Soon, we will begin working on a document that defines LAYC’s youth development model. Yes, it is true: LAYC is a forty-year-plus multi-service organization and charter school network supporting thousands of youth and families in the metropolitan region. But that description does not do us justice. LAYC is so much bigger, richer, and spicier than…
Over 31 years at LAYC, I have faced many difficult and sometimes uncomfortable circumstances and have made many tough decisions. The word “tough” might lead you to believe this sort of decision-making is really hard to do. I admit that in the beginning of my career that was the case. I would lie in bed…
Over the years, I have met some amazing businessmen and women. Three of them — RJ Jensen and his daughter Julie and Barry Salzberg — have given me helpful “words of wisdom.” With this blog entry, I send their insights your way. RJ Jensen was a self-made man and a consummate entrepreneur who created many…
LAYC’s inclusion as one of eight pre-selected grantees in President Obama’s Social Innovation Fund administered by the Corporation for Community and National Service got me thinking about the word “innovation.” How did LAYC from its humble grassroots beginning forty years ago find its way into a prestigious and challenging national social movement? Thinking about this…
I am sitting on the airplane returning home after three days at the National Council of La Raza conference (NCLR). Often, I resist taking time out from my daily routine to attend conferences, but my inner voice was nagging. I am so glad that I listened. My reasons for attending became clear and compelling throughout…
{jcomments on}Some of you who read my blog may actually know me, however, many more of you, may not. So, I will start by noting that I wandered into the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) as a young and eager college graduate in 1979 and over thirty years later, I am still here! Starting as…
