Marya Brennan

My name is Marya Brennan

Email: mlbrenna@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: East Bay

What I do / What I’m into: Co-Director of Programs at National Novel Writing Month/ fiction, dogs and dog training, tarot, circus, thrift shopping, museums

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Exercising / hiking, Nonprofits, Carpooling

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: Wood block printing, roller skating, filmmaking, tarot, transcendental meditation, bike mechanics, Spanish language learning

Instagram: @marya_brennan

Twitter: @moxyb

Nina Shen Rastogi

My name is Nina Shen Rastogi

Email: nina.rastogi@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: East Bay

What I do / What I’m into: I used to work as a journalist/critic (mostly at Slate and Vulture) and had all kinds of other literary lives (English teacher, grad student, book and comic book editor, VP of a literary startup for teens and young adults) ... now I work as a UX content designer and have had various language-oriented tech roles for the last decade or so. I'm on the board of the California Shakespeare Theater and work with them on marketing/branding projects and give talks about the plays through their dramaturgy department.

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Marketing, Technology

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: I love running reading groups and am always looking for cool opportunities to moderate/facilitate events and brainstorms. As a writer, I'm trying to figure out how to get to work without an editor's deadlines!

Website: nina-shen-rastogi.com

Instagram: @ninashen

Twitter: @ninashen

Vivien Sin

My name is Vivien Sin

Email: viviensinym@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: San Francisco

What I do / What I’m into: I started The Third Place (thethirdplace.is), and am passionate about empowering local businesses. I'm also an oil-painter and media artist (vivien-sin.com), and love film and theatre.

Ask me about: Public speaking, Event planning, Visual arts/crafts, Technology, Running a business, Film/TV

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: I'd love to meet more artists in disciplines I am personally not a practitioner in, such as literature, music, poetry, and performing arts.

Website: vivien-sin.com

Instagram: @vivsinym

Twitter: @vivsinym

Nicole Wong

My name is Nicole Wong

Email: nicoleemwong@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She/her/hers

I live in: East Bay

What I do / What I’m into: My day job is working at Spotify on the Podcast Business Operations team. I started my career in audio/podcasting in 2016 at Gimlet Media as an audio producer. Non-audio related: I'm into crafting (embroidery, polymer clay, collage), watercolor & pen illustration, mahjong, inventing new recipes out of leftovers, flea markets and learning new things!

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Event planning, Visual arts/crafts, Exercising/hiking, Nonprofits, Podcasting/radio, Food & cooking, Gardening

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about:
Bay Area/Oakland history, media studies, film/tv production, graphic design, political organizing & activism

Instagram: @nikiwongie

Twitter: @nikiwongie

Daniela Blei

My name is Daniela Blei

Email: daniela.h.blei@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: San Francisco

What I do / What I’m into: Book editing (mostly scholarly books; occasional non-fiction), writing for museums and non-profits/NGOs, and some journalism/I'm into food, languages, history

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Public speaking, Babysitting, Pet sitting, Housesitting, Nonprofits, Political organizing & activism

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: Politics: local + national; how to grow vegetables; finding accountability buddies (mine moved/got new jobs...sob)

Website: daniela-blei.com

Instagram: @dblei

Twitter: @tothelastpage

Vicki Lang

My name is Vicki Lang

Email: vickimlang@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She/they

I live in: San Francisco

What I do / What I’m into: For work, I'm a learning designer and with a psych and education background. At home, I do parenting, meditation, reading, running, puzzles, and music.

Ask me about: Event planning, Pet sitting, Housesitting, Exercising/hiking, Music, Technology, Nonprofits, Running a business, Accounting/finance/investing, Political organizing & activism, Carpooling, Gardening

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: Interested in healthy simple living, intentional relationships, community care, co-housing, outsider art, intuition and alternative ways of knowing, absurdity/surrealism, consciousness/the hologram and how to balance being of use with being my own. (But I'm not an Aquarius or anything.)

Instagram: @harryhelpsthedancers

Michelle Yee

My name is Michelle Yee

Email: m@michelleyee.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: San Francisco

What I do / What I’m into: writing, photography, collage

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Public speaking, Event planning, Visual arts/crafts, Exercising/hiking, Photography, Accounting/finance/investing, Carpooling, Gardening

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: cooking, pickling / fermenting, baking, quilting, podcasting

Website: michelleyee.com

Instagram: @_michelleyee

Twitter: @_michelleyee

Bethany Woolman

My name is Bethany Woolman

Email: bwoolman@gmail.com

My pronouns are: She & they

I live in: East Bay

What I do / What I’m into: Writing, nonprofit communications, crafting, interior design, strength training, houseplants

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Visual arts/crafts, Exercising/hiking, Nonprofits, Running a business, Political organizing & activism, Gardening

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: I'd love to learn more about screenwriting and working on film sets :)

Website: bethanywoolman.com

Instagram: @besalyn

Shane King Zackery

My name is Shane King Zackery

Email: szackery1244@gmail.com

My pronouns are: They/them/Shane

I live in: East Bay

What I do / What I’m into: Writing, film, entrepreneurship, coding

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Babysitting, Technology, Running a business, Film/TV

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: Equal opportunity learner

Website: Shanekingzackery.com

Instagram: @shanekingzackery

Peggy Lee

My name is Peggy Lee

Email: peggy@therubysf.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: San Francisco

What I do / What I’m into: I'm a Product Manager at the Internet Archive and formerly from the world of STEM education for girls/youth, Public Health, and Social Work. I'm into poetry, movies, cooking, homebrewing, pop culture, and road trips!

Ask me about: Event planning, Babysitting, Housesitting, Exercising/hiking, Technology, Nonprofits, Film/TV, Food & cooking, Carpooling

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: I love learning how to make or build things with my hands, having someone explain or share something about culture, science, art, history, sociology/anthropology, etc. that they're really passionate about, volunteering/community building, and exploring the city and Bay Area (born and raised here but there's always new crevices and areas to explore)

Instagram: @peggyleesix

Twitter: @pegsix

Claire Calderón

My name is Claire Calderón

Email: claire@therubysf.com

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: East Bay

What I do / What I’m into: I'm a writer, editor, and singer/songwriter. I help manage the Ruby and I'm working on a novel about ancestors. I like cooking, junk shops, queer hangs, my senior citizen dog Noni.

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Music, Political organizing & activism, Freelancing

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: Dance/Somatics/Movement & exercise buddies! Small business management! Strategic goal setting! Gardening!

Website: clairecalderon.com

Rachel Khong

My name is Rachel Khong

Email: http://www.rachelkhong.com/contact

My pronouns are: She/her

I live in: San Francisco

What I do / What I’m into: I'm a writer, editor, and novelist. I founded The Ruby in January 2018 and retired at the end of 2021 (though I remain a member!). Before I started The Ruby and published my novel, I was an editor at the food quarterly Lucky Peach. I love reading and writing, food and cooking, interior decorating, and music. I’m working on a podcast called “Trash/Treasure,” about reusing food containers.

Ask me about: Writing/editing, Publicity, Password sharing (Hulu, HBO, etc.), Event planning, Housesitting, Event planning, Running a business, Food & cooking, Gardening

What I'm interested in, or would like to learn more about: I’m hoping to travel more in 2022 and beyond! If you’re interested in cat sitting, I have a cat named Bunny and a two-bedroom apartment in the Mission. :) I’m also currently learning more about: landscape architecture, botany and gardening (flowers and vegetables), traditional Chinese medicine & herbalism, and folk tales and mythology. I’m an enthusiastic but beginner sewer and quilter. As of the pandemic, I’m also newly into fountain pens.

Website: rachelkhong.com

Instagram: @rrrrrrrachelkhong

Twitter: @rachelkhong