Youth Today Advisory Council 

JAMIEL ALEXANDER, senior fellow, Aspen Institute

Jamiel L. Alexander is the senior fellow for Aspen Institute’s Forum for Community Solutions. In this role, Alexander coordinates AFCS youth engagement strategy. Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Alexander was a manager of youth and family programs at Crispus Attucks Association for 12 years. While at the Crispus Attucks Association, Alexander was responsible for a variety of tasks including managing afterschool & summer programs, professional & leadership development, youth & family workshops and various community service projects. 

Alexander is a Rising Star Award recipient in his community and currently serves as a committee member for the York City General Authority Commission, NAACP, Ancestors Dream Organization and Helping Offer Options & Directions LLC in York, Pennsylvania. In 2012, Alexander was appointed to serve on the National Council of Young Leaders as an advisor to our policy-makers and in 2013 was chosen to speak at the 50th Anniversary March on Washington. In 2022, Alexander’s colleagues on the YouthBuild National Alumni Council elected him as their president. Alexander continues to engage and serve with many organizations but makes it a priority to take care of “home” first.

JAYNEMARIE ENYONAM ANGBAH, director, Redi Change Learning Journey, Schusterman Family Philanthropies

Dr. Jaynemarie Enyonam Angbah is a seasoned youth development professional with over 18 years of experience serving youth, communities and families. Angbah currently serves as director of Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Change Learning Journey at Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. In this role, Angbah leads strategic initiatives that strengthen the organization’s culture and reinforce its commitment to equity and inclusion. Over the course of her career, Angbah has embraced a pedagogy that is rooted in empowering young people to be agents of change. 

Most recently, Angbah served as the senior director of teen youth development at Boys & Girls Clubs of America where she led the development and implementation of programs that prepared teen members to be scholars, community advocates, and 21st-century leaders. Angbah was named the 2014 Afterschool Ambassador for the State of New York and is also the 2018 recipient of Bucknell University’s Young Alumni Award. Angbah’s research focuses on exploring the knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors that limit the ongoing development and retention of early career youth workers.

STEVEN AVERY, advisor, Capstone Financial

Stephon Avery is a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta (BBBSMA) 2016 alumni. Avery went through the program with an outstanding mentor, Kamal Shakir. Avery, an observant, shy kid, was taught how to carry himself as a young man. Today, Avery is a Georgia State University graduate working in the finance industry with a perimeter financial services firm. Avery has two businesses and properties. In addition, Avery has a strong passion for helping young individuals throughout his community.

Avery is a member of the Young Leaders Council at BBBSMA. Through that experience, Avery has been able to teach financial literacy at major schools and universities and volunteers yearly at the Junior Achievement Finance Park.

BIANCA BALDRIDGE, associate professor, Harvard University

Bianca Baldridge is an associate professor of education with expertise in community-based education and critical youth work practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Baldridge’s research explores the sociopolitical context of community-based youth work and critically examines the confluence of race, class, and gender, and their impact on educational reforms that shape community-based spaces engaging Youth of Color in the U.S. In addition, Baldridge explores the organizational and pedagogical practices employed by youth workers amid educational reforms and restructuring.

SIXTO CANCEL, executive director, Think of Us

Sixto Cancel is the founder and CEO of Think of Us. TOU is an Action Tank driving systematic change in child welfare. Cancel was named as Forbes Top 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs and is on the 2021 Forbes Under 30 Lister Board. 

Cancel was recognized by the White House as a “Champion of Change,” and a “Millennial Maker” by BET, and named “Top 24 Changemakers in Government under 24” by the Campaign for Presidential Youth Council. Cancel and his team are working to ensure that every person has the conditions they need to heal, develop and thrive.

SANDRA ESCAMILLA, executive vice president, Children’s Aid

Sandra Escamilla has worked in the field of youth development for over 25 years. In her current role as the executive vice president at Children’s Aid, Escamilla supports the vice presidents of Early Childhood, Youth, Education and the National Center of Community Schools, to deliver high-quality holistic services and strategies in community schools and centers that enable children, youth and families to succeed and thrive from cradle to college and career. Escamilla has held various leadership positions in New York City, including as the executive director of the Youth Development Institute (YDI) where she led the agency’s work in school reform and technical assistance to local and national Beacons. A hallmark of her work is the partnerships Escamilla has cultivated with various NYC government agencies and colleges to infuse youth development principles and practices into their everyday work through model development, training, and coaching of senior leaders.

JESSICA FLORES, program supervisor, Denver Public School ELCS

Jessica Flores is a proud member of the Southwest Denver community, born in Denver and raised in Dallas. Flores is a Denver Public School alumna and earned her bachelor’s in psychology and ethnic studies from the University of Colorado, Denver. 

Flores has spent eight years working at Newlon Elementary School as a program supervisor for extended learning and community schools. A native of Southwest Denver, Flores is proud to be working in the community that raised her.

MICHAEL FUNK, director, Expanded Learning Division, California Department of Education

Michael Funk, director of the expanded learning division (EXLD) for the California Department of Education, was appointed to this position in early 2012 by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson. The EXLD administers the Federal 21st CCLC grant and the After School Education and Safety (ASES) state-funded afterschool and summer grant $650 million budget. 

The EXLD provides program support and technical assistance to every Local Educational Agency in CA for the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program; a total of $4 billion in state funding. Before this role, Funk founded the Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center in San Francisco in 1996 and Experience Corps Bay Area in 1998.

REBECCA GOLDBERG, consultant, Rebecca Goldberg Consulting

Rebecca Goldberg, a nonprofit and philanthropic advisor, works with clients to connect strategies and ideas, identify new opportunities, develop high-impact partnerships, and advise on grantmaking and grant-seeking approaches. 

Goldberg facilitates two funder groups for Grantmakers for Education and works with several clients on leadership transition, partner engagement, and research to inform grantmaking. Goldberg spent the last seven years in philanthropy leading a national youth development portfolio at the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation. Goldberg, working with large, national youth organizations and key intermediaries in California’s expanded learning field to bolster social-emotional learning and character development practices with the goal of creating equitable learning environments for youth. 

Prior to the foundation, Goldberg led career pathway programs at a local community-based organization in Los Angeles, and professional and workforce development initiatives at California School-Age Consortium supporting afterschool professionals in California.

MERITA IRBY, partner, Knowledge To Power Catalysts

Merita Irby is a nationally recognized master facilitator who supports catalytic leaders in taking a youth-centered, big-picture approach to planning and action. Working at the national, state and local levels, Irby focuses on creating and supporting collaborative tables for cross-systems planning and action. At the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research, Irby directed a multi-site study on school collaboration with youth organizations where she also began working with long-time creative and strategic partner, Karen Pittman. Together Pittman and Irby co-founded the Forum for Youth Investment in 1998.

Irby launched and led the Big Picture Approach Training & Consulting and played multiple programmatic and operational roles. At the International Youth Foundation, Irby led the facilitation of the foundation’s Global Partner Network and worked with Pittman to develop a U.S. strategy. From 2019 to 2021, Irby served as the managing director of the Readiness Projects, the National Urban League, and the American Institutes for Research. Irby has worked with leaders in school districts, governmental departments, community collaboratives, and non-governmental organizations nationwide, helping them tackle real-world complexities by developing lenses and decision-making frameworks that are “whole child / whole community” — youth-centered, science-informed, and equity-focused.

HAYIN KIMNER, managing director, CA Community Schools Learning Exchange

Hayin Kimner is a practitioner, researcher, and policy advocate with a focus on community school systems and partnerships. Kimner is the founder and managing director for the CA Community Schools Learning Exchange, and a senior policy and research fellow for policy analysis for California Education. 

Kimner is also a nonresident scholar in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution in support of the Community Schools Forward national task force. Kimner previously worked as a senior program director for The Opportunity Institute and led the development of district-wide community school strategies in San Francisco and Emery Unified School Districts. Kimner received her bachelor’s from Amherst College and a doctorate from Stanford University.

HEELY MAUCK, director, Equitable Quality Improvement Systems, Forum for Youth Investment, Weikart Center

Sheely Mauck has extensive experience in youth development and expanded learning programs. For nearly 10 years, Mauck ran education and teen programs at both Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCAs throughout western Washington. In 2012, Mauck began working part-time as a trainer, coach, and external assessor for School’s Out Washington and became a field consultant for the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality. 

Mauck has a bachelor’s in psychology from Pacific Lutheran University and a master’s in public administration and nonprofit management from Seattle University. Mauck sees herself as a facilitator, educator, leader, and writer who works at the intersection of race, ability, and gender. Mauck is passionate about designing and building accessible, equitable, and culturally responsive quality improvement systems to ensure high-quality and impactful programs for children and youth.

KIMBERLY PHAM, engagement coordinator, Opportunity Youth United

Kimberly Pham is a national activist and organizer focused on improving the conditions of young people across America. Pham is a member of the Project U-Turn Collaborative, which focuses on learning and implementing best practices and strategies for opportunity youth in the City of Philadelphia. Recently appointed by Mayor Kenney to serve on the Education Nomination Panel, Pham assists with identifying members for Philadelphia’s new local school board. Pham was a former member of the National Council of Young Leaders, which founded the movement Opportunity Youth United and she is now serving with OYU full-time. 

Opportunity Youth United is a movement that is focused on increasing the number of young people who have access to solution-based leadership opportunities. OYU provides a platform where young people cannot only stand up for the issues they care about, but they can speak up and strategize around solutions that alleviate or eliminate barriers they may be facing in their community and country. Pham is currently a national board member of the Forum for Youth Investment. Pham is greatly dedicated to serving her community and continues to be a driving force through self-development and intentional community building.

MEG PITMAN, national director, Partnership and Collaboration, Boys and Girls Club of America

Meg Pitman currently serves as the National Director of Partnerships and Collaboration for Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has spent the last twenty years developing expertise in youth development impact measurement and program quality, collective impact, and social and emotional learning. Pitman is well known in youth development and education settings as a tenaciously positive leader who is able to mobilize divergent groups around collaborative change initiatives for youth and families. 

Pitman received her bachelor’s in psychology from Lewis & Clark College and a master’s in social work from the University of Michigan School of Social Work. When Pitman is not in the youth development trenches you can find her looking for Orcas off the island she lives on in Washington state or practicing “moving meditation” while snowboarding with her 80-year-old dad.

KAREN PITTMAN, partner, Knowledge To Power Catalysts

Karen Pittman has made a career of starting organizations and initiatives that promote youth development – including the Forum for Youth Investment, which she co-founded with Merita Irby in 1998. After serving as the president and CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment until February 2021, Pittman 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. 

In December 2021, Pittman announced her decision to become a partner in KP Catalysts, LLC, helping friend and colleague Katherine Plog Martinez strengthen and expand her nimble, capacity business. Together, they launched Changing the Odds Remix, a new public platform for sharpening the ideas about how, where, when, why and with whom learning and development happens (or doesn’t happen). 

Pittman’s commitment to public thought leadership is grounded in a much deeper commitment to servant leadership. In addition to CTO Remix, each year Pittman reaffirms her commitment to use her knowledge and connections to help selected organizations and initiatives whose leaders are on the same journey to change the odds for youth success.

JANE QUINN, former director, Children’s Aid National Center for Community Schools

Jane Quinn is a social and youth worker with over five decades of professional experience, including direct service with children and families, program development, fundraising, grantmaking, research and advocacy. From 2000 through 2018, Quinn served as the vice president for Community Schools at Children’s Aid, where she directed the National Center for Community Schools. 

Prior to that, Quinn served as program director for the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund, directed a national study of youth organizations for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and served as program director for Girls Clubs of America. Quinn has a master’s in social work from the University of Chicago and a doctorate in urban education from the City University of New York.

VICTORIA RESTLER, associate professor, and director, Youth Development MA Program, Rhode Island College

Victoria Restler is an associate professor of educational studies and director of the youth development master’s program at Rhode Island College. An interdisciplinary artist, Restler has worked in schools and community spaces for two decades at the intersections of art-making and social justice. Restler’s award-winning dissertation research engages arts-based methods to interrogate teacher evaluation and value. 

Restler’s manuscript on this work, currently titled, “What do you do that can’t be measured? On Radical Care in Teaching and Research” is forthcoming with Brill’s Doing Arts Thinking Series. Restler lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with her partner, two small, miraculous humans and an irresistible dog named Slinky.

JAMILA WALIDA SIMON, associate director, Innovation For Youth Programs, BCTR/NYS 4-H, Cornell University

Jamila Walida Simon earned her bachelor’s from Wells College and her master’s from Cornell University. Walida began her career with Cornell University Cooperative Extension in New York City (CUCE-NYC) under the direction of Dr. Davis-Manigaulte, the CUCE-NYC Family and Youth Development program leader. Walida served as the CYFAR CITY project coordinator and worked to build capacity at Henry Street Settlement in lower Manhattan, and the Police Athletic League (PAL) in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn.

After Walida completed her master’s, she joined the staff at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County where she served as the Program Manager of the 4-H Urban Outreach Program at West Village. In 2010, Walida joined the NYS 4-H team part-time and served as a civic engagement coordinator and communications coordinator. 

In 2015, Walida joined the NYS 4-H team full-time and currently serves as the NYS 4-H civic engagement specialist. In 2021, Walida joined the BCTR to serve as the associate director of Innovation in Youth Programs. Walida serves as a bridge and connector to the community, translating kitchen table conversations about community needs.

JILL YOUNG, senior researcher, American Institutes for Research

Jill Young, Ph.D., is a senior researcher in the Youth, Family, and Community Development program at American Institutes for Research (AIR). 

Young’s primary responsibilities include leading research, evaluation, and capacity-building projects focused on youth development, out-of-school time programming, and social and emotional learning at the national, state, and local levels. Young specializes in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses, with a focus on mixed methods.