Honoring our Roots

A History of Project Commotion

Project Commotion honors each participant’s roots and strives to foster a strong foundation of physical and emotional health that each child can build on throughout their lifetime.

At Project Commotion we honor our own organizational roots and are eternally grateful for the strong foundation that was created by co-founder Chagua Camcho-Olguín along with a core group of original supporters. We continue to build off of that stable foundation today.

Chagua Camacho-Olguín

Our ability to have the community impact that we have today would not be what it is without the vision and inspiration of our Co-Founder, Chagua Camacho-Olguín.

In the early 2000s, when co-founders and dear friends Chagua and Susan were first working together, it was Chagua’s keen capacity to integrate all different types of learners and abilities that had parents requesting for their children to be in her classes or to work 1-on-1 with her, and for teachers to ask for her guidance in how they could better support the children in their classes. Chagua had a very clear passion and firm belief that all children deserve the right to quality programs and that all children can succeed with the right support and understanding.

Motivated by the realization that stimulating movement can promote healthy development in children of all backgrounds and abilities, Chagua and Susan embarked in studies together to learn more through the Child Development and Family Studies Department at City College of San Francisco.

This experience gave Chagua and Susan an academic base from which to understand the potential impacts of designing and developing a movement program like Project Commotion.

With the support of a few key advisors and mentors (see below), Chagua and Susan decided to make the dream a reality -- Project Commotion would be a physical space, a philosophy for program delivery, and a community for people to be in.

Chagua’s passions were to serve children of all needs/abilities and to physically be in a space where Latinx immigrant families could access services— providing access through location, language capacity, culture and financial support to any family in need.

The Mission District of San Francisco was the perfect home for Project Commotion. With the location carefully chosen, Chagua focused on systems that would truly allow for individualized support and community building.

Chagua brought with her the curriculum she had developed at a previous program while Susan focused on growing the capoeira programming. Chagua developed an intake process to help Project Commotion staff build relationships with families who came in the door looking for support. The extensive intake process included questions such as what makes your child happy, what are your child’s strengths, what do you do at home to help your child if they are experiencing big emotions, along with observation of the child in the studio space.

Chagua’s powerful vision helped secure a fiscal sponsor (see below) in order to be able to use grant funds to cover tuition assistance for families. Chagua helped to build strong relationships with other service providers in the Mission District who also served our target populations and believed in our methodology.

While Chagua stepped away from her role at Project Commotion in 2014, the foundation that she built for the organization provides a solid base for our work today. As our work has expanded and transformed over the years, we continue to serve the community that we have always served since we opened our studio doors in 2008. Chagua’s legacy lives on as we maintain a community space where all feel welcome, where every child is seen as a unique individual, and there’s always cause for commotion.

Read part 1 of Chagua’s Project Commotion memoirs!

Mentors & Advisors

Project Commotion would not be what it is today without Nina Mogar, Alice Nakahata, Stephen Rico, Cynthia Fong and Tracy Burt. These five commotion confidantes have played the role of teacher, advisor, friend, supporter, and much more. Through the insights gained during their classes at CCSF, Chagua and Susan built a program design, weaving together child development best practices, movement, and cultural competency. Nina, Alice, Stephen, Cynthia and Tracy were there in the very beginning to encourage the dream and have continued to provide years of mentorship and support to build the dream, ensuring children’s wellbeing is at the center of every decision and that the commotion is serving the community to the fullest.

Chagua shares how these important people influenced her personally and helped direct the path of Project Commotion:

“Tracy Burt opened my understanding of children with special needs and the services provided for them at the time. She was also the one that encouraged me to move out of AcroSport.”
“Nina Mogar shows us that all children are unique and powerful.”
“Stephen Rico guides us into sensory integration and Dr. Ayres.”
“Alice Nakahata showed us how to be open to learning from babies...was so important.”
“Cynthia Fong showed me to bring the families in as a force to support the children.”

Fiscal Sponsor

International Child Resource Institute

(2008 - June 30, 2021)

Ken Jaffe, Founder and Global Director at ICRI, and his incredible team quickly understood the powerful impact Project Commotion would have on children and the Mission District community. Their partnership was invaluable in kicking off the commotion.