Youth Today is brought to you at no cost by a predominantly volunteer team that lends its time and talent to the production of the high-quality content you’ve come to expect. All website content and newsletter subscriptions are always free, but contributions are always appreciated to help us strengthen and grow Youth Today.
KAREN PITTMAN, publisher and editor-in-chief
Karen Pittman sets the vision and direction for Youth Today. She is a senior fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership and a partner at Knowledge to Power Catalysts. Pittman has made a career of developing organizations that promote positive youth development — including the Forum for Youth Investment, which she co-founded with Merita Irby in 1998 and led for nearly 25 years. She stepped away from organizational management to dedicate her time to galvanizing the growing interest in using science-informed strategies to truly change the odds that all children and youth can be successful.
MERITA IRBY, strategic advisor and editor
Merita Irby serves as strategic advisor to Youth Today and copy editor for all original content. She is a senior fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership, managing partner of the Alliance for Youth Thriving, and a partner at Knowledge to Power Catalysts. She co-authored the seminal “Urban Sanctuaries: Neighborhood Organizations in the Lives and Futures of Inner-City Youth” and co-founded the Forum for Youth Investment with Karen Pittman in 1998, which they led together for nearly 25 years.
NICKOLAS BAGLEY, web producer, newsletter manager and content curator
Nickolas Bagley maintains editorial content for Youth Today. He also authors all content in Youth Today’s Grants, Reports and Newsmakers sections, manages the general newsletters for the site and writes the Youth Today Grants Newsletter. Bagley graduated from the University of Georgia in 2017 with a double major — a bachelor’s of science in Atmospheric Sciences and a bachelor’s of science in Geography with a focus on Environmental Geography. He also earned a Geographic Information Science certificate.
SCOTT GANSKE, youth and field engagement manager
Scott Ganske supports social media and intern engagement for Youth Today. He is vice president of education at Youth Service America (YSA). Scott comes from a multigenerational family of educators. But his passion for service learning stems from the sense of purpose he gained in middle school through taking on projects teachers suggested. He took that passion into college, establishing a Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter on the way to getting his teaching degree. At every decision point, he looked for where he could make the most difference. This drive led him to leave classroom teaching to champion service, taking a job with Learn and Serve Texas before joining YSA. Over his 14 years there, he has worked with hundreds of schools and community organizations, developing tools and trainings that truly integrate service with learning.
KATHERINE PLOG MARTINEZ, advertising manager
Katherine Plog Martinez supports advertising sales for Youth Today. She is the founder and principal of Katherine Plog Martinez Consulting, where she partners with local, state, and national intermediaries, funders, and youth-serving organizations on strategic facilitation, capacity building, landscape analysis, training design and strategic communication to advance the youth development field.
Regular Contributors
KAREN PITTMAN and MERITA IRBY, co-founders of the Forum for Youth Investment and Knowledge to Power Catalysts, and senior fellows at IEL, work with Alliance Youth Thriving members to explore the research behind the statement, “When Youth Thrive, We All Thrive.”
JEN CURRY, Ed.D., is CEO and founder of Change Impact, a capacity-enhancing organization working with nonprofits, schools and systems to achieve results and advance equity for youth. Her quarterly column on the youth development workforce anchors the “Thriving Youth Need a Thriving Workforce” series.
DANIEL WARREN, Ph.D., is director of youth development and education at Fluent Research. He holds a B.S. in psychology from Northeastern University and a Ph.D. in human development and child study from Tufts University. He writes the monthly “Pass the Mic” series.
DAVID OSHER, Ph.D., has been an organizer, professor, dean of an experimental college and schools of human services, researcher, and a TA provider and organizational consultant. His work focused on building humanizing conditions and capacities for and individual and collective thriving and equity. He writes monthly about the “Deeper Learning & Equity Podcast Series” in the “When Youth Thrive, We All Thrive” column.
KATHERINE PLOG MARTINEZ, Ed.D., is the founder and principal of Katherine Plog Martinez Consulting, where she helps strengthen youth-serving organizations and intermediaries in service of the broader youth development field. She contributes monthly to the series, highlighting chapters from the recently released volume, “Positive Youth Development: Integrating Research and Practice.”
