Our staff and board of directors enable YC to amplify youth voices.
Executive Director
Read BioExecutive Director
Betsy Cohen is Youth Communication’s executive director. She leads Youth Communication’s team, and is focused on growing the organization’s impact over the next several years. Before taking on the role as executive director, she served at YC’s deputy director, working closely with founder Keith Hefner. Betsy has worked in a variety of roles focused on NYC public schools at the Center for Supportive Schools, Success Academy Charter Schools, and at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She has a master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from Emory University in comparative literature. She lives in Jersey City with her husband and rescue pitbull named Doug.
Director of Partnership Development
Read BioDirector of Partnership Development
Janill Briones-Lopez is the director of partnership development at Youth Communication. A former YC writer, Janill returns to help the team nurture existing educational partners and cultivate new partner relationships. Janill has an extensive background in business development and sales and is a Hunter College alumna with a B.A. in psychology. Janill is passionate about being in tune with her Latinx culture, traveling to new places, and reading diverse books.
Administrative Advisor
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Prior to joining Youth Communication in March, 1989, Tom Brown worked for several years at the DOME Project, a community based youth development program where he was assistant director. He has a B.A. in political science from the City College of New York and an M.A. in that subject from Yale. Tom is part of the fundraising team and his duties include foundation prospecting, report and proposal writing, and assisting with individual solicitations. He manages Youth Communication’s fiscal operations: bookkeeping, budgeting, and reporting. Tom is a native New Yorker, he lives in Manhattan.
Managing Director of External Relations
Read BioManaging Director of External Relations
Tara DeWorsop joins YC as the managing director of external relations with 14 years of experience working in development and communications with international and local non-profits. Her work has taken her across the U.S. and around the globe to countries like Japan, Thailand, China, and South Africa. In 2016, she received her MBA from NYU Stern with a specialization in social impact, entrepreneurship, and innovation and is currently a multi-sector communications Ph.D. candidate. She is a passionate advocate for continuous learning and finds joy in connecting people to meaningful experiences and causes! In her free time, she loves going or long walks near the closest body of water and trying her hand at different art forms.
Partnerships Manager
Read BioPartnerships Manager
Kinyanna Evans, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, is a youth worker committed to creating empowering spaces for her community through education reform work. Growing up with Caribbean heritage, Kinyanna used her identity as a foundational tool to reimagine how learning spaces can become emancipatory tools. She graduated from DePauw University with an education studies major and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies minor. Since graduating, she has worked in several youth programs such as Harlem Educational Activities Fund (HEAF) and St. Nicks Alliance, through different roles from youth facilitator to program manager. Kinyanna is passionate about how education and community organizing work centers marginalized voices as leaders in their learning. She is ready to bring this energy and passion to help create the YC curriculum! Kinyanna loves baking and spends most of her free time making treats for her friends.
Managing Director of Education Programs
Read BioManaging Director of Education Programs
Tim Fredrick, PhD, is the managing director of education programs, leading the team that implements YC’s professional development and curriculum programs. He has been a teacher for over 20 years from kindergarten to graduate school, and everything in between. His dissertation, completed at New York University, focuses on how 9th graders used language to achieve agency in a New York City ELA classroom. His career in education has always been dedicated to creating educational spaces that center and validate young people’s experiences, interests, cultures, and goals.
Director of Training
Read BioDirector of Training
Janelle Greco is the director of training at Youth Communication, a role in which she oversees all professional development services at the organization. Prior to joining Youth Communication, Janelle worked as director of the Pre-College Academic Programming Department at LaGuardia Community College and previously served as director of training and advancement at The Doe Fund–an organization dedicated to providing training and career services to those who have been homeless, in foster care, and previously incarcerated. Janelle has a B.A. in English and secondary education from Springfield College and an M.A. in English from Northeastern University. She lives in Brooklyn, is a creative non-fiction writer, and a firm believer in the power of storytelling and sharing experiences with others.
Founder and Senior Advisor
Read BioFounder and Senior Advisor
Keith Hefner founded Youth Communication in 1980. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 1989, and he was a 1986-87 Charles H. Revson Fellow on the Future of New York City at Columbia University. He is a 2004 graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, Institute for Non-Profit Management, Executive Level Program. In 1997 he received the Luther P. Jackson Award for Educational Excellence from the New York Association of Black Journalists. He is the executive editor or co-author of several dozen Youth Communication books and programs, including Real Men and The Teen Guide to Sex (without regrets). Keith works with the editors and education staff on editorial quality control, and he works with the management team on strategy and to support fundraising.
Associate Director of Operations and Communications
Read BioAssociate Director of Operations and Communications
Samantha Lilienfeld is YC’s associate director of operations and communications where she supports the organization’s internal development and external communications, working in support of the writing program, teen-written story distribution, and education programming. Prior to joining Youth Communication, Samantha worked with the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Community Schools as an AmeriCorps VISTA and Coro NY’s Participatory Budgeting Youth Fellowship program. Samantha has an M.A. in American studies from CUNY Graduate Center and a B.A. in comparative ethnic studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She lives in Brooklyn by way of Los Angeles.
Senior Editor, YouthComm
Read BioSenior Editor, YouthComm
Jasmine Reid is the senior editor of YouthComm Magazine. She has previously worked as a lecturer at Cornell University, where she taught freshman writing seminars and creative writing courses, and is a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute, where she leads courses in their BFA Writing Program. She holds an MFA in creative writing: poetry from Cornell University and a B.A. in sociology from Tufts University. A part-time human, full-time flower, Jasmine’s first poetry collection, Deus Ex Nigrum, was published in 2020 by Honeysuckle Press.
Senior Editor, Represent
Read BioSenior Editor, Represent
Kudrat Wadhwa is a senior editor at Represent. Previously, she worked as an assistant editor at Footnote and as an editorial fellow at Footnote. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Brown University and an MFA in literary reportage from New York University. A fun fact about her is that she did karate as a kid and managed to become a black belt in the sport!
Director of Marketing
Read BioDirector of Marketing
Anna Ziverts joins YC as the director of marketing with more than a decade’s worth of experience in the social impact sector. Prior to YC, Anna served as the lead of marketing and creative for a large public school district out west. Anna has worked with global organizations, including a high-profile United Nations partnership organization. As a long-time youth coach, Anna is passionate about creating environments where teens feel safe to learn and grow. Anna holds B.A.’s in French and in international studies from Southern Methodist University (SMU) as well as an M.A. with a concentration in human rights and social justice also from SMU. Anna holds graphic design credentials from Pratt Institute.
President
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Leah Modigliani is the founder of Modigliani Capital Partners. Prior to starting her own firm, Leah was a senior investment associate at Bridgewater Associates and senior vice president at Neuberger Berman. Before joining Neuberger Berman, Leah was the executive director and US strategist in the Research Department of Morgan Stanley.
Vice President
Read BioVice President
Lourdes M. Rosado is a YC alumna who helped start the organization in 1980. Ms. Rosado is currently the inaugural program director at the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and is a long-standing youth and social justice advocate. Prior to joining NYCLU, Ms. Rosado was chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the New York State Office of the Attorney General. As bureau chief, Ms. Rosado supervised enforcement actions and litigation in federal and state courts. Ms. Rosado was the associate director of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia for 17 years, pioneering juvenile justice and child welfare work. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College, holds a M.A. from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, a J.D. from New York University School of Law, and a LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Rosado is currently vice president of YC’s Board of Directors.
Treasurer
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Troy Williams is the senior credit officer and a member of the Executive Loan Committee at First Republic Bank in New York. Prior to First Republic, he was an executive director in Global Wealth Credit Risk Management at JPMorgan for six years. Mr. Williams also spent more than seven years at Deutsche Bank as a team leader and senior credit officer for asset and wealth management in the Americas. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Mr. Williams worked in various risk management capacities at S&P, ORIX USA, and Citibank. Mr. Williams earned a B.S. in Finance and International Business from Georgetown University and a MBA from the Fordham Graduate School of Business.
Secretary
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Bob Ouimette practiced law in New York City for 25 years, retiring as a partner of Torys LLP. He is currently a member of its Executive Committee and co-chair of the Fund Development Committee and formerly sat on the board of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York. Mr. Ouimette has a bachelor’s degree from Williams College, a J.D. from the University of Michigan, and an L.L.M. in Taxation from the New York University Law School.
Member
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Arlen is an education equity consultant working with states, districts, and non-profit organizations to advance racial, socio-economic, and cultural equity in education. Arlen was formerly the senior director of legal strategy and policy at the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University where she led teams on consulting projects addressing district and school integration, culturally responsive and sustaining education, and a legal right to education. Prior to that, Arlen was a fellow at the Regents Research Fund of the New York State Education Department where she worked on policy, curriculum, assessment, and grant programs to improve services and bilingual education for Multilingual Learners in New York State. Arlen was also a staff attorney at Advocates for Children in the Immigrant Students’ Rights Project, where she worked to improve educational opportunities for immigrant and Multilingual Learner students and families. Prior to that she was a law fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project, where she helped litigate employment and civil rights class actions on behalf of migrant farm workers in the South. Arlen has a J.D. from New York University Law School and a B.A. from the University of California Los Angeles.
Member
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Timothy Blair is a managing director within the Debt Capital Markets team at Mizuho Americas and is based in the New York office. Prior to Mizuho, he was a vice president within the Debt Capital Markets team at RBS for six years. Mr. Blair started his career at Bank of America, also within the Debt Capital Markets group. Mr. Blair earned a B.S. in Business Administration from Washington & Lee University. Tim currently resides in Darien, CT with his wife and daughter.
Member
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Henry Guttilla, a New Orleans native, found his passion for events while in college studying liberal arts and volunteering on the events committee for New Avenues for Youth, a not-for-profit organization. Through his volunteer work, he was introduced to the events and hospitality industry igniting his drive and pursuit of a new career path. Discovering luxury events were largely based in New York City, Henry relocated to Manhattan. Upon landing an internship at Olivier Cheng Catering and Events, Henry’s eye for design was honed by curating high-end events and managing celebrity clientele. Over the course of 14 years, Henry navigated his way from intern to event assistant to event producer and finally landing his current role of the last nine years as executive creative director at Ultra Events NYC.
Member
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Nina Link is an executive mentor at Merryck & Co. Prior to joining Merryck she was president and CEO of the Magazine Publishers of America. Nina held numerous positions at Sesame Workshop (formerly Children’s Television Workshop), finally serving as group president, Publishing and Interactive. Ms. Link headed her own consulting firm, The Link Group, Inc. where she managed a network of colleagues who designed and developed multimedia educational and training programs for the business, government, and nonprofit sectors.
Member
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Vivian Louie is the director of the Asian-American Studies Center and Program at Hunter College, City University of New York. She is also a tenured professor in Hunter College’s Department of Urban Policy and Planning. Prior to these positions, she was a program officer at the William T. Grant Foundation and an associate professor at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Her reporting career included positions at The New York Times, The Hartford Courant, and The Los Angeles Times. She was an editor of Youth Communication’s YouthComm Magazine (formerly YCteen) in 1994 and 1995. She is the author of two books on the immigrant experience in the United States and has published more than 20 articles in various scholarly publications.
Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (ret.)
Marshall Project
MDRC
Filmmaker
Consultant
Fried Frank (ret.)
RosettaBooks
Author
Author
Office of the New York State Attorney General
Ford Foundation (ret.)
Youth Communication’s mission is to elevate the voices and center the experiences of NYC teens. We are committed to a culture of inclusivity on every level of the organization. We welcome a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints; encourage initiative; and recognize the contributions of all our employees.