Staff
Wokie Weah
President
Wokie Weah provides executive leadership and vision, works in partnership with the board of directors and brokers relationships for the betterment of the field. She comes to Youthprise with comprehensive experience in education and youth development. Wokie worked for 18 years at the National Youth Leadership Council; serving most recently as Senior Vice President. In that capacity, she helped shape the organization’s strategic direction, cultivate partnerships, grow the funding base, and develop and manage NYLC’s youth and schools programs, professional development, annual conference, and special events.
For part of that time she also worked for UNICEF as an Education Project Officer in Liberia, where she coordinated the Support to War-Affected Youth Project, the Juvenile Justice Initiative, African Girl Education Initiative, and Child Friendly Spaces for internally displaced children.
Wokie received her Master’s degree in Education Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her Bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University in New York. She is an author and widely traveled speaker; she has addressed audiences throughout the United States and Africa and written extensively on service-learning and diversity. She is a native of Liberia, is married and has five children.
wokie@youthprise.org
Maya Beecham
Executive Assistant
Maya Beecham provides executive support and structure in the office. She comes to Youthprise with professional experience ranging from work in the public and private sectors. She is originally from the historic Rondo Community of St. Paul, Minnesota and is a spoken word artist. Maya graduated from Cretin-Derham Hall and received a BA in Communication Studies from Hamline University. She is passionate about providing all youth opportunities to develop their passions for the good of society.
maya@youthprise.org
Sheila Gothmann
Finance and Operations Director
Sheila Gothmann provides oversight on all aspects of finance and back office of the organization. She has 30 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, both in Minnesota and in Africa. Her background includes 12 years as finance and operations director/CFO for the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota and the Minnesota Teamsters Service Bureau, and more than a decade of experience in strategic planning and fund development. Sheila served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, and as training and information coordinator for CARE International in Mozambique. Sheila is a leader who is committed to the principles of community-based enterprises working to improve lives.
sheila@youthprise.org
Rudy Guglielmo Jr.
Program Officer
Rudy Guglielmo Jr. manages grantmaking and relations with other funders, including the Youth Funders Forum. Rudy brings over 20 years of grantmaking and program development experience to Youthprise. Most recently, he worked as an independent consultant for a number of foundations in the upper Midwest. He moved from Arizona to Minnesota in 2006 to work as a Program Officer at the Bush Foundation. Prior to that, Rudy held Program Officer positions with the Arizona Community Foundation and the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the Arizona State University Foundation. He also managed grants and developed arts programs for twelve years as Expansion Arts Director at the Arizona Commission on the Arts. Rudy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University.
rudy@youthprise.org
Karen Kingsley
Director of Public Policy and Communications
Karen Kingsley directs public policy and strategic communications for the organization, including supporting and mobilizing Minnesota’s Statewide Afterschool Alliance. She comes to Youthprise with 20 years of experience leading public policy efforts to advance the well-being of children, youth and families. Her experience includes work on welfare reform, workforce development, child care and affordable housing. Most recently, Karen led public policy and coalition-building efforts on early childhood education at Ready 4 K. She is committed to facilitating collective action that produces lasting change for families and communities. A native of Philadelphia, Karen moved to Minnesota in 1988 to attend the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute, where she received a Master’s degree in Public Affairs. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Duke University.
karen@youthprise.org
Marcus Pope
Director of Strategic Initiatives and Outreach
Marcus Pope builds cross-sector collaborations, oversees evaluation and facilitates youth leadership and engagement within the organization. Marcus comes to Youthprise with a rich background in nonprofit management, youth development and community outreach. He most recently served as Associate Director of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community at the University of Minnesota (U of M). Other experiences include serving as Director of Youth Programs for the Neighborhood Involvement Program in Minneapolis and as a Graduate Assistant/Academic Advisor for the Youth Studies Department at the U of M School of Social Work. Marcus holds an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree in Sociology, Youth Studies and African American studies and a Masters degree from the U of M in Education – Youth Development Leadership, with an emphasis in Program Evaluation.
marcus@youthprise.org
Elizabeth (Libby) Rau
Youth Engagement Strategist
Libby Rau develops statewide infrastructure for youth engagement in public policy and philanthropy. She has 10 years of program management experience in the nonprofit sector – primarily working in youth leadership development and school-based educational programs. Libby’s job is a creative arrangement to ensure youth leadership in Youthprise – she works half time with the Minnesota Alliance With Youth and half time with Youthprise. She comes to this job share from the National Youth Leadership Council, where she managed three national service-learning programs and provided professional development and trainings including online webinars and a graduate level online course in service-learning. She received her undergraduate degree in Leadership Communication from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa and graduate degree in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University in Indianapolis.
lrau@mnyouth.net
Youthprise Board of Directors
Kit Hadley, Chair, is the director of the Saint Paul Public Library (since August 2009) and before that served as the executive director of Heading Home Minnesota, a statewide initiative to end homelessness and an umbrella organization for 12 state, regional, and county/city initiatives. Hadley has also served as the director of the Minneapolis Public Library from 2003-2007 and was commissioner of the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency under two governors. At MHFA, she also served as deputy commissioner and director of government affairs. Hadley began her career as a staff attorney, first with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services and then with the Legal Services Advocacy Project.
Irene Fernando, Treasurer, is co-executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit organization Students Today Leaders Forever. She also directs the Marketing & Human Resources at STLF. Fernando is originally from Carson, CA (Los Angeles area). She graduated in May 2007 with a Business degree in Marketing from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Education at the University of Minnesota, in the Youth Development Leadership program. Fernando also serves on the Board of Directors of the Academy of North Minneapolis.
Dale A. Blyth is the Associate Dean for Youth Development with the University of Minnesota Extension. He directs the Extension Center for Youth Development, which serves as a catalyst, resource, and advocate to ensure quality community opportunities for all young people to learn, lead, and contribute. The Center provides leadership for both the Minnesota 4-H Youth Development Program involving more than 130,000 youth and the Minnesota Youth Work Institute providing education and technical assistance to more than 4,000 youth workers and hundreds of youth programs each year. In 2004-2005 he served as chief of staff for the Minnesota Commission on Out of School Time and its report Journeys into Community: Transforming Youth Opportunities for Learning and Development. He serves on several youth-related advisory groups in Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as statewide.
Tanya M. Bransford has served as a District Court Judge in Hennepin County District Court since 1994, and currently presides over civil and criminal cases in Hennepin County District Court. From 2006 to 2008, Judge Bransford was the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge, handling juvenile cases including delinquency, child protection, truancy, adoptions and adult certification motions. Judge Bransford received a 2009 award from Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, the Distinguished Alumni Award from North St. Paul High School, and the 2000 Distinguished Alumna Award from Hamline University School of Law. She also serves as vice chair for the State Racial Fairness in the Courts Committee and co-chair of the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.
Alexandria (Ali) J. Rice is a home-schooled student in 11th grade. She has grown up in the Twin Cities, going to public and charter schools of Saint Paul through to her 11th grade year. She will be graduating in May of 2012 having home-schooled for two years and also having participated in the Post Secondary Enrollment Option, attending college courses as a High School student. As a member of the Baha’i Faith, Alexandria has come to value service to humanity as a main focus of life, and building community is a key element of this service. She has been involved in teaching and mentoring programs for both children and junior youth (ages 12 to 15) for 5 years. The main program that she is involved in today is the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program, which focuses on assisting youth to serve their community with a group of peers, at a time when they are trying to understand their role and identity in the world around them. Alexandria has been serving as a Saint Paul Youth commissioner since the fall, and she is serving on the subcommittee which addresses youth’s access to affordable transportation, in order to help youth have access to programs offered in their community. Through these opportunities, which focus on bettering the lives of youth, Alexandria has come to understand the necessity for quality programming for all youth, and hopes to assist the advancement of this cause in her life.
Kate Wolford became president of The McKnight Foundation in December 2006. The Minnesota-based family foundation’s program interests include education and learning, the region and communities, the arts, the environment, and scientific research in selected fields, as well as youth development. Prior to joining McKnight, Wolford spent 13 years as president of Lutheran World Relief (LWR). From 1991 to 2006, she worked at LWR, where she was named president after two years as program director for Latin America. Previously, she established Church World Service’s Caribbean regional office for disaster response and community-based development, and worked with Servicio Social de Iglesias Dominicanas.
