child pointing at their art they created inspired from Starry Night

teacher at art show with 4 students smiling and pointing at their art

Annual Report 2024-25

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Dear Friends and Supporters,
It is with immense pride and gratitude that I share our Annual Report for 2024/25. This year has been one of both expansion and deepened impact, as Art in Action brought the transformative power of visual arts education to over 93,000 students in classrooms and after-school programs across 257 schools and 550 community sites in twenty-three states. Over 40% of the students we serve attend Title 1 schools in underserved communities, confirming that we are reaching the children who benefit most from creative opportunity.
Our work continues to be guided by the vision of our founder, Judy Sleeth, whose belief that “art is from the heart and is what ties a child to their education in general” has shaped our mission for over four decades. Judy’s recent recognition with the Jefferson Award Silver Medal for public service reminds us that her legacy is not only enduring but growing.
This past year, we have seen educators embrace our programs with new energy, integrating art into core learning in ways that nurture creativity, boost confidence, and build critical thinking skills. Our Executive Director, Mary Carbullido, and our dedicated staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to adapt and innovate—ensuring that every lesson we deliver is meaningful, inclusive, and accessible.
To our donors—you make this work possible. Your generosity fuels every art kit packed, every teacher trained, and every child whose imagination is sparked by a brush, pencil, or pastel. To the educators—you are the champions of this movement, bringing the joy of creation into your students’ lives. And to our partners and volunteers—your hands, hearts, and minds are woven into every success story we share.
I am also grateful to my Vice Chair, Corinne Cho-Beaulieu, whose passion, and leadership have been instrumental in advancing our mission. Together with our Board of Directors, whose strategic guidance has helped us navigate growth with purpose, we are charting a bold course for the future.

Looking ahead, we believe the opportunities are extraordinary. Proposition 28 opens new possibilities for California schools to expand arts access—and we are ready to help districts seize this moment. Our goal remains clear: to ensure that every child, regardless of background, has the chance to explore, express, and discover themselves through visual arts.
Thank you for standing with us. Your belief in our mission is shaping a generation of creative thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators. Together, we are not just teaching art—we are empowering lives.
With heartfelt appreciation,
Susan Ball
FY24-25 Chair, Board of Directors
“I love Art in Action! It is a wonderful art education program that not only teaches the kids, but I learn a lot as well! I really appreciate being able to be a part of my child's class, and I have seen this program build confidence in kids who did not speak English or kids who were shy.”
-Sarah E.
Parent
“I’m very impressed with the program, just from what I observed & just the way that the art is taught. And I just love the diversity of the art that's taught. I love the family engagement component of the program. The students really look forward to art.”
-Principal Estonina
College Park Elementary
“Great program - introduces kids to art & art history. Activities for volunteers are simple but satisfying.”
-Volunteer
Menlo Park Rotary Club
“I have been using Art in Action in my classroom for years, & it has transformed the way I teach & the way my students learn. I use it to teach about other cultures, different artists, different art movements, parts of the world, periods in history & to compare it to now. They love it. We have fun making art projects and learning how to think out of the box with critical thinking skills in how to be creative and how to innovate.”
-Mrs Home Gun Middle School Teacher
West Valley School, Kalispell, MT
This year, Art in Action awarded scholarships to 10 Title I and under-resourced schools across the United States. The Scholarship Fund enabled access for 1–3 classrooms per school to the Judy Sleeth Legacy Program—complete with curriculum, art supplies, and teacher guidance—for the 2025–2026 school year. The Fund ensures that more students will experience meaningful art opportunities that spark creativity, fuel imagination, and build confidence.
We are profoundly thankful to all who contributed to the Scholarship Fund and helped make this year’s impact possible. A remarkable anonymous gift of $33,000 provided a significant boost, ensuring even greater reach. It is through the collective generosity of our donors that Art in Action can continue opening doors to visual arts education for every child, regardless of financial barriers.
In 1987, Betsy Halaby helped lay the foundation for Art in Action, shaping our early curriculum and docent training with a vision that valued imagination as the spark for creativity. Working alongside founder Judy Sleeth, Betsy guided thousands of parents and teachers, empowering them to lead art lessons with confidence and joy. Her focus on open-ended exploration and the belief that “Imagination Moves The Mind” became core to the Art in Action philosophy.
Over the decades, Betsy’s influence has reached well beyond classrooms. From working on community art projects in Redwood City to supporting children with cancer through art kits, she continues to champion art as a source of healing, connection, and joy. In 2025, Betsy was honored with the
2025 Art Visionary Award at OBJECT:ART, recognizing her lasting contributions to our mission and her unwavering role as a truth-teller, innovator, and advocate for creativity in every child’s education.

Thank You, Betsy!!

Our Community
of Supporters

Art in Action is grateful for your generous support for the year of 2024-2025.

$10,000 - $55,000
• Adobe Inc. ~
• Anonymous *
• Anonymous Family Foundation ~
• Applied Materials Foundation ~
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ~
• Cisco Foundation ~
• The H&F Gives Foundation
• Leo M. Shortino Family Foundation ~
• Palo Alto Community Fund ~
• Denise & Woody Shackleton *
• Wally & Judy Sleeth *
• Lauren Zachry *
$5,000 - $9,9999
• David & Keli Amann *
• Atkinson Foundation ~
• Jay & Willow Bechtel *
• Wendy Bergh *
• Julia Capeloto *
• Corinne Cho-Beaulieu & Bob Beaulieu *
• Sandra Fairon *
• Julie & David Fellers *
• Elizabeth Hekman Gordon Family Foundation
• Daniel Linger *
• Jennifer and Steve Nash *
• Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund ~
• Haylee Perez *
• Julia Rieger *
• Teichert Foundation ~
• Celia Walker *
$2,000 - $4,999
• Susan Ball
• Terri Bullock
• Canopy Menlo Park
• Diane Crittenden & Howard Crittenden III
• Mary & Gary Ellison
• Debbie Evers Allen
• Ingrid & Chris Freire
• Daniel & Brenda Fridman
• Google Matching Gifts Program
• Dave Harmon
• Tom Heuer
• Ruth & Jeffrey Housenbold
• Intuit
• Ali Irturk, Ph.D. & Jennifer Irturk
• Abbey Kerins
• Jen Liao
• Meta Local Community Fund ~
• Nike, Inc.
• Isabel O'Meara
• Stefan & Melissa Riggs
• Rotary Club of Menlo Park ~
• Kyle Shackleton & Yoon Jeong Choi
• Joanne & Roger Sherrard
• Prashant Shukla
• Vijay Singh
• Rodney Toy
• Judy & Gerron Vartan
• Lisa & William Zachry

$1,000 - $1,999
• Paul Alabi
• Olya & Dragomir Anguelov
• Frank & Peg Austin
• Adrian Beaulieu
• Anne Campbell & Michelle Green
• Rob & Steph Clay
• Tom Cooper
• Joe Cusick
• Antonio Dojer
• Anne & Gerald Down
• Alejandra & Tom Elam
• Steven & Erica Feinberg
• Betsy Halaby
• Catherine Halaby
• Chris Halaby
• Stephanie Chu & Melind John
• Just Us For All Foundation
• K&L Wine Merchants
• Kainos Home & Training Center
• Katy Milton Design
• Amy Koch & Aaron Kahn
• Karen Koltonow
• Ann Kubricky & Jack Miller
• Jacqueline Kurzer
• Larkmead Vineyards
• Steven Li
• Melissa Mahoney
• Shyamala & Subbaiah Malladi
• Felicia McGrew
• Jana Paquette
• Jackson & Kenna Seagrist
• Marc Serughetti & Kaleo Serughetti-Waxman
• Shani Podell & Leo Szilardy
• The Apple Matching Gifts Program
• Cherise Thompson
• Pamela Weiss
• Anna Zara

$500 - $999
• Anonymous
• Glenn & Emily Auyoung
• Brenda Balducci
• Leslie Bandy
• Carolyn Brennan
• Kathleen Christman & Christian Skieller
• Clif Family Winery
• Susan & Pat Coan
• Patrick & Monica Corman
• The Donum Estate
• Nargues M. Eder
• Doug & Kristen Edwards
• Fernando Escartiz
• Jay & Joyce Friedrichs
• Mark & Jenny Gams
• Jennifer Glenday
• Edward Goodstein & Fran Eastman
• Kimberly Gross
• Andrew Huang & Elaine Tseng
• Sonya Kleshik
• Bridget Logterman & Jon Shanberge
• Katrina Magowan
• Nancy Mathews
• Leah & Tom McMurtry
• Jim & Vicky Merchant
• Microsoft Corporation
• Steve Miller
• Jo Sauer Mitchell & Steve Mitchell
• Kelli Montgomery
• NFP, An Aon Company
• Aline Ng & Ognjen Pavlovic
• Sally & Russell Porter
• Barbara & Chuck Preuss
• Elsa Schafer Raval and Asha Raval
• Susan & Richard Seiler
• Lisa Seim
• SiriusXM
• Katherine Sleeth
• Synopsys, Inc.
• Barry Thompson
• Cathy & David Tokic
• Total Wine & More
• Kenneth Wach & Geri Crane
• Donna & Garrett Wada
• Jaime Williams
• Nancy Yang
• Zoom Video Communications
$200 - 499
• Megan Anhalt & John Cassidy
• Anonymous
• Samira Bakhtiary
• Broadway San Jose
• Kelly Bugos
• Philipa & Jim Caldwell
• Marsha Campbell & Bob Mullen
• Karen Canty & Ed Canty, Jr.
• Mary & Greg Carbullido
• Shirley & Jerry Carlson
• Lisa Carr
• Laurie Carrigan
• Elisa Chung
• Lauren White & Steven Cracknell
• Kim Crockett
• Amy & Jeff Crowe
• John & Alison Draper
• Dry Creek Wine Festival
• Melanie Erasmus
• Filoli Historic House & Garden
• Jeanne & Frank Fischer
• Judy Ford & Daniel Mathalon
• Kenneth Fox
• Jim & Marilyn Garrison
• Linda Garvey
• Nancy & Max Gisko
• Glamour & Stars
• Golden State Valkryies
• Golden State Warriors
• Linda Goldman
• Wendy Grim
• Rita & David Helseth
• Jeff Hoch
• In-N-Out Burger Restaurant
• Jacuzzi Family Vineyards
• Jacque & John Jarve
• Jessup Cellars
• JLA Foundation
• Nicki Kim
• Wayne Kvenvold
• Jonathan Leong
• Lockheed Martin Employees Political Action Committee
• Ay-Kim Lu
• Danielle & Lance Lutticken
• Chef Sean Lynd
• Peter & Heather Macdonald
• Meg Gordon & Peter Margolis
• Courtney & Andrew Maury
• Jerry Lee & Kerry McArdle
• McKahn Wines
• Danforth & Lisa Miller
• Simonetta Mocci
• Rose & David O'Sullivan
• Laura Olson
• Pallas Athena Skincare Aesthetics
• Palmer Trinity Private School Inc.
• Ingrid Palu
• Courtney & Dennis Payne
• PayPal Giving Fund
• Janhavi Pendse
• Susie & James Peyton
• Frank Poss
• PRP Wine International
• Maggie & Tom Rancatore
• Rawn Michael's Art
• Rhonel Roberts
• Colleen Devlin & Rick Rosenthal
• Monica & Roger Ross
• Kari Rust
• San Francisco Ballet
• Julie & Colin Savage
• Lee Scheuer & Kimberly Fraedrick
• Francesca Segre
• Megan Shackleton & George Weiner
• Gerry & Stephanie Somers
• Michelle & Paul Speert
• Teresa Halton Photography
• Shannon & Jim Thompson
• Steven & Lisa Tsuruoka
• Visa
• Jackie Walker & Ernest Chilberg
• Wente Vineyards
• Tanya Wilkins
• Woodside Vineyards
• Lari Yamaguchi
• Avery Yang
• Venetia Young
• Kathy Yuasa
$100 - $199
• Melinda & George Ahrens
• American Conservatory Theater
• AppleOne
• Kenneth Arai
• Richard & Molly Bahr
• Lynn and Bob Bastida
• Nir Belsky
• Ashvini Bhave
• Blick Art Materials
• Nancy & Penn Butler
• Calcareous Vineyard
• Margaret Carney
• Leslie Chen
• Sharon & Stuart Dalton
• Lois Darbonne
• Robert & Sylvia Dickinson
• Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
• doTERRA International LLC
• Carol Edmiston & Paul Sakai
• Gerry Ellis
• Wendy & Evan Ellis
• Fieldwork Brewing Co.
• Leigh Flesher & Mark Bailey
• Dana Gerstbacher
• gorjana
• Catha Hall
• Marian & Thomas Hill
• Hillbarn Theatre
• Leslie Itano & Jerry Chang
• Stanley Karp III & Cathy Baird
• Cathy & Jim Koshland
• Susan Kritzik
• Linda Kuhli
• Laurel Street Arts
• Sue Leiter
• Stasia Liu
• Constance & Robert Loarie
• Rachelle Lopp
• Jill & Jeff Mannie
• Heather Maxwell
• Kevin McFarland
• Karen Lee McSorley
• Mary Ann Michaels
• Mistral Restaurant & Bar
• Michele & Chris Nadan
• Cathie Nelson
• Wendy & Craig Nishizaki
• Elizabeth Noerdlinger & Marc Goldburg
• Kristie Owens
• Judy & Mark Paris
• Marion Pippard
• PlayStation Cares
• Dave Poole
• Verity & Geoff Powell
• Vivek Ramani
• Judy & Walt Robinson
• Ruby Hill Winery
• Ian Joe Sagabaen
• San Francisco Opera
• San Jose Giants
• Joan & Mo Sanders
• Sarrtori Fine Apparel
• Charles Schmuck
• Carolyn & John Shea
• Alicia Silverman
• Samuel Slayen
• Smart & Final Charitable Foundation
• Cindy Smith
• Monique Soto & Thomas Int-Hout
• St. George Spirits
• Target Redwood City
• Carol & Donald Teodoro
• Amanda Terry
• The Walt Disney Family Museum
• TheatreWorks
• Rebecca Tom
• Carly Villareal
• Anna Waring
• Wendy Wood
• Nora Wu
• Elizabeth Zachry

$1 - $99
• Cris Adair
• Avant Gard Spa
• Bella Nails San Mateo
• Benihana
• Tammy Berardi Sanchez & Carlos Sanchez
• Bogle Family Vineyards
• Sarah Bonta
• Sharon Chen
• Sonia Chun
• Costco Redwood City
• Carolyn Danek
• David Coffaro Vineyard & Winery
• Mirta Degastaldi-Ortiz
• Helen Dolan & David Schoenbrun
• Lowell Doppelt
• Abram Ellison
• Rosalie Emanuel
• Epicurean Group
• Peter Fernandez
• Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
• Flying Suitcase Wines
• Pierce & Steven Foster
• Elyse Goldman
• Gourmet Gift Baskets
• Henry & Nancy Greenberg
• Renee Greenstein
• Elaine Hammond & John Donald
• Emily Harborne
• Karen Hart
• Hassett Hardware
• Justin Heermann
• Terry Hewins
• Jessica Holbert
• Garrett Holthaus
• Eleni Hunter
• Sam Huynh & Gabrielle Korte
• Priyanka Jasti
• Nancy Jung
• Adriana Kane
• Rucha Katakwar
• Kendra Scott LLC
• Sharon King
• Laurie Leihy
• Roxana Loza
• Lunardi's Markets Belmont
• Rachel Marino
• Emil Mathews
• McEvoy Ranch
• Vinith Misra
• Mariana Moore
• Matt Moore
• Sara Natri
• Nordic Nest
• Nothing Bundt Cakes
• Gary O'Connor
• Rachel Ostrom
• Erin Oswald
• Raj Patel
• The Petersen Automotive Museum
• Rita Phillips
• Piazza's San Mateo
• Tammy Polanco
• Helen Poplack
• Pamala Pritchard
• Carmela Quinito
• John & Karen Rashleger
• Judy & Chuck Rino
• Roblox
• Sherry Saccamango
• Safeway Crystal Springs
• San Francisco Giants
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• San Francisco Zoo & Gardens
• San Jose Sharks
• Dorothy Saxe
• Janet & Victor Schachter
• Leslie Shaw
• Elizabeth & Enrique Silva
• Suresh Srinivasan
• David Sweet
• Cindy Ta
• Tender Greens
• Vijay Thiyagarajan
• Top Golf
• Trader Joe's San Carlos
• Mieko Tsukamoto
• University Art
• Joy Vigil
• Robin Weiss
• Wesley United Methodist Church
• Kimberly Williams
• Winchester Mystery House
• Nahom Woldeamanueal
• Peiyuan Yao
• Michael Yeldell
• Shuo Zeng