Live from the Prebys Sparx Awards Celebration: Celebrating Bold Ideas for Youth Well-Being

Katelyn Woodside is the Executive Director of the VAPA Foundation, a nonprofit bringing transformative arts education into San Diego’s public schools. A classically trained violinist, longtime educator, and nonprofit leader, Katelyn is advancing a bold vision: resilience and well-being through creative expression. Her organization’s award-winning proposal will train teaching artists in expressive arts and place them in 25 schools across the county — reaching nearly 5,000 students. Expressive Arts offers students a creative, embodied way to process emotions and develop essential life skills. By blending movement, music, visual arts, writing, and storytelling into classroom experiences, teaching artists help young people strengthen resilience, build self-awareness, and find new ways to connect with themselves and others.

This special episode of Stop and Talk was recorded LIVE at the Prebys Sparx Awards Breakfast, where the VAPA Foundation was honored as the grand prize recipient. Katelyn is joined by four outstanding Sparx honorable mention awardees — A Reason to Survive, Coastal Roots Farm, United Women of East Africa, and Youth Creating Change — each bringing powerful, place-based solutions to the youth mental health crisis.

Listen to the episode of Stop and Talk here.