Arabella DeLucco

Arabella immigrated from the Philippines at a young age and remembers sitting alone at recess because she couldn't speak English. There, she vowed to learn the language as best she could. She had sought to gain a sense of belonging but instead assimilated and lost parts of her true self along the way. After graduating from Rutgers University with a double major in political science and English, her career path meandered from journalist to event producer to tech marketer, among other things. Sometimes, she felt like a failure, but taking cinema and art classes at the City College of San Francisco helped her redefine success and reconnect to the artist inside of her. In 2017, she founded WeXL to help young people discover and express themselves while connecting with others through collaboration and creativity. In 2021, she received a Jefferson Award for her service. Arabella and her husband recently moved from San Francisco to Chicago. The supportive local communities in her new city inspire Arabella to practice art making in many forms, including improv, theater, filmmaking, writing, and oil painting.