Mentorship Program
The Young Leaders Initiative recently evolved from The Young Business Leaders Initiative, Inc. ("YBLI") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that dedicates itself to teaching business fundamental courses to underprivileged high school students.
The program has recently been renamed the Young Leaders Initiative and has expanded its focus to include all professional industries including business. YLI focuses on helping young adults prepare themselves to become professionals and improving their chances of reaching their goals.
Energetic, young professionals serve as YLI volunteers and lead all the grassroots teaching and mentorship programs. Originally focused on New York City, we are excited to announce that we have recently formed a partnership with The Brewer Foundation to expand the program across the nation.
About the Young Leaders Initiative
Two former Morgan Stanley Investment Banking analysts founded YBLI in the Spring of 2003, when they taught one class at A.P. Randolph High School in Harlem. After the resounding success of the initial program, young professionals and various high schools began to inquire about opportunities to expand the program. Since then, YLI has expanded its program with regular volunteers from firms such as:
- Merrill Lynch
- EDS
- Goldman Sachs
- Morgan Stanley
- Pfizer
- Fortress Investment Group
Local high school teachers find the program a refreshing addition to their economics, career development and humanities classes, while volunteer teachers see the program as a fun way to remain involved in the community and to develop their own presentation and teaching skills. There is no fee for a school to participate in the program, and YLI ultimately decides which high schools to target. YLI selects high schools based on the following criteria: graduation rates of schools (YLI focuses on lower graduation rate schools), high school and class focus, class schedule availability, availability of existing programs, support from teaching staff, and proximity to various YLI volunteers.
Opportunities to Learn and be Mentored
Although YLI provides course syllabi and sample lecture materials to its volunteers, each group of teachers must ultimately determine the teaching methods that are most effective for their particular class and the time they can dedicate towards the program.
This career development teaching approach is the premise of the organization and provides professionals a valuable volunteer activity that enables them to contribute to the local community while also developing important problem solving and leadership skills.
YLI allows young professionals to fit community service into their demanding schedules, and gives them the flexibility to contribute freely to the curriculum. The added flexibility encourages the volunteer teachers to discover teaching methods and career development topics that are most complementary to their students' particular needs and interests.
2008 YLI Cities
- New York, NY - Pari Olver
- Minneapolis, MN - Cheri Olver
- Dallas, TX - Jack Brewer
For more information, please contact Pari Olver at parizadjune@gmail.com or The Brewer Foundation at brewerfoundation@gmail.com.