GUARDIAN PRINCESS ALLIANCE - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Director of Creative Development

Chari Arespacochaga has over 20 years of experience in theatre as a director, actor, creator of musical staging, and drama teacher and has an MFA in Theatre Directing. She also has a long list of credits as an actress, creator of musical staging, and drama teacher and has an MFA in Theatre Directing. She was most recently the Assistant Director and SDC Observer for the New York Music Theater Festival's SINGLE WIDE. Presently, she is completing an artistic residency with the Guardian Princess Alliance and is adapting their princess stories into a musical for young audiences.

Job Titles:

• Director of the Guardian Princesses' Spanish Language Division

Gina Decanini is the Director of the Guardian Princesses' Spanish Language Division. A foreign language teacher and translator in Monterrey, Mexico, Gina is passionate about youth development, empowerment of girls and young women, animal welfare, and creative arts. In her year with the Guardian Princesses, Gina has developed and maintained our Spanish Facebook page (Princesas Guardianas), translated the Guardian Princess books into Spanish (stay tuned for news about our upcoming bilingual e-book version of Princess Mariana and Lixo Island), and organized Guardian Princess book fairs at local schools. She also recently gave a presentation on the Guardian Princesses at the "Diversidad y Equidad de Género" conference in Mexico.

Princess Fernandez is a recent graduate of the University of California, Riverside with a BA in Creative Writing. She was also a two-time Poetry Editor for UCR's Mosaic Art & Lit Journal and will be published in their 55th issue. From archiving to research to dressing up and creative production, she enjoys supporting the Guardian Princess Alliance mission in whatever way she can.

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor
• Director
• Founder

Setsu Shigematsu is an Associate Professor in the Media and Cultural Studies Department of University of California. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. As a gender studies scholar and mother, Setsu was concerned with today's overwhelming princess culture and how it is marketed to children. Given the powerful appeal of the ‘princess' and how much it was influencing her own daughter, Setsu decided to alter the social meaning of the princess by writing Princess Terra for her daughter's fifth birthday. Princess Terra recasts the princess as a protector and leader who works with others to stop conflict through non-violence. Since 2013, Setsu has volunteered her time to establish the Guardian Princess Alliance. As the founder, her goal was to create more empowering, educational, and diverse fantasies for children and job opportunities for students to express their talent and help change the world. Setsu loves working with the GP team and with her daughter, Saya, to share and create the Guardian Princess stories.