Search

Reyhana Shephard rides BART to Oakland School for the Arts (OSA) every day, but she had never seen a BART paper ticket before her fashion class began designing garments made with the old tickets for BART’s Project Doneway fashion show. The runway show was held last Saturday, Sept. 14, in the Rockridge Station parking lot and featured 35 original outfits created by more than 80 students at OSA, Academy of Art, San Francisco State University (SFSU), and City College of San Francisco (CCSF). The designers were cheered on by a crowd of hundreds. 

After weeks of designing, 17-year-old Shephard became perhaps too familiar with the paper tickets, which BART retired in 2023 in favor of Clipper cards. Her hard work paid off; Shephard won First Place in the high school category for her dress, entitled “BART of Hearts,” which was modeled by Jeylei Hernandez.  

“I couldn’t even say how many hours I spent on it,” Shephard said, revealing she used at least 1,000 tickets for the dress. “The tickets are so hard and stiff. It’s a challenge but also an opportunity.”  

There was only one rule for the competition: transform the paper tickets into high fashion. They created their looks using more than 150,000 paper tickets collectively. The students delivered, displaying garments inspired by everything from topographical maps and the Oakland skyline to cauliflower fractals and the Oakland Athletics. There was even a special Christmas tree dress created by OSA’s Meleina Beasley, 16, for her four-year-old sister Naxa Moon to model.  

“Our paper ticket designs have long shown up in artistic Bay Area cultural references,” said BART Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost, who came up with the idea for the fashion show. “This event was inspired by a dress made out of BART’s iconic blue paper tickets by Sean Porter nearly ten years ago, and I wanted to offer students who rely on BART to get around the opportunity to showcase their talents.” It was also a great opportunity to reuse tickets that would otherwise head to the shredder, Trost said. 

Prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the high school and college categories as well as “best use of paper tickets.” Winners received Clipper cards and Amazon gift cards at various price points, and the first-place winners will get the opportunity to collaborate with BART on new merchandise. All the garments from the show will be on display at BART Headquarters in the coming weeks. See the full list of winners below.  

OSA middle schoolers were also awarded prizes for designing “mini outfits” that were displayed on mannequins for the public to vote on. Za'Moria Spikes took 1st place and 2nd place went to Penelope Yap and Sophia Jones.

An extra award was added to the program for “best accessories,” which went to Academy of Art’s Jackson Tait and Ashlyn Springer for creating a t-shirt, crocheted belt, and crocheted bag that had the audience oohing and aahing and asking for replicas to purchase after the show.  

The show was judged by three local fashion luminaries: Charleston Pierce, Randy Wells, and Mary Campbell, who praised the designers for their creativity, craftsmanship, and hard work. The judges were effusive onstage as they announced the prizes. “We are so proud of you guys,” Pierce said multiple times during the ceremony.  

In the high school category, designers Evie Burger, 16, and Lila Damany, 17, came in second for a fierce two-piece outfit constructed of red BART tickets modeled by Lily Fritsch. Third went to 14-year-olds Isadora Oznowicz, Naomi Brack, and Patty Barajas for a green and yellow dress intended as a “farewell to the Oakland A’s.” Their garment was modeled by Gabbi Luevano.  

SFSU students Sebastian Vogelmann, Lux Anne Vargas (who also modeled the garment), Keeley Ward, Lexi Ulloa, and Hikari Nakatani, won 1st place in the college category for an incredible outfit that judge Wells said, “proved there are no limits to creativity when it comes to material.”  

An unusual feature of the garment was a repurposed car bumper, which model Lux wore as a collarbone embellishment.  

“I got into a car accident going to school, and this bumper fell off, so we just used it,” said Nakatani. “Now I take BART to school.” 

The team also won the award for “best use of paper tickets.”  

Second place went to SFSU designers Madison Macneill, Emma Wolfe, Dyllie Gilson, Grace Balelo, Sofia Cereghini, for a red design that “blends natures’ geometry with avant-garde fashion" and was inspired by the “alien appearance of cauliflower.” The team’s model, Mya, began bawling once she exited the runway – she was so proud of her team and their accomplishment.  

Finally, third place went to SFSU’s Katelyn Camacho, Edgar Garcia, Jude Ramos, and Eugene King for a garment inspired by the blue Power Ranger.  

“It’s just so creative, and we all love Power Rangers,” said judge Campbell.  

After the show, students were laden with bouquets and cards and cheered by the many people who came out to watch the show. It was proof that BART is so much more than a transit system – it's a means of connecting communities and creating space for art and creativity. It’s also a practical means of transportation for field trips to fabric stores, said Stephanie Verrieres, the head of the fashion department at OSA.  

"We are on BART all the time,” she said.  

The class took BART along with their fantastical paper ticket garments from their school in Downtown Oakland to the show at Rockridge, full of smiles and some butterflies. Many of Verrieres’s students had never participated in a fashion show outside of school, but up on the runway, they looked like absolute pros.  

“This fashion show is a really nice way to recycle the tickets. What else are you going to do with them?” said 75-year-old Liz Scotta, who is transit-dependent. Liz sewed an Elizabethan-style dress fit for a queen, entitled it ElizaBARTan. She broke five needles and burnt out her sewing machine in the process of creating the dress, which took her around 100 hours.  

Like many participants, Project Doneway was Scotta’s first ever fashion show. It had been on her bucket list for a long time.  

“Better late than never!” she said. 

Winners

High School Level 

All high school participants were from Oakland School for the Arts

1st Place High School

• Reyhana Shephard (designer)
• Jeylei Hernandez (model)

2nd Place High School

• Evie Burger (designer)
• Lila Damany (designer)
• Lily Fritsch (model) 

3rd Place High School

• Isadora Oznowicz (designer)
• Naomi Brack (designer)
• Patty Barajas (designer)
• Gabbi Luevano (model)

College Level

1st Place College AND Winner of Best Use of Paper Tickets

From San Francisco State University: 

• Sebastian Vogelmann (designer)
• Lux Anne Vargas (model- and designer) 
• Keeley Ward (designer)
• Lexi Ulloa (designer)
• Hikari Nakatani (designer) 

2nd Place College

From San Francisco State University: 

• Madison Macneill (designer) 
• Emma Wolfe (designer) 
• Dyllie Gilson (designer) 
• Grace Balelo (designer) 
• Sofia Cereghini (designer) 
• Mya (model)

3rd Place College

• Katelyn Camacho (designer) 
• Edgar Garcia (designer and model)
• Jude Ramos (designer)
• Eugene King (designer) 

Best Accessories

From the Academy of Art:

• Jackson Tait (designer and model)
• Ashlyn Springer (designer)  

On Saturday, Oct. 12, BART will display a selection of garments created from retired paper tickets at BART Headquarters as part of Oakland Style Week. The outfits were created for BART’s Project Doneway fashion show, presented at Rockridge Station on September 14. 

The unique garments were designed by fashion students from Oakland School for the Arts, Academy of Art University, San Francisco State University, and City College of San Francisco. The students created their looks using more than 150,000 paper tickets collectively. BART retired the iconic tickets in 2023, and the fashion show provided an opportunity to reuse what would otherwise be shredded and recycled. Read more about Project Doneway and watch the show here.

BART invites the public to view the outfits on Saturday from noon to 5pm at our headquarters: 2150 Webster St., Oakland, just a few blocks from 19th St Oakland Station. The garments will be displayed in the front windows of the building on either side of the main entry doors, located at the top of the steps. There is an ADA-accessible ramp.  

Members of the public will not be able to enter the building, which is accessible only by key card on weekends and monitored by security. We ask that you please respect BART staff entering and exiting the building.  

What: Paper Ticket Dresses on Display 

Why: Oakland Style Week 

When: Saturday, Oct. 12, noon to 5pm  

Where: BART Headquarters, 2150 Webster St., Oakland 

BART is hitting the runway this upcoming Transit Month to give a final send-off to our retired paper tickets that were a portal to our system for more than a 1 billion trips in the decades since BART’s inception.  

We gave fashion design students from four local schools more than 150,000 paper tickets with one condition: transform them into high fashion.   

The students from Academy of Art University, Oakland School for the Arts, City College of San Francisco, and San Francisco State University will strut their stuff and share their unique designs for a full-blown fashion show, “Project Doneway: A Farewell to BART Paper Tickets,” in the parking lot at Rockridge Station on Saturday, September 14, from 1pm to 3pm. 

The show will feature more than 30 unique garments created by nearly 80 designers. Models range in age from 4 years old to 75! The garments will be judged by local fashion luminaries Charleston Pierce, Randy Wells, and Mary Campbell. Prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place (in the high school, and college categories) and Best Use of Paper Tickets. Middle school students from Oakland School of Arts will display mini outfit designs, which the public will vote on before the show. 

There will also be a special guest appearance from Sean Porter, who inspired the event with a dress made out of BART’s blue paper tickets. 

There will be American Sign Language interepreters at the event, and we invite the deaf community to come out and enjoy! 

“We gave our legacy cars a proper send off when they were retired and our paper tickets deserve the same treatment,” said Chief Communications Officer Alicia Trost, who came up with the idea as another way to engage youth and young adults in the Bay Area and to activate BART stations through art. “Our paper ticket designs have long shown up in artistic Bay Area cultural references. This event was inspired by a dress made out of BART’s iconic blue paper tickets by Sean Porter nearly ten years ago, and I wanted to offer students who rely on BART to get around the opportunity to showcase their talents.” 
 

Download the Project Doneway flyer here. 

Project Doneway coincides with Transit Month, an annual celebration of the countless buses, trains, ferries, bicycles and people that make up the Bay Area’s vibrant transportation ecosystem. Throughout the month of September, members of the public can enjoy contests, prizes, panels, clinics, concerts, bar crawls, hikes and more across the region. Learn more about the special month hosted by San Francisco Transit Riders and Seamless Bay Area and the dozens of events happening throughout September on the Transit Month webpage.  

During Transit Month, the public is encouraged to explore the region by taking local transportation. The month is hallmarked by a Ride Contest. Every ride you take on Bay Area public transit is an entry into the Transit Month raffle. Track your rides to earn badges, win prizes, compete against friends by signing up and logging rides at ridecontest.com  

Some of the BART-related events this year include: 

• Wednesday, September 4, 5pm, at Balboa Station: Sound Tracks free concert. Featuring Congolese drummer Kiazi Malonga, performing with full percussion band.
   
• Sunday September 15, 10:45am, at Downtown Berkeley Station: Hiking by Transit: Berkeley to Orinda via Siesta Valley. This hike will head up through Claremont Canyon, taking in majestic views of the Bay, before crossing over Skyline Boulevard into Siesta Valley and descending into Orinda. BART back or stay for Ice Cream at local favorite Loard's. 
   
• Saturday, September 21, 2pm, at Pleasant Hill Station. BART and Bike to the Walnut Creek Walnut Festival:  The Festival offers live music, a carnival, a showcase of local and regional artists, builders, food, craft beer garden, and more. 
   
• Saturday, September 28, 11am, starting at Pittsburg/Bay Point Station and ending at Antioch Station: Bike East Bay Group Ride on the Delta de Anza Trail.  Explore the paved, multi-use hiking, biking and equestrian trail that connects Concord, Bay Point, Pittsburg, Antioch and Oakley.
   
• Saturday, September 28, 12pm, at Downtown Berkeley Station Plaza: Downtown Berkeley Transit Month Rally. Come rally support for and learn about public transportation in Berkeley and the Bay Area. 
   
• Sunday, September 29, 1pm, at Lake Merritt Station: The Craft of Transit: Craft Ride from Lake Merritt to San Jose Flea Market. Bring your favorite craft project to work on and make friends as we ride to the San Jose Flea Market. Gather at the Lake Merritt BART concourse at 1 p.m. then head down as a group to board the 1:27 pm rain to Berryessa / North San Jose BART Station.  RSVP here. 

BART Director Melissa Hernandez in the BART boardroom after her appointment to the BART Board of Directors.  

This Hispanic Heritage Month, BART is proud to celebrate members of the BART District of Hispanic and Latino heritage, who enrich our organization and the community at large. Over 15% of BART's workforce identifies as Hispanic and Latino, and we have been celebrating them throughout the month with stories, gatherings, and acknowledgements. 

Read a profile of BART's new Director of the Office of Civil Rights Rudy Garza here and a profile of Aileen Hernandez, BART Interim Manager for Grants & Funding Advocacy Division here. 

Director Melissa Hernandez is becoming accustomed to being “the first.”  

She was not only the first Latina to be elected Mayor of Dublin, making her the first Latina mayor in the history of the Tri-Valley, she is also the first Latina to serve on the BART Board of Directors following her appointment as BART Director of District 5 this spring. 

“Wow, BART, it took fifty years,” Hernandez said with a laugh. It was five decades too many, but Hernandez, a working mom from an immigrant, working-class background, is already bringing her unique experiences to make BART more responsive and accessible to every one of its riders. 

“It makes me emotional. Neither one of my parents graduated high school,” she said. “To have gotten where I am now is really important for my family, for the girls who feel they will not get anywhere because they’re struggling in school and don’t have the right resources. I want to continue to uplift the future generations of women leaders and make certain that all of our institutions are meeting the needs of our region’s many constituencies.” 

Director Hernandez (second from left) is pictured at BART’s Project Doneway fashion show with the judges Charleston Pierce, Mary Campbell, and Randy Wells.  

Hernandez grew up in a large, loving family with solid working-class roots. She still remembers her parents waking before the sun rose to work in the fields and them returning in the afternoon to take care of the children.  

“That is where I get my work ethic and drive for leadership,” said Hernandez.  

She continued: “As someone from the immigrant tradition and a working mom myself, these early experiences drove me to support our public schools, improve our communities, and make certain that all working families have access to jobs. And part of that access means being able to get to a job on time, through a reliable, affordable transportation system!”  

Director Hernandez with Transit Ambassadors Nequavis Brown and Kingsley Odiurho at Hayward Station. 

Hernandez has made championing public transportation the core of her professional life. She has served on numerous transit boards, including as the chair of the Tri-Valley Regional Transportation Authority and the Tri-Valley/San Joaquin Valley Regional Authority.  

You might say transportation runs in Hernandez’s blood. For the majority of his life, Hernandez’s father worked as a truck driver. In fact, at 74 years old, he is still at it, though he's driving small hauls now.  

“My father has the strongest work ethic I know,” Hernandez said. She remembers taking her dad’s old 18-wheeler for a spin – a memory that has stuck with her now that she’s embedded in the transportation industry.  

From left to right: BART board members Mark Foley, Melissa Hernandez, and Rebecca Saltzman are pictured at the BARTmobile's 20th Birthday Party at Orinda Station.  

“It is so difficult to drive those things,” she said. “It takes a ton of practice. The same goes for driving those big city buses and BART trains!”  

Much like her father’s ever-shifting truck routes, Hernandez’s life has had its twists and turns.  

In her teens, she worked at small businesses, including scooping ice cream and working as an office manager at a dental office. Those early work experiences at small local businesses drive her philosophy as a BART board director. 

“COVID was a wake-up call for BART,” she said. “It gave the organization time to get back to the basics of quality service, safety, and cleanliness for our customers.”  

From left to right: BART Chief Transportation Officer Tera Stokes-Hankins, Assistant Chief Maintenance Officer Greg Lombardi, Deputy General Manager Michael Jones, Director Melissa Hernandez, BART Police Chief Kevin Franklin, BART Police Lieutenant Jaswant Sekhon, Assistant Chief Transportation Officer Eric Matthews. 

Being a Latina in a position of power has not always been easy. As Hernandez wrote in her application for the BART Board: “I am well acquainted with being the only person who looks like me, or who has my experiences, in any room I enter.” 

Rather than shrinking when she walks into those rooms, Hernandez is focused on elevating her unique experiences and building common ground in these polarized times. 

Director Hernandez with Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Marquez at Marquez’s family’s restaurant in Hayward. 

“It is important to have many diverse groups of people at the table – and not just different genders, orientations, and ethnicities, but people from different upbringings,” she said. “Much of who we are stems from our childhoods and how we were raised. I am always trying to bring forward the values my parents imparted.” 

One such value is mentorship. 

Director Melissa Hernandez with her son.  

At the dental office where Hernandez began working as a teenager, she learned the impact a consistently supportive role model can have on your life.  

“The solo dental practitioner really took me under his wing, and it spurred my first career in the health services,” she explained.  

“Really, it was the folks—whether my parents, small business owners, and other women in leadership— who helped me along the way and made me the person I am. And now that I am here, I want to give back to the communities I serve and most importantly, allow my daughter and other little girls to dream about all that they can accomplish and contribute.” 

Director Hernandez with her daughter in San Francisco.