Bass Lab Spotlight: Taylor Marie Contarino
Throughout her time at USC, Taylor Marie Contarino worked at the Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab on the Media Trailblazer Awards and served as a 2025 Bass Lab Fellow. Now, she is working to launch the Bass Lab’s Monumental App in April.
The Monumental mobile app is a digital storytelling platform that highlights Black news landmarks across the West Coast. It preserves and shares the histories of communities shaped by systemic inequities and resilience.
As the community engagement lead during the application’s development process, she recruited creative artists and community members to share their stories about navigating life post-wildfires in Altadena.
A key figure in facilitating this outreach was Trissa Rene. An Altadena native, Rene connected the team with local artists and events to capture the experiences of residents impacted by the fires.
“I think that what we’re building is going to be so beneficial to the community. There is someone who proved to be an absolute catalyst and turns out she grew up in Altadena. Her name is Theresa Rene,” Contarino said. “Theresa connected us with all sorts of incredible, talented, and diverse folks from the community. She’s been instrumental in getting us into events and connecting us with local artists and locations in Altadena to visit.”
Conducting on-the-ground outreach in Altadena was vital for finding interviewees willing to share how the wildfires affected them. Her role as a coordinator-producer allowed her to forge strong relationships and deeply engage the public with the app.
“What we do at the [Bass] Lab is so important, and we need as many people engaged with what we’re doing to spread our work and mission as widely as possible,” Contarino said. “In the Monumental App, my role is serving as coordinating producer. It’s been a whirlwind of an experience, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Leveraging her own company, Taylor Marie LLC, the recent graduate sourced music industry connections who assisted in identifying potential interviewees.
Bass Lab founder Dr. Allissa Richardson was actually the first person to support her business, acting as its inaugural client. Today, she credits Richardson and the Bass Lab as pivotal forces that empowered her to amplify the voices of Altadena residents.
“I finished my master’s degree at USC in May, so it’s been great to get wisdom from the folks that I’ve been working with. Dr. Richardson allowed me to be a part of this by employing my company, Taylor Marie LLC,” Contarino said. “She was my first client and helped me make this my full-time job. It’s been such a joy, and I’m just really grateful.”
She is excited for the Monumental App to illuminate the Bass Lab’s dedication to the Altadena community, hoping the platform highlights how residents are actively working to rebuild.
“My dream is for as many people as possible to use the Monumental App. Not just that—but I want the folks in Altadena to know how much we care about them and rebuilding. The Bass Lab wants to uplift and empower the Altadena community,” Contarino said. “Our intentions are authentic and true. We have so much love for Altadena and want to see them rebuild their community.”