YOU Advisory Members Attend Leadership Institute at Harvard
Earlier this month, a group of seven local youth-serving community leaders and practitioners attended an intensive week-long program at Harvard University as part of the Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet’s ongoing partnership with Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ)
.The Summer Institute was co-hosted by HCZ and the EdRedesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which is also a supporting partner of the Children’s Cabinet.
The Institute’s theme was “Transforming Place Through Neighborhood Leadership,” and it sought to bring together the most promising neighborhood leaders and organizations from around the nation. The program was offered at no cost to participants, including lodging and a travel stipend.
“Only a few communities nationwide got invited to participate in the Institute. Poughkeepsie being included is an important recognition of what we’ve shown national partners over the past few years: Poughkeepsie is a city that cares about its kids and with major initiatives like the Children’s Cabinet — and Dutchess County’s $25 million commitment to develop the Youth Opportunity Union (YOU) at the former YMCA site in the city, as well other organizations that have been doing it for years — we’re backing that up with real, long-term investments,” said L’Quette Taylor, chair of the YOU Advisory Committee and founder of Community Matters 2.
“We know we have a lot of work ahead of us. The Institute gave us a chance to see what’s being achieved by some of the most effective programs in the country. But it also made clear that we have the full support of Harlem Children’s Zone and Harvard in this work, with access to unprecedented resources and expertise to help us.
”The Summer Institute’s programming consisted of a mix of presentations and professional development workshops focused on topics such as: securing long-term investment for cradle-to-career pathways; adaptive leadership; organizational finance; federal grant readiness; and data management.
Featured speakers and instructors included HCZ founder and president Geoffrey Canada; former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Jim Shelton; and several Harvard professors — as well as national experts in grant-writing and organizational finance.
The week also offered structured team time, with coaching support, that offered valuable opportunities for conversation and sharing.
“There are so many committed, inspiring organizations helping kids in Poughkeepsie. We might get an hour here or there to touch base as a group, but never five consecutive days together,” said Kevin White, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. “It was really powerful to have the extended time to think as a group about how we can all come together as part of a comprehensive cradle-to-career pipeline that guarantees success for kids in Poughkeepsie.”
The delegation representing the Children’s Cabinet at the Summer Institute included:
Nicole Fenichel-Hewitt, executive director, The Art Effect; Dr. Richard Hooley, secretary, YOU Advisory Committee, and former superintendent, Dutchess BOCES; Keith Hudes, director of community initiatives, Family Services;, L’Quette Taylor, chair of YOU Advisory Committee and co-founder/CEO, Community Matters 2; Estefany Umbach, director of community engagement, DAY ONE; Kevin White, executive director, Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie; Da’Ron Wilson, executive director of school engagement, Poughkeepsie City School District.
Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet co-founder, Rob Watson Jr. (PHS ‘05), was a lead organizer of the Summer Institute through his role as Director for Partnerships and Community Impact at Harvard’s EdRedesign Lab. He supported and accompanied the Cabinet delegation throughout the week.
The Children’s Cabinet is chaired by Mayor Rob Rolison and Poughkeepsie City School Superintendent Dr. Eric Rosser and — as a coordinating body — brings together decision makers, leaders and community representatives to improve the lives of youth and families in the city. The Cabinet was formed in early 2020 in recognition of the fact that children spend 80 percent of their time out of the classroom and in the broader community.
The Cabinet recently formalized a partnership with Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). HCZ will be working directly with the City of Poughkeepsie, Poughkeepsie City School District, and Dutchess County to help build a cradle-to-career pipeline of programs, supports and services for local children, youth and families.
L’Quette Taylor (left) and Da’Ron Wilson (right) at Harvard University