Brenda Arellano (She/Her)
TEAM LEAD @ UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland

Moshe Cohen (he/him)
TEAM LEAD @ San Francisco Campus For Jewish Living

For 38+ years, Moshe Cohen has engaged in the elusive art form called Clown seeking to bring more lightness and laughter into the world. That’s why he’s thrilled to be a part of Medical Clown Project. As a performer, he has toured his “Mr. YooWho” show in 50+ countries in every venue imaginable, such as the Barcelona Olympics, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Eclats de la Rue (Aurillac), and De Klein Komedie. He is a pioneer in the social clowning world, founding Clowns Without Borders-USA in 1995,  participating in over 30 projects, his last to Guatemala in 2019. When not performing, he can be found teaching both locally and internationally, offering both Clown workshops to performers and Lightfulness Trainings in cultural, spiritual, health-care and corporate environments.

Molly Charmstrong (She/Her)

Molly Charmstrong (she/her) is a Midwesterner with the heart of a California poppy. Her professional titles have included, but are not limited to: Theatre Performer, Nanny, Punk Musician, Elementary School Teacher, Bartender, Janitor, Grocer, Post-Partum Doula, Mother, and Brewer –  to name a few. Molly is now based out of Oakland after graduating with a BFA in original work from Cornish College of the Arts, attending Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre and The National Shakespeare Conservatory. She has worked theatrically in Denmark, Haiti, Italy, Columbia, and all around the U.S. Molly is excited to be joining The Medical Clown Project and through medical clowning hopes to add “Ambassador of Joy” to her list of titles. 

In her free time Molly loves to make and eat good food, joke around with her partner and five year old kiddo and start but probably not finish new crafts of all sorts.

Josh Matthews – PROGRAM DIRECTOR (He/Him/They/Them)
TEAM LEAD @ Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation Center

Josh is Co-Artistic Director of Under the Table, having co-created and performed in seven Under the Table shows. Josh also performs with the immersive theatre company Third Rail Projects, including in Ghost Light at Lincoln Center and Then She Fell (New York Times Top 10 Pick). Josh directs too: he co-wrote and directed Bad Kid at Axis Theatre (New York Times Critic’s Pick) and directed the Chicago Neo-Futurist’s Production of Mike Mother (Time Out Critic’s Pick). Josh works as a hospital clown for the Medical Clown Project and a lead teaching artist for Prescott Circus Theatre.

Doyle Ott (He/Him)
TEAM LEAD @ Rhoda Goldman Plaza

Doyle Ott is a performer, director, dramaturg and theatre and circus scholar. Career highlights include work with Make A Circus, Splash Circus Theatre, Prescott Circus, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, San Francisco Circus Center, Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Foolsfury, Antenna Theatre, Golden Thread, and the San Francisco Playwright’s Foundation, where he served as dramaturg for Pulitzer Prize winner Jackie Sibblies Drury, and many other playwrights.

Calvin Kai Ku (He/Him)

Calvin Kai Ku began healthcare clowning at Medical Clown Project’s birth in 2010. Since then, he has continued therapeutic clowning across a variety of healthcare environments: Pediatric Units, Intensive Care Units, Emergency Departments, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Acute Care, Specialty Nursing, and Disaster Relief Zones. As a variety performer, he has performed in the prestigious WuQiao Circus Festival in China, Fortune 500 company events in the U.S. and Internationally, and for circus companies including Teatro Zinzanni and Circus Bella. Through the culmination of his many talents, Calvin Kai Ku combines his versatility with magic, music, circus, and theater with empathy and vulnerable human connections to improve the quality of patient centered care.

Josh Matthews – PROGRAM DIRECTOR (He/Him/They/Them)

Josh is Co-Artistic Director of Under the Table, having co-created and performed in seven Under the Table shows. Josh also performs with the immersive theatre company Third Rail Projects, including in Ghost Light at Lincoln Center and Then She Fell (New York Times Top 10 Pick). Josh directs too: he co-wrote and directed Bad Kid at Axis Theatre (New York Times Critic’s Pick) and directed the Chicago Neo-Futurist’s Production of Mike Mother (Time Out Critic’s Pick). Josh works as a hospital clown for the Medical Clown Project and a lead teaching artist for Prescott Circus Theatre.

Esther De Monteflores – OFFICE MANAGER (She/Her)

Esther de Monteflores is an American circus artist, physical performer, and puppeteer. She is one of a tiny handful of circus performers in the USA specializing in slackwire. Esther is the recipient of a Fellowship in Performing Arts (Artist Trust, Seattle, WA) as well as project grants for her solo/duo shows. Esther was a 2019 Circus Bella cast member and has also been seen standing on a rope in cities all across North America on tour with companies such as Cirque Mechanics, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, Venardos Circus, and Flynn Creek Circus. Esther has presented her unique take on circus arts and puppetry at festivals including Moisture Festival, Cannonball at Philadelphia Fringe, Art on the Atlanta Beltline, and Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival. When not balanced on a rope the width of her thumb, Esther is an arts administrator working with organizations in circus, theater, film, architecture, music, dance, and opera. estherdemonteflores.weebly.com

Dr. Anne W. Smith – Board Member (She/Her)

Dr. Anne W. Smith has been a long time leader in arts administration in a variety of roles: advocate, arts professional, planning and organizational development consultant, professor, and arts educator connected to interests nationally and internationally. She was Arts Administration department Chair and arts professor at Golden Gate University and earlier in her career, a tenured secondary education teacher of English, Humanities, Drama and Speech. 

She holds a DPA (with a focus on public policy) from Golden Gate University, an MA in Humanities & Curriculum from Teacher’s College, Columbia University and a BA in English and Theatre from State University of New York (University at Albany). 

She has held leadership positions for California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, ODC Dance, Dance Spectrum Ballet, Book Club of California, San Francisco Center for the Book and San Francisco Circus Center.

A nonprofit governance expert, Anne was a founding member for the Medical Clown Project Board and is delighted to return to service in 2020. She is also a Trustee for Theatre Bay Area, Fountain Project Foundation, and Commonwealth Club of California. Arts Forum. 

She has been an volunteer Officer/Director for California Arts Advocates, San Francisco Girls Chorus, California Lawyers for the Arts, Chanticleer, Dance Bay Area, the California Association of Dance Companies, Institute for Non-Profit Management, University of San Francisco, IZZIES Awards committee and World Arts West.

Leslie Martinson (She/Her)

Leslie Martinson is a theatre director and administrator, with a deep interest in new plays and musicals. Her artistic home-base is TheatreWorks Silicon Valley where she was on staff for over 30 years, as Associate Artistic Director and Casting Director, directing productions including SUPERIOR DONUTS, THE PITMEN PAINTERS, PROOF and THE FOUR IMMIGRANTS:AN AMERICAN MUSICAL MANGA. She has also directed for SPARC Theatre and City Lights Theatre Company.  She is a Creative Director and Co-Founder of Fieldwork Creations, blending art with science by offering creative dissemination services for qualitative interview data.

Julie Douglas (She/Her)

Julie Douglas is a Bay Area actor, deviser, teacher and clown. She holds a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. Julie has performed here in the Bay Area with SF Shakes, Shotgun Players, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and more. She is also a core actor with the site-integrated theatre company We Players where she has performed in Ondine at Sutro Baths, Macbeth at Fort Point (2x), and Odyssey on Angel Island. Before getting her MFA and moving back to the Bay Julie lived and made theatre in Chicago as a company member of The Moving Dock Theatre Company and performing with various Chicago companies. She was previous a medical clown with Clown Zero and can be seen performing in clown cabarets around the Bay. Julie is overjoyed to join the Medical Clown Project, to be back in hospitals sharing her love of laughter and play.