Game Changers

In celebration of Women’s History Month and SJ2026, join us for a dynamic evening of art, film, music, and influential change makers who are leveling the playing field for women in sports. Presented in partnership with Mel Day and the Wall of Song Project, Positive Coaching Alliance, Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, and Grassroots Baseball, producers of the film See Her Be Her.

Featured Panelists

Perry Barber, writer, musician, and professional baseball umpire 
Khali Blackman Newton, Director of Coalitions & Community Impact, Positive Coaching Alliance 
Ariel Castillo, Assistant Director, Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula

Featured Films and Artwork

See Her Be Her: Trailer by filmmaker and photographer Jean Fruth 
Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Film by Talia Grossman, artist and athlete 
Feeling Good: Film by Mel Day, artist and creator of the Wall of Song Project
 

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About

Khali Blackman Newton   

Positive Coaching Alliance is a sports-based youth development nonprofit organization whose mission is to change the culture of youth sports so that every child, regardless of social or economic circumstance, has access to a positive youth sports experience.  

As the Director of Coalitions & Community Impact with Positive Coaching Alliance, Khali leads coalition work and drives sport equity initiatives throughout the organization. Supporting equity through sport has always been a dream for her, and this role brings that vision to life. She often says it’s “the perfect mix of social justice and sport.” Khali is proud to serve and uplift marginalized communities across the region and beyond. Outside of work, you’ll find her coaching basketball, hitting the golf course, or playing in a local softball league, always finding joy in the game.  

Perry Barber  

At her mother Jaqueline's suggestion, Perry Barber started umpiring Little League baseball in southern California with her identical twin sister Warren in 1981, when women on the diamond were few and far between. In the four and a half decades since then, she has umpired all levels of amateur and professional baseball everywhere around the world, including major league exhibitions in the United States and Japan, the fabled Cape Cod League, Division I College Ball, the Independent Atlantic League, the Dominican Pro Summer League, and international competitions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Guam. She's also written dozens of magazine articles about umpiring, contributed to numerous books and baseball anthologies, and given presentations about her career at research conferences across the country.   

From her origins as a New York City debutante to Jeopardy! champion at the tender age of 19, to a ten-year career as a singer/songwriter/guitarist who opened shows for Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, and who has written songs recorded by Bette Midler and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, Perry's path to the diamond has been long and winding, mostly in pursuit of avoiding getting a real job. At age 72, her goals now are to keep umpiring as long as she remains ambulatory, and to develop programs to draw girls and women to the diamond while providing them with uniforms, equipment, financial resources, and mentoring that will ensure the pipelines leading to opportunities for women umpires remain open and flowing.   

During her decades on the diamond, Perry has established a lot of "firsts," but her focus now is on not being "The Only," and definitely on not being "The Last."  

Ariel Castillo 

Ariel Castillo is a distinguished leader in youth athletics with nearly two decades of experience as a coach and educator. As the Assistant Director of Sports Leagues for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Ariel oversees impactful programs designed to empower the next generation of athletes. Under her leadership, the organization’s athletic programs have expanded exponentially, now providing free, high-quality, competitive sports to more than 3,500 children across the Peninsula.  

A formidable force on the court, Ariel is a two-time basketball state champion celebrated in the Hall of Champions. Her competitive excellence is matched by her commitment to teaching and mentoring, rooted in pedagogy with 10 years of experience as a Physical Education teacher and 18 years as a youth basketball coach.  

Beyond the scoreboard, Ariel is a passionate advocate for sports equity, with a particular focus on expanding access and resources for girls in athletics. She is deeply committed to using the power of sports to build resilience, leadership, and community among youth, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive on and off the court. 

Talia Grossman  

Born and raised in Palo Alto, California, Talia Grossman is an artist and an athlete.   

As an athlete, her two main sports are soccer and baseball. A goalkeeper, Talia spent 4 years on the University of Southern California (USC) women’s soccer team, and was a member of Australia’s national U-20 squad. In baseball, she twice represented the US in international competition in South Korea, and was once featured in Sports Illustrated for hitting left-handed and right-handed home runs in consecutive at-bats.   

As an artist, Talia uses video, photography, archives, audio, performance, and collage to explore the layers of her personal identity, issues of marginalization, generational connection, and the relationship between past, present, and future. In her practice, she takes an interdisciplinary approach because she strongly dislikes the thought of repeatedly using the same mediums. This reflects how, as a person, Talia is not able to be narrowly defined. She is proudly Asian (Indonesian) and European, Muslim and Jewish, and a dual citizen of Australia and the US.   

Talia is a recent graduate of USC, where she majored in Fine Arts and minored in Cinematic Arts. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia.     

Mel Day  

Mel Day is a Bay Area artist focused on video, new media, performance, and community engagement.  Her work explores the role of the unknown, uncertain, and unseen. Day often invites public participation and collaboration in projects over years and even decades. Her work has been exhibitied nationally and internationally at venues including Salesforce Tower Midnight Artist Series, Grace Cathedral, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), San José Museum of Art, San José Institute of Contemporary Art, Berkeley Art Museum. Honors include the Silicon Valley Artist Laureate Nexus Award, Headlands Center for the Arts Alumni New Works Award and UC Berkeley Fellowship, an Experimental Media Arts Residency at Stanford University and Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus (Germany). She holds an MFA from UC Berkeley and has taught at San José State University, UC Berkeley, and University of Toronto, Mississauga.  

UNITED IN PLAY: SAN JOSÉ IS FOR EVERYONE

From family-friendly events to inclusive experiences for all ages, San José Museum of Art is joining the City of San José to create spaces where the entire community can come together. Learn more at sj26.sanjose.org.

First Fridays

Everyone can enjoy an inviting atmosphere with open galleries and live entertainment.

MUSEUM CAFÉ

Grab your late-night bites and cash bar at El Cafecito, by Mezcal Restaurant

Member benefit: Receive a 10% discount with every purchase at the Café! 

MUSEUM STORE

Shop local! The Museum Store is also open late. 

Member special: During the First Friday of every month, Museum members receive a 20% discount with every purchase at the Store!

This offer does not apply to items that are on sale.

Support

San José Museum of Art First Fridays are made possible in part by major support from the Jay Paul Company.

Operations and programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by principal support from SJMA’s Board of Trustees, and a Cultural Affairs Grant from the City of San José and the Skyline Foundation; by lead support from the Lipman Family Foundation, the Adobe Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Toby and Barry Fernald, Tammy and Tom Kiely, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Teiger Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the SJMA Director's Council and Council of 100; and with significant endowment support from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the San José Museum of Art Endowment Fund established by the Knight Foundation at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.