Duende Drama & Literature

Bringing Plays and Stories to Our Schools and Communities

  • Home
  • About Duende
    • Organization and Board
    • Support Duende
  • Live Performance
    • ABOLITION
    • Money Man
    • The Air We Share
    • Friendly Fire
      • Resources
    • The Starry Messenger
    • The Great Blight
    • Gunpowder Man
      • Resources
    • Seabiscuit
    • The Betsy Ross Of the Bears
      • Resources
    • Dust Storm
    • On Fire!
    • Inventing the West
    • Vivien
    • Playwrights Collective
    • California History Theatre 2002
    • The Bookshelf
  • Video
    • ABOLITION – The Film
    • Money Man Video
  • Rick’s Blog
  • Contact
You are here: Home / About Duende / Organization and Board / Jean Ashford

Jean Ashford

Jean Ashford retired in 1992 from a career in the Business Department of San Francisco City College. Born in Greenville, Mississippi, she remembers running up and down the aisle of the Greyhound Bus that brought her family to California’s Central Valley when she was eighteen months old. After Pearl Harbor her parents relocated to Redwood City. Her first job was with the NAACP during the era of boycotts and school desegregation in the 1950s. She was active in community service programs aimed at integrating minority women into the workforce. After several years working as a liaison with businesses for the Regional Office of the Girl Scouts of America she joined Hewlett Packard as a manuscript editor in the microwave division. With the increasing racial tensions of the Civil Rights era, H.P. granted her leave to teach in San Francisco Adult Education programs designed to facilitate entry of minority workers into labor unions (specifically for the construction of BART) and the technical work force. She was an early recipient of a Lifetime Teaching Credential issued by the California State Department of Education based on Life Experience. After a stint as Public Service Director for San Francisco’s Channel 20, she was a freelance consultant for several years working on numerous Department of Labor contracts. She then returned to teaching, first at Heald’s Business College and finally for twelve years at San Francisco City College until her retirement. Still doing occasional contract work for the Federal Government, she is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Central Sierra Arts Council.

Support Duende


Donations are tax deductible and processed securely through PayPal.

ABOLITION

ABOLITION tells the story of two friends, Frederick Douglass and John Brown, during the tumultuous decade leading up to the Civil War. Produced as an acclaimed two-man stage play in Sonora and Sacramento, Duende is now in production of a broadcast quality film adaptation.

Learn more about the progress of the film version, as well as the historical background of the stage play.

Theater venues interested in presenting our production of ABOLITION should contact us to discuss the possibilities.

Don’t Miss Out!

Join our email newsletter and get advance info about special performances and events.

On the Blog

Tribute to Frederick Douglass

July 4, 2020 By Rick Foster

A Thumbnail View of Abolition

June 28, 2018 By Rick Foster

A Thumbnail Early Life of Frederick Douglass

June 28, 2018 By Rick Foster

info@DuendeDrama.org · 209.532.9177 · P.O. Box 5469, Sonora, CA 95370
Copyright © 1999–2023 Duende Drama & Literature · Website by Webdancers ·· Log in