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In 1978, Dorothy Stoneman, previously a teacher and civil rights activist in Harlem, founded the Youth Action Program in East Harlem and created the first YouthBuild program. In YouthBuild programs, low income young people build housing for homeless people while completing their own high school education. As part of a strong emphasis on leadership development, students govern their own program and participate in community affairs, developing a thoughtful voice for youth. Stoneman has led the highly successful effort to replicate YouthBuild, bringing ever larger numbers of disenfranchised young adults into community engagement in low income urban communities throughout the United States. Last year YouthBuild Alumni presented their platform, the Declaration of Inter-Dependence, at numerous national conferences. There are now 195 YouthBuild programs sustained through a federal budget line item and diverse other funding sources. Stoneman is president of YouthBuild USA, the national support center for these programs, and chair of the National YouthBuild Coalition of 550 organizations that advocate for them in Congress. Stoneman has a BA in history and science from
Harvard University and a Master's and Honorary Doctorate of Humane
Letters from the
Bank Street College of Education. In 1996 she was awarded the MacArthur
Foundation's "genius" fellowship. In 2000 the Independent
Sector honored her with the John Gardner Leadership Award. She currently
serves as co-chair of the selection committee for The Ford Foundation's "Leaders
for a Changing World" award program. |
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