Staff

Karen S. Young, Founder & Co-Director

For the past decade Karen has been actively engaged in advocating for the empowerment of young people. A graduate of Humboldt State University, Karen began as a college student organizer and rapidly became a national voice for student action. Serving on staff at the Campus Outreach Opportunity League, she was involved in the development of the National Service Act of 1990. In 1991, she was appointed by President George Bush to be a member of the United States Commission on National and Community Service where she pushed for young peoples involvement at all levels of the emerging national service field. Her role expanded to the international front when she was selected as one of 13 participants to participate in the Youth in Action forum of UNESCO. Her experience as the youngest member of the Commission, combined with her experiences as a student and community activist, were her inspiration for starting Youth on Board. Karen also has extensive experience addressing Asian cultural issues and is a good friend to many young people.

 Jenny Sazama, Director & Co-Founder

Jenny Sazama brings almost 20 years of training experience to the organization. Since she was eleven, Jenny has led hundreds of workshops on youth voice, youth power, and improving relationships between young people and adults, both nationally and as far away as South Africa. Prior to joining Youth on Board, Jenny established and directed Youth in Action, a program that was designed to organize and empower teens to take leadership in their neighborhoods, at the Villa Victoria youth center in Bostons South End. In 1993, Jenny founded the Resource Center for Youth and their Allies, a nonprofit that organizes ongoing support groups for youth workers, disabled young people, teen mothers, and other groups. Additionally, Jenny has authored or co-authored nearly 10 publications pertaining to youth involvement. She currently serves as vice president for the Re-evaluation Foundation and as a foundation board member for The Church Home Society.

 Rachel Gunther, Managing Director

Partners

Kenneth Bailey, Founder, The Design Studio for Social Intervention

Kenneth started his activism in the early eighties as a teenager, working in his neighborhood for tenants’ rights and decent housing, targeting the St. Louis Housing Authority. He went on to become an organizer in his neighborhood as a young adult.

Most recently he has been a trainer and a consultant, mostly on issues of organizational development and community building. His first attempt at bringing a “designerly” approach to community work was when he developed a section of The Boston Community Building Curriculum, Principle Four: Building on Community Strengths and Assets for The Boston Foundation. This workshop asked community activists and residents to think about creative ways to work with their community assets. He learned that many community residents remained wedded to conventional nonprofit approaches to work with community assets, even though they weren’t obliged to. That work placed him on this track to now building a design studio for social activism.

He’s worked for Third Sector New England, Ten Point Coalition, Interaction Institute for Social Change and was recently a Board Member for Resource Generation.

Training Team

Christopher Cato Lead Trainer (1999)
Mid-Atlantic Northeast Regional Coordinator, YouthBuild USA

Chris Cato was born and raised in the of South End neighborhood of Boston Massachusetts. Being the youngest of eight he learned the value of community and diversity by observing the way his older siblings and parents interacted with neighbors (all poor) of many different cultures and backgrounds. When he was a teenager at a crossroad where it seemed that every path lead to a dead end, he was presented with an opportunity to be a leader in his community as a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool. This positive experience impacted much of how he would approach life and every new opportunity that life presented. Since then he has worked to surround himself with people who make a positive difference for other people. Over the years he has held many positions, all having to do with youth and community. He never forgot where he came from, and keeps his early life experience as a point of reference for anyone at a crossroad.

In addition to being a Lead Trainer for Youth on Board, he volunteers his time with the following organizations. Board member for the Camp Hale Alumni Association, advisory board member for the Youth Opportunities Program of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and board member for the Eagle Eye Institute. All organizations that work to improve the quality of life for young people and the communities they live in.

Rob Jones - Trainer (2002)

Rob is the Program Director for the National Conference for Community and Justice, Rhode Island and Southeastern New England Region. Since 1989, Mr. Jones has made a firm commitment to become an integral part of the ongoing struggle to bring an understanding of the value of diversity, systems of oppression, and the dynamics of power to the workplace as well as the classroom and the community. He views violence prevention and conflict reconciliation as important factors in dealing with diversity.

Lonnie McAdoo, Lead Trainer (1997)
HIV Youth Prevention Programs & Coordinator, AIDS Action Committee

Lonnie McAdoo was born and raised in Bostons South End and Roxbury. He currently works at AIDS Action Committee as the HIV Youth Prevention Programs Coordinator. His role is coordinating the Youth Only AIDS Line, an anonymous hotline staffed by teens for teens; and coordinating the Teen Speakers Bureau, a program which trains teens to facilitate interactive workshops on HIV and related topics for various schools and youth groups. Prior to working at AIDS Action, Lonnie was the Peer Education Coordinator/Adolescent Health and HIV Educator at Dimock Community Health Center in Roxbury. In all of his work Lonnie has supported young people to become active community partners. For the past year and a half Lonnie has also been a Lead Trainer with Youth on Board. He has conducted trainings on youth involvement for organizations such as: The Maine Governors Commission on Community Service, Maine Youth Voices and the National Network for Youth.

Maria I. Ortiz
Boston Public Schools Office of Family and Student Engagement
Student Voice & Engagement Specialist
Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) Coordinator

Maria Ortiz has demonstrated her commitment to youth leadership and student engagement through a wealth of professional experience serving in several non-profit organizations. Past positions include: Director of Bikes Not Bombs, focused on promoting community based education and projects involving recycled bicycles and environmentally sustainable transportation; Co-Director of Boston Do Something, focused on challenging and supporting young people in their efforts to make Boston a better, more just place to live; and Trainer for Youth on Board, focused on successfully involving youth in decision making within organizations, committees and/or board of directors.

Maria’s role at the Office of Family and Student Engagement brings true student involvement through strong leadership of the Student Engagement Action Collaborative (SEAC) and nurturing rapid growth of the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC).

Sharlynn Soto - Youth Trainer (2002)

Sharlynn recently graduated from Brighton High School in Brighton, MA. In addition being a Trainer for Youth on Board, she works as a tobacco and HIV/AIDS trainer and educator. Sharlynn loves public speaking, meeting new people, and learning new things. She aims to have a career in the communication arts industry in the future.