Mona Tavakoli + Becky Gebhardt
⤏ IN CONVERSATION WITH SUMMER BENTON
⤏ PHOTOS BY JEN ROSENSTEIN
⤏ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 2018
Mona Tavakoli and Becky Gebhardt are the two women at the helm of Los Angeles’ favorite social justice organization — Rock and Roll Camp for Girls. Rock and Roll Camp uses music to nurture self-esteem and self-expression in girls and nonbinary youth amidst a world that doesn’t always give them the permission, space, or tools to do so. Mona, Becky, their team of volunteers, and the programs they’ve designed are all dedicated to promoting collaboration, building confidence, and celebrating unique and diverse voices.
SUMMER: For people that don’t know, what is Rock and Roll Camp for Girls?
MONA: Rock and Roll Camp for Girls is a nonprofit social justice organization dedicated to empowering girls through music education, but we are so much more than just a music education program.
S: I’m glad you said that because I wanted to know how important it is to you that campers leave with musical knowledge?
BECKY: I think it’s more about exposure to new ideas and new sounds and the collaborative process. We’re hoping people leave camp with more musical knowledge, but there’s a lot of different kinds of musical knowledge you can have.
S: I love that. In the name you hear rock and roll, so a lot of people assume kind of one idea up front. I love that the program has so much depth. How did you get started?
M: We started organizing camp in 2009. And our first year of summer camp was 2010. 2019 will be our 10th camp session. Which is so insane!
B: Yeah! We first learned about Rock and Roll Camp for Girls from our experience as volunteers at the Portland camp. That’s where it started from and we had volunteered in Portland and got to know other organizers and were inspired to launch the LA version.
M: We sort of put the call out to our network, add a few fundraisers and our, sort of, High Vibe Tribe assembled around it. And a lot of people that helped kick it off in 2010 are still involved today. Which I think speaks to the work of the organization and the people involved and its impact. I’m very proud of that.
S: And you guys have been friends for how long now?
B: It’s our 20-year friendship anniversary this fall. That’s when we met.
M: In the dorms at UCLA. We were both on the same staff at Sproul Hall and we just totally hit it off. We decided to collaborate on a program together, so we asked for a hundred dollars from the Sproul Hall government. The name of our program was “Sticks and Picks” and I was going to teach people how to play drums and Becky was going to teach people how to play guitar. So we needed $100 to buy some drumsticks and a harmonica or something. So that was pretty much like the beginning of our teamwork. We offered it to all the residents of Sproul Hall and we actually had a pretty good turnout.
B: We also put on a program about cheese [laughs].
M: Becky and I also put on a cheese program. Our interests are varied.
S: What is it like working together? Are there bumps in the road? How do you keep the vibes high?
M: I’ll let Becky handle this one.
B: Mona and I are really opposite in many, many ways but where we do meet is really exciting. There’s a lot of creativity there. So we’re able to balance each other I think. I mean, there’s always conflict in any relationship especially like deep relationships. It’s interesting when we disagree about things. It’s almost fascinating as long as we’re in a good mood about it because our perspectives can be so different, but we cover a lot of ground that way.
M: Our skill sets are so different, but we both appreciate each other so much. I have such a respect for Becky’s intellectual take on things. She brings so much awareness and depth to conversations. Sometimes I’m only looking at the surface of something, but she can go deeper into like the heart of an issue. It’s a lot about trying to figure out how to come to an agreement. Communication and respect, like any relationship. We have to bring that into the way that we direct this organization. We’re asking people constantly to collaborate and solve problems and resolve conflicts. We have to be an example of that. I take it very seriously. Even when it gets heated and emotional and we disagree, I want to make it work for our community at large.
B: We have shared values that we know are in place. We agree on a lot. So you know you can come back to those constants.
M: I’m really proud of our friendship.
“It makes me want to run away and never do it again. It also makes me want to do it year round.”
B: Our friendship wouldn’t get the nurturing that it does if we weren’t doing projects together.
S: Rock Camp is such an extroverted place and you both have such different styles of being at camp and in the world. I feel like Mona is seen as the face of leadership so people come to you with every issue. How is it dealing with that much emotional labor?
M: Thank you for acknowledging that. I think I have a large capacity to hold space and I’m very deeply emotional and very sensitive and very empathetic and that’s a result of the way I was raised. My parents, they’re very loving and nurturing so I am too. I feel like I have a lot of wonderful friendships in my life that hold a lot of space for me, too. So I’m attracted to that energy exchange with people. I know that if I’m a great friend then I’m going to have great friendships in my life. We all need radical support sometimes.
B: It is a lot to take on emotionally. It’s the thing that makes it so special and also so hard.
M: Yeah. It makes me want to run away and never do it again. It also makes me want to do it year round. Every year I relearn that no feeling is final. So just ride the wave. It’s the same experience the campers have. So keep riding the wave. We know the result is going to be awesome.
S: Becky, you’re a little bit more introverted than Mona. How do you reconcile that with a space that usually asks you to be loud?
B: I am a quieter personality for sure. But I don’t feel like I’m a fish out of water or anything just because I’m not traditionally loud. I feel like I’m seen and heard in ways that aren’t necessarily with literal volume. And I find my place by doing things that are more behind the scenes. Those are the things keeping the machinery of camp going. The many little things happening behind the scenes that aren’t loud or onstage. But I can also turn on the big and loud if I need to. If I was around introverts all the time I would learn nothing about any other experience. I’ve chosen to surround myself with extroverts so that I can learn from them. And what I’ve learned is that I can turn it on when I want to and not be inauthentic in that. There’s space for everybody at camp.
S: You are both women of color. Does that ever affect the work that you do at camp?
B: I think it’s cool to have women of color in leadership roles. There’s a lot of role modeling there. And we are both very different physically from each other so that’s cool.
M: It’s a part of our mission statement. We are a social justice organization. And I think it’s cool and important to not just be able to say it, but you can see it in our leadership and our goals. I’m proud that we are two women of color at the helm.
“I’m proud that we are two women of color at the helm.“
S: Definitely. Camp is going to be in its tenth season next summer. Do you have highlights?
M: It’s so easy to be superficial about it and name all the rad women that have come through to perform for the girls and share their wisdom. But the highlights for me are that this program has happened consistently for nine years with great integrity. And the program keeps expanding and growing in quality and in impact. And that’s because we have amazing volunteer retention and we have a really strong community. Those are highlights for me. And that the school that hosts us still opens their doors for us every year.
B: And then I would say like a stream of former campers becoming volunteers is really amazing.
M: You’re one of them, baby!
S: That’s me!
B: Yeah. The growth you see in campers over many years is very cool. Just like how they’ve evolved over the years and who they’ve become.
S: Totally. Any challenges?
M: Well, we really want a year-round space. It’s a challenge having access to our equipment so we can do more year-round programming, but I do feel like we’re moving towards a next iteration of Rock Camp where we have a space where all the gear is set up and kids can come after school or on a weekend and do a song writing workshop.
B: Our philosophy has always been not expanding by numbers, but more by deepening the program and deepening the impact.
S: What are your plans for the next five years? The next ten years?
M: We’re looking for more funding, more donors. We have ten years to show you how impactful our program is. We want to create more consistent programming. We are clear. We want it to grow.
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⤏ SUMMER BENTON (SHE/HER) IS A LIFELONG CREATOR, COMMUNITY ORGANIZER, DANCER, BUDDING HERBALIST, AND GEMINI. BORN AND RAISED IN LOS ANGELES, SUMMER IS DRIVEN TO CREATE SPACES FOR FOLKS TO CONNECT, BE SEEN, AND BE HEARD. SINCE 2012, SHE HAS VOLUNTEERED AS A YEAR-ROUND ORGANIZER FOR ROCK N’ ROLL CAMP FOR GIRLS LOS ANGELES WHERE SHE ACTS AS A MENTOR FOR YOUNG GIRLS THROUGH MUSIC, MOVEMENT, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WORKSHOPS. IN ADDITION TO THESE THINGS, YOU CAN USUALLY FIND HER WITH A CUP OF TEA IN HER HANDS, A DANCE FLOOR UNDER HER FEET, OR SQUISHING HER CAT BILL, ALL WHILE GIVING GEMINIS THE POSITIVE REPUTATION THEY DESERVE.