC Department of Education, Girls Prep
Bronx Elementary is a high-performing, high impact charter
school with a diverse student body.
WeXL MENTORS:

13. WeXL's career-development program is aimed to mentor and support the next generation of creators. WeXL
interns are passionate about social causes and use their skills to create content and pursue advocacy
opportunities.
Our first internship program (held Fall 2020) brought a group of seven talented creators representing racial,
LGBTQ+, neuro-, age, and economic diversity. Under the leadership of our COO, Kirsten Spalding, our interns
received hands-on experience producing our original shows, We eXceL daily and American Wellness, as well as
their own projects. This group will be the first to publish on our new online publication, Pathways Journal.
Beyond the experience at WeXL, we will continue to support program alumni with their career growth and
provide opportunities to stay engaged with us as mentors or as a featured creator.
Success Program:
WeXL Internship

14. Owen Russell
St. Lawrence University
Bethany AuCoin
University of
New Hampshire
Alec Schmitz
Ohio University
Nathan Murphy
Minneapolis, MN
Christina Ransom-Vignola
San Francisco, CA
Hallie Blakeslee
Boise State University
D'Miya Smith
Florida A&M
internship applications
38
interns accepted
7
total intern hours worked
over 14 weeks
1,176 +
interns continuing as
volunteers in 2021
5

15. We eXceL daily is a live webcast featuring diverse people who are
agents of change in their communities. Our founder and CEO,
Arabella DeLucco, started it in May 2020 from her 500-square-foot
San Francisco apartment. In September, we secured a three-year
lease for a small office space in the Presidio. With the aid of the
Streamlabs #Creators4BIPOC grant, the WeXL Media Lab was born.
Moving into 2021 and beyond, we would like to invite our network
creators to use the WeXL Media Lab and develop their projects
focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
We eXceL daily is broadcast three days a week (Tuesdays -
Thursdays) from the WeXL Media Lab. Our show features an
ecosystem of diverse professionals worldwide who participate in
our programs as creators and supporters. Our goal is to show we
are all unified by passion, purpose, and story.
Let us know at partnerships@wexl.org if you would like to be a
sponsor of We eXceL daily.
WeXL Original Show:
We eXceL daily
We eXceL daily host, Arabella, and guest,
Amobi Okugo, pro-soccer player
founder of A Frugal Athlete
Guest Tiffany Stevenson, Chief Talent
and Inclusion Officer at Box

16. WeXL Impact
Network
Movie
Screenings
WeXL
Internship
Program
We eXceL
daily Program
Boundless
Youth Program
season one guests
50
conversation minutes
1,971
season one live episodes
42
potential audience reach
100k+
The conversations we have and the connections we make
through We eXceL daily bring endless possibilities and
opportunities. For example, a few episodes turned into
partnerships that sparked our Boundless program and the
screening of the Sundance film, Coded Bias. Our interns
also expanded their own network by writing articles about
our guests and inviting them to speak at their schools. To
the right is a network graph illustrating the true
connections made through the show.
We eXceL daily: We are all connected.

17. Success Program + WeXL Original Show:
American Wellness
The Trauma of Stillbirths and Miscarriages: From One Doctor’s Story to Chrissy Teigen’s
Intergenerational Trauma and Native Americans
Supporting Gay Youth through Systemic Hardships
American Wellness is an original docuseries exploring mental health among disparate communities in the United
States. This custom program was created with Gabriella Deyi, Miss Wisconsin USA 2020 and Mental Health of
America advocate.
The #Creators4BIPOC initiative from Streamlabs, a Logitech company, enabled us to award Gabby our 2020
Excellence in Residence (EIR) grant and bring her on as the show's host. We are releasing a total of 11 narrative
episodes, including:
The series also covers mental health among the Black and African American, Latinx, veterans, and incarcerated
communities. In 2020, it became apparent that these conversations are difficult but important to have. Our goal
is to reduce the stigma around those seeking help and provide a platform for further discussions.
With your help, we plan to continue this program through panel talks with Gabby, our mental health experts,
and the WeXL team. We hope to form distribution partners to gain greater visibility for American Wellness and
spread awareness.

18. Timothy Ervin
Principal of Providence
St. Mel School
Desirée Anderson,
Ph.D
Associate Dean,
Diversity & Student
Affairs, University of
New Orleans
Marisa Floro
Therapist and Licensed
Clinical Social Worker
Olusola Ajilore, MD,
Ph.D
Associate Professor,
University of Illinois
Center on Depression
and Resilience
Elizabeth Kwo, MD
Physician and Health
Tech Executive
Karen Riggs, Ph.D
Professor, Media
Studies, Ohio University
Frank J. Corigliano,
Ph.D.
New York State-
Licensed Clinical
Psychologist
Jillene Joseph
Executive Director of
Native Wellness
Institute
Maribel Martinez
Director, Office of
LGBTQ Affairs, Santa
Clara County, California
Janie Garner
Nurse, Retired Veteran,
and Founder of Show
Me Your Stethoscope
narrative episodes
11
conversation minutes
400+
in creator financial support
$6k+
potential audience reach
1 mil+

19. Success Program:
Excellence In Residence (EIR)
Our Excellence in Residence Grant (EIR) is awarded to selected creators who have shown exceptional work and
dedication to their passion and community. In collaboration with WeXL, EIR creators build short-term, custom
programs that push forward the WeXL mission while providing mentorship, resources, and network
connections to them. EIR programs can be either an original show or an event.
Our EIR program was inspired in 2017 by City College of San Francisco student Estefany Santamaria Rebolledo
(preferred pronoun they/them), who had fled their country of Venezuela to seek political asylum in the United
States. We produced a story about Estefany and connected them to a contract video editing opportunity at
Autodesk.
Oakland-based filmmaker, Khepera Batties,
capturing City College of San Francisco student
Estefany Santamaria Rebolledo for WeXL in
November 2017.

20. A first-generation American to immigrants from Liberia and Dominican Republic, Gabby is a bilingual journalist
born and raised in Northern California. After receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and working in a lab,
Gabby realized she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming a journalist. In 2019, Gabby was accepted into a
journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin and moved to the midwest to become an on-air reporter
at WKOW-ABC 27. Later that year, she won the Miss Wisconsin USA 2020 title.
Gabby uses her platform to raise awareness surrounding mental health -- including those that impact her
mother and brother. Her goals are to stimulate the conversations around mental health, dispel the taboo
around receiving care, and bring awareness on treatment options being unequal across diverse communities.
As our 2020 EIR, WeXL and Gabby created the limited docuseries American Wellness to jumpstart the discussion
on mental health among disparate populations in the United States.
2020 EIR Award Recipient:
Gabriella Deyi
WeXL started working with Gabby in 2018 when she
joined us as a co-host and producer for REPRESENT, a
sunsetted original show (and the precursor to We eXceL
daily). On the right, a still from the REPRESENT episode,
"Post-Prison Prosperity," featuring California State
Senator Josh Becker and 2019 EIR Ornell Caesar.

21. New York City-based software
engineer, Ornell Caesar,
presenting on "Visual
Storytelling with D3 JavaScript
Libraries" at the Google
Community Space during
DeveloperWeek San Francisco in
February 2019.
We first met New York-based software engineer Ornell Caesar in 2018. He was just released from an eight-year
prison sentence for a crime to which he pleaded innocent. As our 2019 EIR, we connected Caesar to mentors in
technology and helped him share his story and expertise. The generous support of Autodesk Forge enabled us
to award Caesar with the 2019 EIR grant and fly him to California (his first time). We also produced an event for
him to present, “Visual Storytelling on Prison Reform with D3 JavaScript Libraries,” at the Google Community
Space during DeveloperWeek San Francisco. We continue to work with Caesar and connect him to
opportunities and people in our network.
2019 EIR Award Recipient:
Ornell Caesar

22. 2021 EIR Candidate:
Khayri Battle
Khayri Battle is a former professional basketball player. After his career ended in
Europe, he returned home to live with his mother and got caught as a first-time
offender selling drugs. After seeing the prison reform episode with Ornell Caesar
on REPRESENT, Khayri reached out to Arabella.
Khayri is interested in spreading financial literacy for athletes to help them avoid
the mistakes he made. Upon his release from prison, we plan on connecting
Khayri to our WeXL Impact Network members: Amobi Okugo, a pro-soccer
player and founder of A Frugal Athlete, and Rey Jefferson, a sports agent and
PlayersTV producer.
With your support, we want to help Khayri with his mission by awarding him an
EIR 2021 grant.

23. The WINstructor program gives diverse technical creatives
on-camera training and production support to host
educational videos.
In 2021, we are featuring the expertise of women software
engineers. Women only represent 23 percent of the tech
workforce (Wired, 2019). That number goes down to 14
percent in software development (Pew Research, 2018).
Corporate partners can support this WINstructor program
and help impact diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
within their industry by gaining a seat at the WeXL
production table.
We will also be partnering with women in tech and software
developer groups to cast and distribute this series.
2021 Success Program + Original Show Launch:
WINstructor Software Dev
WeXL turned software engineer Nadine Farah into
an on-camera brand journalist to cover the
Autodesk University and Forge Developer
Conference in 2019. She will be returning in 2021
as a WINstructor.

24. WeXL’s online journal aims to inspire creators from all
walks of life and industries. We champion our readers
to dream and grow by learning from others because
not all paths to success are the same.
Pathways contributors are our WeXL staff, interns, and
selected community members. Content can be fiction
or non-fiction and will mostly be written but may
sometimes include narrative videos.
2021 Success Program Launch:
Pathways Journal

25. Inspired by our intern, Hallie Blakeslee, we will focus on increasing
neurodiversity in our WeXL Impact Network. We will also expand our
current program offerings to nurture the talent of creators on the
spectrum.
Neurodiversity refers to variations in the human brain regarding
sociability, learning, attention, mood, and other mental functions. This
includes individuals who may have dyslexia, autism, and ADHD.
As WeXL further develops its youth programs, we want to ensure all
children have the ability to share their stories in their own unique ways.
2021-2022 Program Goals:
Include More Neurodiversity
animated short film
1
organizational partners
15
in creator financial support
$12k+
audience reach
1 mil+
GOALS

26. After a successful pilot program in 2020, we hope to receive enough support to continue our Boundless
program and expand it to other grade levels and schools.
4th - 6th Grade: Boundless Self Discovery, 9 weeks
Intensive storytelling workshop taught by professionals in the media & entertainment industries (piloted Fall
2020).
7th - 9th Grade: Boundless Causes, 12 weeks
Students are connected to nonprofit partners to make documentary shorts about the organizations and
causes. The goal is to promote advocacy and to get youth community involvement.
10th - 12th Grade: Boundless Generation, 1-year Fellowship
The young and the elderly combine forces to produce short films based on the older person's life. The goal is
to promote intergenerational connection, communication, and personal growth.
2021-2022 Program Goals:
Boundless Program Expansion
participating schools
5
new mentors
25
student films created
75
audience reach
1 mil+
GOALS

27. 2021-2022 Support Our Work:
$1.5 Million Fundraising Goal
Over the past three years, WeXL has been working on a shoestring budget with only three employees earning
a total of just $42,000 in salary, proving time and time again the impact our small organization can make.
We've made these sacrifices because we believe in our cause and vision of creating an equitable world for all.
The unprecedented year of 2020 brought many challenges to nonprofits like ours. Yet, WeXL stood strong and
provided dedicated support to our diverse creators, with specific care given to our Black and African American
community.
In 2021, our goal is to raise $1.5 million to bring on the additional help we need, continue to build our
programs, and increase engagement on our content and stories. After assessing our needs and strategy for
scaling our impact, we based this number on similar nonprofits' budgets.

28. ProgramDevelopment
80%
Management/Gen
13.3%
Fundraising
6.7%
$1,200,000
Program Development
$200,000
Management / General
(80%)
(13.3%)
$100,000
Fundraising
(6.7%)
Goal
$1.5 million

29. Program
Developm
ent
72%
M
anagem
ent/General
14%
10.8%
Fundraising
3.2%
2020 Financial Highlights
Expense Breakdown
Expenses
$83,312.07
$60,025.25
$8,997.44
$2,645.76
Program Development
$11,643.62
Management / General
Fundraising
Production Services
(72%)
(14%)
(3.2%)
(10.8%)

30. Grants
/Contributions
45.2%
Production
31.3%
SBA
Assistance
20.3%
O
ther
3.2%
$50,410.93
Grants / Contributions
$34,907.91
Production Services
(45.2%)
(31.3%)
$22,700
SBA Assistance
(20.3%)
$3,586.29
Other
(3.2%)
2020 Financial Highlights
Funding Sources
Revenue
$111,605.42

31. Thank You to Our 2020 Supporters:
$2,500 - $5,000
John Gilles, Microsoft
Michael Rose, TBG
Timothy Woo, TripActions
Whitney Lawrence, Autodesk
$500 - $2,499
Ashkan Homayouni
Wilma DeLucco
$250 - $499
Amanda Ross
$30,000 +
Streamlabs, a Logitech Company
$100 - $249
Adam Ross
Andrus Lanham
Brock Germinara
Chanatip Chinavicharana
Erica Lester
Jennika Colwell
Michael DeLucco, Adyen
Michael Downing, Elevate Talent
Michael Maker
Toufik Zitouni
$50 - $99
Austin Tyson
Chanatip Chinavicharana
Cynthia Ongjoco
Enzo Faulhaber
Erica Lester
Ian Storrar
Jason Field
Maria Bongco
Nicholas Hack
Pramila Srinivasan
Sunena Dahlvani
Tizen
Wanda Jew
$1 - $49
Adrian Pereyra
Ahmet Yucel
Aleksander Christensen
Andrew Liu
ANDYxP4NDY
Antonio Ramos
Aodai Badran
Ayala Almaras
Ayoub Kabbach
Benjamin Smakic
Cecille Estiandan
Colette Choates
Dean Ashton
Diyor Sattarov
Don Pildos
Erik Reyes
Erliza Rhea Ravidas
Fadel Oujan
George Fafard
Hamza Oualili
Ian Haack
Ibrahim Kabbout
Jake Lavold
Pedro Silva
Piotr Mądrowski
Rachel Kaunismaa
Saeed Ghasemi
Shawn Ferrell
softwarekong
Sule EEdirkvyo
Tanioni
Triple Ak-ron
Turan Streaming
Tyler Mauer
Unicorn Warrior
Virtual Goods
WaterTiger2075
wtfsteve
Žan Dolenc
Zane Mesmer
Владислав Поляков
⼜铭刘
JakeDuhDawg
Jamie Wiatr
Janine Burke
Jason Jouan
Jimmy Park
Joaquin Ezequiel
Jódís Helgadóttir
Jonathan Hunter
Jordan Gittemeier
Jordan Landry
Justin Hall
Kemuel Baltazar
Kenny Zhong
Krysmyr Anne Acot
Lewis Twomey
Michael Johnson
Mihai Carare
Miles Chiafulio
Naomi Gregory
Natalie Barnes
Niklas Beck
Ömer Kaya
Pearcington

32. Board of Directors
Abhinav Agrawal, Ernst & Young
Arabella DeLucco, WeXL Org
Arlene Guzman Todd, California State University, Los Angeles
Ena Patel, R.A.E. Entertainment
John Gilles, Microsoft
Michael Rose, The Brunswick Group
Naomi Assaraf, CloudHQ
Sena Khoda
Sunena Dahlvani
Timothy Woo, TripActions
Whitney Lawrence, Autodesk
Thank You to Our Staff, Interns, and Volunteers:
Staff
Arabella DeLucco, Founder & CEO
Kirsten Spalding, COO
Vince Wang, Volunteer CMO
Antonio Garro, Video Editor
Consultants
David Jacobson, PR & Communications
Lisa Lee Herrick, Development and Grant Writing
Michael Kredel, Finance
Interns
Alec Schmitz, Ohio University
Bethany AuCoin, University of New Hampshire
Christina Ransom-Vignola, San Francisco, CA
D'Miya Smith, Florida A&M
Hallie Blakeslee, Boise State University
Nathan Murphy, Minneapolis, MN
Owen Russell, St. Lawrence University

33. Acknowledgements
We are especially grateful to the following people who have gone above and beyond in helping WeXL make an
impact:
Chelsea Simms
Streamlabs, a Logitech company
Alicia Staffier
Anthem
Ian Storrar
Box.com
Katharine Yu
NetSuite
Rey Jefferson
A3 Ventures

34. WeXL Org
38 Keyes Avenue, Suite LL01
San Francisco, CA 94123
415-655-9519
www.WeXL.org
Cover images: Dr. Elizabeth Kwo being interviewed during the Anthem Fast Track To Scale MassChallenge in Boston,
Mass. (top left); Youth activist Nyla Choates with her friends at a George Floyd rally (top right); Girls Prep Bronx Academy
students with their teacher, Danielle Sacks Sierra (bottom left); WeXL Intern, Hallie Blakeslee in front of a tiger (bottom right)
Copyright © WeXL Org 2021
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