Youth Catalyst Team Members

Meet the Youth Catalyst Team

Each YCT member brings unique skills, expertise, and energy to the team, and to Youth Collaboratory as a whole.

Amara (they/them)

Amara was born and raised in San Francisco, CA a fact they take great pride in. Being from San Francisco has given Amara not only a deep, nuanced understanding of the various social issues that exist in our society, but allowed them to create a community with some of the most passionate and dedicated activists they have ever had the privilege to know. Amara has worked in various social-justice sectors, such as local government, philanthropic, and grass root organizations. They recently graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Sociology and Psychology. While at SF State, Amara was a member of the League of Filipino Students, a national democratic organization focused on fighting for the rights of Filipinos across the world. Whether at work, school or in community, Amara uses their lived experience, personal knowledge, and love for their communities as guiding values in their work.

Ana (she/her/ella)

Ana is proudly Mexican and is constantly fighting against different barriers like language, to make a more inclusive and accessible environment for everyone, while striving to eliminate health disparities, racism and discrimination in her community. She is a peer leader educator for the El Rio Reproductive Health Access Program (RHAP) in Tucson, Arizona which is a group of teens helping teens take control of their reproductive health by providing free confidential birth control & testing. Here, she's also part of the Period Mailing Project where she mails free menstrual packages every week to help eliminate period poverty in Arizona. At the same time, she is a full-time student at the University of Arizona majoring in Medicine with a minor in Spanish, and one day she hopes to become a doctor. She is also part of the Youth Action Committee of Tucson which is comprised of youth and young adults with lived experience of homelessness and/or housing instability and provides expertise and guidance to the CoC Board as it relates to strategies to prevent and end youth homelessness. Here, she gained more interest in finding ways to support her community to fight homelessness and the barriers that lead to this issue. Also, she is part of the Youth Action Board of YOTO (Youth On Their Own) where she helps influence the decisions that YOTO makes in the program as a whole. She's involved in these important decisions in order to make YOTO the best it can be, which is a nonprofit organization that supports the high school graduation and continued success of youth experiencing homelessness in Pima County by providing financial assistance, basic human needs, guidance, and more. Along with other advocates, she strives to eliminate barriers to education and empower housing-insecure youth in our community to stay in school. She is very excited to continue working as a consultant with the Youth Catalyst Team and to advocate for this program while helping other people to be heard too.

bri (they/siya)

bri is a community organizer on occupied Powhatan land in so-called Richmond, Virginia. Guided by the principles of abolition, decolonization, and Healing Centered Engagement, bri builds support networks grounded in community and mutual aid. Their lived experience of being a queer & trans, Mad & disabled, brown Filipino immigrant enables bri to leverage their knowledge into their grassroots organizing, nonprofit consulting, and participatory action research. bri's work aims to bring more oppressed voices and perspectives into crucial discussions about policy and accessibility through the development of better cross-systems collaborations, building a future where everyone can pursue joy.

Cassius (he, him) 

Cassius is poised to embark on a journey dedicated to advocating for others. Having weathered the storms of housing and food insecurity, as well as grappling with homelessness and facing discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, and dealing with chronic pain as a person with physical disabilities, he brings a wealth of lived experience to his passion for community advocacy. As an active member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, Cassius has already dedicated time to working with organizations focused on supporting and empowering LGBT youth and young adults. Now, he's driven to deepen his impact by engaging with broader communities and addressing systemic issues that perpetuate inequality. With a fervent commitment to reshaping existing structures and dismantling oppressive systems, Cassius aims to not only uplift marginalized voices but also to contribute to building more equitable systems that foster inclusivity and justice for all.

EJ (he/they)

EJ is currently a college student at Albright University while working in his community for housing justice and access to support for youth and families in need. With a focus on homelessness as his passion, due to his own lived experience of being homeless. He understands the barriers that are put into place. He has worked with organizations in his community to assist youth and families while seeking care. As well as spoken at events to try to better educate the issues with discrimination and the laws that impact the care and support of disabled youth. As well as highlighted the importance of being properly educated on diversity, equity, and inclusivity. To step out of their comfort zone and provide care for BIPOC, POC & LGBTQIA+, individuals require a provider to remove their biases. His hope is that youth can have a safe place, that shelters won’t push them away and hopefully one day these traumatizing events won’t happen.

Keona (she, her)

Keona is a former homeless youth that has a big vision to change her community. As a current member of the Youth Action Committee & Homeless Youth Coalition, she strives towards eliminating youth homelessness in Pima County. Her goal is to make collaborations with local businesses, organizations, and motorcycle clubs to generate funding, awareness, and eliminate social, mental, and stereotypical stigmas set by society.

Marcellus (they/them)

Marcellus is a gender nonconforming, Afro-Indigenous person born and raised in Oklahoma. They grew up in a lower-income household and faced food and housing insecurity. Marcellus was affected by generational trauma but broke the cycle by getting involved in advocacy. During their senior year of high school in 2019, Marcellus began their advocacy work by successfully organizing a campaign, with the assistance of Save Your VI, NAACP, ADL, and ACLU, to change their school's dress code policy. This campaign aimed to allow for cultural expression, including the right for students to wear headwraps and traditional eagle feathers during graduation. In October 2020, Marcellus faced a period of homelessness while attending college. Due to their intersectionality, they encountered difficulties in accessing resources and eventually relocated to Oklahoma City. During this time, they temporarily resided in shelters and hotels before obtaining transitional housing. In 2022, Marcellus joined the Oklahoma City Youth Action Board as an Ambassador. They have conducted workshops on Advocacy 101 and Youth-Led Cross Systems on Prevention & Housing, and have actively participated in events such as the Symposium on Ending Youth Homelessness and the Runaway Homeless Youth National Grantee Training in 2023. Marcellus delivered a presentation on the topic of Providing Trauma-Informed Care to At-Risk Youth Experiencing Homelessness at the National Youth Summit on Homelessness in Washington, D.C. Due to their involvement with the OKC YAB, Marcellus holds the position of YHDP PRSS at The Homeless Alliance.

Maria (she, her)

Maria is a UConn graduate student earning a Masters of Public Policy. Through the UConn BOLD Women’s Leadership Network, she serves as a Policy Fellow for the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity, and Opportunity (CWCSEO). Her passion in child welfare advocacy, policy and law are fulfilled in her consultant role with Youth Collaboratory, and fellowships with the Jim Casey Foundation and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). She is excited to intern for Representative Grijalva of Arizona this summer 2024, where she will delve deeper into the federal policy landscape. Ultimately, Maria aspires to cultivate her lived expertise and love for learning and community to foster equitable impacts across generations.

Rachel (she/her) 

Rachel is a cartoonist and consultant who works at the intersection of the youth homelessness services field and disability non-profit services sector. Recent organizations she has worked for include the Dane County Youth Action Board, National Disability Rights Network, and the Reproductive Health Access Project. She comes to this work as a disabled youth with lived experience surviving homelessness and repeated institutionalization as a teenager. These lived experiences have ignited her passion for improving the ways that systems respond to disabled young people in crisis. She is also an artist and freelance writer with a passion for storytelling. You can find her published work, art, and zines on her website racheldl.com. 

Tyler (he/him)

Tyler earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Mississippi State University. Drawing from personal experience, he has developed competence with physical and mental instances of maltreatment, poverty, and substance addiction. After overcoming addiction, trauma, and the negative consequences of his own actions through a combination of rehabilitation, holistic methods, and community, Tyler now dedicates his time to assisting others as a mentor, public speaker, and life coach. He provides support to adolescents, persons in recovery from substance abuse, and community members navigating the complexities of life. Through YCT, Tyler advocates for the empowerment of every individual to create constructive transformation.

The following YCT members also work with our Girls Action Board

Jalyn (she/her)

Jalyn is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in Political Science and a double minor in Spanish and Human Rights. Starting this fall, Jalyn will be attending the University of Connecticut School of Law. She currently works as the interim Program Director for a college access program for first-generation, low-income, and minority youth. She is also the former President of a student organization that advocates and provides a safe space for students who identify as independent, previously resided in the foster care system, or identify as food or housing insecure. With training in human trafficking prevention and work experience with various marginalized groups, Jalyn hopes to grow in her advocacy and leadership skills.

Makayla (she, her)

Makayla is a graduate of UConn's Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program and a Master of Public Health candidate in UConn's Applied Public Health Sciences program. She consistently showed her commitment to community engagement through her academic and personal pursuits and extensive involvement in campus organizations. Some of those organizations included the Department of Psychology, Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Student Health and Wellness, Undergraduate Student Government, and various Culture Centers. In the current, she has centered her advocacy around people living with HIV and serving children with incarcerated parents. Dawkins’ interest in supporting the community is simply emblematic of equity.

Tarchell (she/her)

Tarchell is from Polk County Florida, In 2011 she, her sister, and her mother moved out to Oakland California. She graduated and was valedictorian of the class of 2018. She now is on an entrepreneurial journey with her lash extensions business that is centered around the vision that survivors like her, are a walking testimony, and are here to continue to inspire others. Within a few years of working in the nonprofit field, Tarchell has gotten the privilege to sharpen tools she didn’t know she even had. She’s grown a profitable mindset that will take her to Mars if she wants it to. Tarchell is here to encourage others and help build a healthy community. In 2014, she began documenting her experience and learnings in nonprofit organizations. She has finally decided to work on a digital series that’s focused on helping more young people build, launch, and scale their own nonprofits. SOS will be coming out real soon!

Toyin (she, her)

Toyin is a mental health and human trafficking prevention enthusiast. She spends her spare time working to help first-time English learners and advocates for foster and homeless youth. She's currently a YCT-GAB consultant, a sophomore majoring in Psychological Sciences and minoring in Sign Language with an aspiration to become a Physician's Assistant. 

Guide to Authentic Youth Leadership and Collaboration

The Youth Catalyst Team created a tool to share some of their best practices! This guide is for youth and young adult leaders, catalysts, and advocates - as well as the adult collaborators that support their work. You can use this guide as a template for developing and sustaining youth and young adult leadership groups. Download the guide.

Learn More

For more information about the Youth Catalyst Team, or to request training, consultation, brainstorming, coaching, or other project partnership, email us at yct@youthcollaboratory.org.