Staff Changes: National Center, Young Entrepreneurs, and Mentor Match

It’s been a busy, busy summer here at Partners! Our Young Entrepreneurs Project served a record number of participants at their summer job workshops, and our Mentor Match program held their first-ever Field Day event for matches.

And on top of all that, we’ve also had the pleasure of welcoming four new staff members! The P.Y.D. family continues to grow, and we couldn’t be more happy to have them join our team.

National Center

Genelle Thomas

Genelle C. Thomas started in late August as the new National Center Director at P.Y.D. She has over 16 years of experience in non-profit management, including at the executive level, and she helped launch the National Center back in 2005. She co-authored “Best Practices for Mentoring Youth with Disabilities,” and she has traveled throughout the United States presenting on issues related to mentoring, youth development, and transition. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Educational Psychology from University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Harvard University. Genelle was chosen as one of the Top 20 “Women of Influence” in 2011 and “40 Under 40” in 2012 by the Jacksonville Business Journal.

Genelle lives in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband, a science and math teacher, and their two young daughters. She will primarily be telecommuting, and travel where needed for trainings and conferences.

 

Young Entrepreneurs Project

Marissa DrossosMarissa Drossos is taking over from Alex Freeman as the new YEP Director. She was born and raised in Boston, and is passionate about providing quality educational programming for youth. Marissa holds prior experience as an AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow at Citizen Schools, and most recently as an After School Coordinator for Steps to Success in Brookline, MA.

 

Sarah GleesonSarah Gleeson recently graduated from Case Western Reserve University and joined PYD as the Americorps VISTA YEP Curriculum and Development Specialist. She has experience as a teaching assistant and won a national curriculum competition while in college.

This is the first time YEP has had an AmeriCorps VISTA member, making this the largest YEP team to date. Marissa, Aileen, and Sarah have an exciting, busy year ahead of them!
 

Mentor Match

Kristin HumphreyKristin Humphrey has been with P.Y.D. for three years as the Mentoring and National Center Associate, but with Kaela’s departure, she will now be serving as the new Mentor Match Program Director. The program is currently at its largest-ever size, and Kristin hopes to maintain and build upon the program’s success.

 

Kate HallKate Hall joined the Mentor Match program in early August as the new Recruitment and Retention Specialist through the Highland Street Corps Ambassador of Mentoring program. She just recently graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. She is from Santa Fe, New Mexico and has two older, twin brothers. Being from the Southwest, she loves anything outdoors: hiking, skiing, swimming, running, camping, kayaking, you name it!

    Leave a Comment