Resident Feature

Meet the Bangs: A Family of Many Talents

Yejee and Andres both grew up in the New York City borough of Queens, a highly populated and diverse neighborhood full of ethnic restaurants and immigrants from around the world. Yejee grew up in Flushing, and Andres is from Bayside. They met when they both attended SUNY (State University of New York) at Albany. Their college paths only intersected for one semester, but the bond held tight throughout their college years, and they married in 2007.

Yejee transferred to SUNY Binghamton and majored in history with a minor in graphic design. Andres finished at SUNY Albany with a BS in Business Administration. After graduation Yejee became a paralegal, but her passion drew her to fashion, so she attended Parsons School of Design in order to change careers. She worked at Bloomingdales’ headquarters and then at a home interiors company in midtown Manhattan where she managed the branding content for Donna Karan Home, Kate Spade Home and MG+BW Home.

Andres started his career at General Electric and has also worked at other companies such as CBS and LinkedIn. His job at LinkedIn is what brought the New Yorkers to California in 2013. He is now the Director of Operations for AirBnb.

Andres and Yejee have three talented and busy children. They are all musically gifted, participate in a myriad of sports, and love school.

Natalie is in the 7th grade at Foothill Middle School and loves reading. She’s very talented on the piano and also plays violin and guitar. She can often be found playing piano downtown on one of the many free Painted Pianos. She also plays volleyball at the Vibe Gym in Shadelands and takes the family with her to tournaments all around Northern California. “In her free time,” says Yejee, “If Natalie is not playing the piano, you will find her drawing or reading. Her head is always buried in a book, currently addicted to mythology and fantasy novels.”

Hunter is in the 4th grade at Walnut Acres Elementary School. He has a love of learning, teaching himself to read at the age of three and excelling at spelling and word games. After school activities include chess club, coding school, jujitsu and soccer. Like his sister, he fervently plays piano. He’s currently obsessed with escape rooms and even creates his own around the house.

The youngest Bang is Cooper; he’s in the 2nd grade at Walnut Acres. He’s very outgoing, and, like his older brother, plays chess and soccer and practices jujitsu. He takes piano lessons and is a cub scout with Pack 210. His favorite subject is math and adds that “multiplication is fun!” Cooper also plays baseball with Walnut Creek Little League.

Even with a busy family, Yejee finds time to run a small business as a fiber artist. “I knit and crochet and have an Etsy shop where you can find my handmade one-of-a-kind items online or at vendor booths at the local craft fairs. I recently started a Youtube channel to teach others how to knit and crochet, as this is where I learned myself,” shares Yejee. You can find her on Instagram or her website: yejeeknits. She also makes time for volunteering at Walnut Acres.

Arlo with pumpkins knitted by YeJee

Andres enjoys golf, home improvement projects and is also musically talented, teaching himself a variety of instruments.

In 2017 the Bang family found the Northgate neighborhood and moved near Foothill Middle School for the safe, family-friendly neighborhood. They love their neighbors, and the kids love playing together with the other kids in the neighborhood.

Summertime for the Bangs usually means trips to Santa Cruz/Capitola, going to Giants games, or to more far-away destinations like Oahu or Europe. In the winter they love going to Lake Tahoe and often spend the holidays in New York City with family. They live by the motto: Be kind, look out for each other – we are all on the same team!

We love having such talented neighbors that call Northgate home and look forward to seeing what these talented kids do in the future!


By Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991

Do you know a neighbor who has a story to share? Nominate your neighbor to be featured in one of our upcoming issues! Contact us at knavolio@bestversionmedia.com.