We are thrilled to introduce you all to Jasmine Reid and Mario Sanchez, two new members of our editorial team. Jasmine Reid will serve as our new Senior Editor for YouthComm magazine (formerly YCteen), dedicated to guiding youth writers to create stories that are the heart of Youth Communication. Mario Sanchez, our first-ever Journalism Fellow (and YC alum), will support YC’s editors and work with our writers..

At Youth Communication, we are dedicated to amplifying youth stories and empowering teens. This work could not be done without our editorial team which helps young people write authentic, personal stories about their lives, for the benefit of other teens just like them. YC stories, written and published in our writing program, are uniquely compelling to youth whose voices are missing from mainstream content.

Our teen writing program occurs year-round where young people have the opportunity to write and publish personal stories. Each of these passionate and accomplished professionals will work closely with our writers, as students explore their identities and strengths, and share their challenges and accomplishments.

Jasmine and Mario’s support with the teen writing program will add to our growing collection of over 7,200 published student stories.

Additionally, we’ve welcomed two other YC alums to the team as our summer interns! Liza Tuyuc and Marvin Lezama are wonderful additions to our external relations team; we’re so grateful to our community of alumni for their long-standing support of YC.  Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our new members!

Jasmine REID 

Hello all,

As a Senior Editor, my primary responsibility is to work closely and collaboratively with the youth writers: meeting with them to develop story ideas and providing editorial feedback & guidance along each story’s numerous drafts, thereby offering my expertise & insight while prioritizing & holding as sacred the voice of the writer and the story that they want to tell. Additionally, I collaborate with my fellow editors to discuss editorial challenges, strategies, and support otherwise for the youth writers at YC. I am currently co-leading the six-week summer writing workshop.

During my time at Youth Communication, I would like for the writers that I work with to feel held in our collaboration as a kind of nest in which they are craft- and knowledge-empowered unto the flight between the throat of their language & its black migrations across the page.

I am writer & poet, specifically. I have an MFA in Creative Writing: Poetry from Cornell University, where I taught freshman writing & creative writing classes for three years. I have also taught at Pratt Institute, in their BFA Writing Program, as a Visiting Assistant Professor. My first collection of poems, Deus Ex Nigrum, was published in 2020 by Honeysuckle Press. I look forward to offering my poetic knowledge & attentiveness to the youth writers at YC.

mARIO SANCHEZ 

Hi! I am honored to be the first Journalism Fellow for Youth Communication. As a former writer with YC, I am excited to use my past experience when navigating tasks and suggesting ideas to the team. I am also excited to share my point of view with our current writers and help them with the writing process.

After Youth Communication, I went on to get a full Posse Scholarship for Lafayette College, where I was able to implement my experience here at YC into every writing aspect at Lafayette College. Within my first semester, I became the Assistant Arts & Culture Editor for The Lafayette, which is Pennsylvania’s oldest college newspaper. By the time my second semester rolled around, I was promoted to the Arts & Culture Editor, where I was tasked with editing, guiding writers, and writing for different sections such as News, and Sports. I remained the Arts & Culture editor until my last year on campus.

lIZA tUYUC  

Liza Tuyuc is a Marketing/Public Relations Intern at Youth Communication. Currently, she is studying at the Macaulay Honors College under Queens College, completing a BA in English, minoring in Business & Liberal Arts. She also presently writes and edits for The Indigenous Foundation. Formerly, she served as a founding member and Editorial Director for The Meraki Story, and after school teacher at the Korean American Family Service Center.  Her current goal as a student and intern is to explore all facets of the writing world, from creative to copywriting, believing in the importance of storytelling in advocacy. Liza can be found dabbling in various arts and crafts, tangled in yarn and clay, or tending to her small army of plants.

mARVIN LEZAMA 

Marvin Lezama is from Queens, NY current Development Intern at Youth Communications. Prior to YC Marvin was involved with leadership at his high school and currently works with the school partner, IBM, in Corporate Social Responsibility. Additionally, served as a mentor for a youth activism program within the NYC Department of Education and at local organizations. Marvin is a recent A.A.S. graduate from New York City College of Technology in the field of Computer information Systems. His interests to empower and uplift youth stems from his upbringing, making his personal experience a reason to serve as a model for young folks. When he is not in the office he is hoarding plants or watching thriller movies.