15 + years
Kathy Pross
Director, NJ
20 years
Cassandra Wilson
Director, PA
17 years
Paul Flinchbaugh
Advocate, PA
16 years
Tisen Thomas
Asst. Chief Program Svcs., TSC
16 years
Karen Royal
Devel. Disability Advocate, PA
15 years
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10 years
Kelli Lewis
Family Support Specialist, PA
Akmed Taylor-Kamara
Behavioral Asst., NJ
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5 years
Amina Camillo
Advocate, NJ
Kia Crawford
Advocate, PA
Richardine Fernandez
TSS, SC
Becky Horne
Phone Monitor, TSC
Yoaan Jaquez
Advocate, NJ
Cathy Lawson
LD Social Work, NJ
Melinda Lohr
TSS, PA
Andrea Morrison
Program Coordinator, TX
Janet Noble-Ferrer
Adovcate, NJ
Anissa Pagan
Advocate, PA
Karen Thibault
LD Social Work, NJ
Corion Thomas
Advocate, TX
Irmalyn Thomas
Advocate, TX
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Webinar Calendar
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Each YAP employee is an important piece of YAP's mission and our efforts to provide quality service to youth and families.
The sidebar highlights employees who are celebrating employment anniversary milestones during the month of October. If you recognize a name on the list, we encourage you to reach out and express your gratitude to them for their commitment to Youth Advocate Programs.
We recognize and appreciate their dedicated efforts and are so glad that they have chosen to be a part of our team!
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Employee Spotlight
Derrick Jones
The leader of YAP's Baltimore program, Director Derrick Jones is passionate about the kids of Baltimore City. Before directing Baltimore YAP, Derrick taught students in Baltimore City Public Schools for 10 years.
| Derrick (center) with two YAP youth |
A lifelong resident of Baltimore City, Derrick is a homegrown advocate for Baltimore City's most at-risk, marginalized and vulnerable kids. He's seen the root causes of some of the dislocation of Baltimore's youth, and how YAP offers a viable solution. "A lot of these kids are out on the streets selling dope because they can make more money that way," Derrick says. To combat some of the challenges our kids face, such as poor education or family lives under enormous stress financially and otherwise, Derrick has established a robust program in Maryland, even engaging in some creative ways to raise money for supported work to help get or keep kids in the program employed.
Derrick recognized the harsh reality that many of the children in Baltimore City are taking care of themselves and their younger siblings at 13 and 14 years old, are unable to get jobs at their age, and have economic needs but no way to legally meet them. "They are unskilled," Derrick said recently, "so they hit the first and the easiest way possible: guy on the corner who says, 'Look. You stand out here all day, you can make a hundred dollars.'" Derrick knew that many of the kids in Baltimore City Jail were there for drug cases, dealing and possessing dope.
The allure of selling drugs to make a quick fix was great, the kids' need for income was real and the number of kids getting locked up for drugs is unnecessary and too high. YAP's supported work program was helping, but needed more resources to provide an alternative to the lucrative business of selling drugs. Thinking outside of the box, Derrick tapped into his own skills and a network of artists he knew who could help him spread the word. He composed and created a poem about the allure of selling drugs, developed a campaign around it called "Save a Dope Boy Campaign," and has succeeded in raising awareness and money from at least one major corporation for supported work jobs for the kids of Baltimore City. With this added resource, the youth Derrick and his staff work with can earn money without compromising safety or freedom, learn job skills and have their advocates, trained in job coaching, helping them along the way. Derrick directs two programs in Baltimore; one that works with kids directly referred from detention, intended to lower the number of youth in detention and the other with Maryland's Department of Social Services, focused on working with foster care kids who have histories of running away. His commitment reflects YAP's "Whatever it Takes" attitude, and as he puts it: "I'm not going to be the one who lets these kids down."
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Who should be our next spotlight?
Do you know a YAP employee who is doing an exceptional job? Do you have a co-worker who deserves to be featured in our monthly service anniversary newsletter? Do you know someone who has gone above and beyond?
Email us with the employee name and a short note explaining why they would make an interesting feature for an upcoming employee spotlight.
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