Robin Diakhaté

After retiring from twenty years in the theatre as an actor, director, writer, and Associate Artistic Director of Words Across Cultures (1993), Robin shifted her talents into creating academic and inspirational activities for children. Since then she has worked with foster and homeless children, created an empowerment workshop for high school girls, directed a short piece written and performed by Los Angeles area high school students for The Season for Non-Violence-LA (1997).

Before coming to Zeitgeist, Robin spent seven years developing and managing an academic program at the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of California. There she worked with children living with sickle cell disease, who were having academic challenges in school. She was also a Program Manager for Camp Crescent Moon where she created programs on peace, African Culture, and rites of passage. In the Spring of 2004, Robin volunteered to teach English to pre-school students at Hamady Diallo Bibliotheque Ecole in Senegal, West Africa. "They taught me more than I could ever teach them."

Message from the Executive Director:

The other day as I was walking our students from Coliseum Elementary School, we noticed that three walls near our center were tagged by gang members. Missy, one of our 5th graders knew what all of those tags meant in detail. She said that she sees them all the time. "You can't stop them from doing it", she said. "You clean it up, and they'll just come back and do it again."

Reality? Yes. Depressing? Most definitely. This is why we're still here!

Every day that we open our doors, is another opportunity to uplift and educate our students beyond that reality. At a time where schools are being downsized, classrooms are getting larger, and some after-school programs are more about recreation than education; Zeitgeist continues to be about the business of assisting students in their academic growth and development. Within 770 sq. ft., they discover the world around them and how they can participate in it in an active and positive way. It's always been that way. Our focus to expand young minds it still what we do. And we could not continue to do this without actively involved parents and teachers. We certainly couldn't do it without the financial and in-kind support from old and new friends, who understand the value of Zeitgeist in the Baldwin Village community.

I would like to publicly thank the following angels for a successful fifth year: The Stern family, Richard & Sue Masson, the Fletcher family, the Zeitgeist Committee at Viewpoint School and their parents, our volunteers, mentors, Santa Maria Trails & Parks, Jewish Community Foundation, California State University Long Beach, Johnson, Harbrand, Foster & Darling; Sara Horta, Children’s Nature Institute, Topanga Elementary School, The Heartfelt Foundation, Christelle Telesford, Donovan Malloy, L.A. Works, L.A. Shares, LAPD Officers Geraldine Thompsen & Sergeant Mark Greene, John Anderson & The Eagle Scouts, Councilman Herb Wesson, Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP, our board, parents, and the community. We are genuinely grateful for any assistance because it allows us to reach out to more students and families.

Zeitgeist Community Learning Center moves into its sixth year with the enthusiasm and the hard work of the first. And speaking of firsts, our first students are now in high school, and our first high school mentors will be graduating from college this year. As we continue to grow as a viable organization, our students grow into future leaders with the hope of altering the present reality into a more productive one. We look forward to continuing this work with your support.

Peace & Abundance