Hometown:

Chicago

About Me:

Whitney Capps joined the Step Up team in the summer of 2010. Acting as the bridge between our amazing Step Up teens and our dynamic member, she is responsible for the execution of Step Up’s full trajectory of programming at each of Step Up's four partner schools as well as the execution of Saturday mentoring workshops and special events. She is also responsible for hiring and the continued training of the Teen Programs staff of professional youth development professionals. After two years of success, Whitney was promoted to Senior Manager of Teen Programs in the summer of 2012. She has stepped up to the lead our national teen cohort in reshaping Step Up’s evaluation measures in a long-term project partnered with Deloitte and taking the lead in our college and career readiness curriculum development. Prior to Step Up, Whitney was the Resource Coordinator at ACT Charter School, a middle school and high school in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. The lead partner agency managing her community school partnership was the Center for Community Arts Partnerships (CCAP) at Columbia College Chicago. She led a team of part-time teaching artists and diverse stakeholders to create programs, events and classes for students and families in support of the social and emotional development of the students in the community. Programs included arts-integrated health and wellness, confidence-building, mentorship and college and career readiness. She has had much success engaging and building relationships with many different groups of people, including administrative partner school staff, Chicago Public Schools Office of Extended Learning, The Illinois State Board of Education, various local funders, parents, community leaders and especially young people. Whitney has experience and passion for building community partnerships and engaging the resources around her to create amazing programs and experiences that will shape a young person's future. Having managed a federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, including tasks related to reporting and reapplying for a new cycle, she has the leadership and operational skills necessary to create sustainable change for Chicago youth.

Website:

https://suwn.org

What do you hope to learn, or share, on this forum?

I hope to continue to connect with youth development professionals and learn and share best practices for recruiting, retaining and preparing mentors to be effective and impactful.