Why We Matter

Our episode today features City Year's own Sean McDevitt, City Year AmeriCorps alum '02, and Senior Director, AmeriCorps Member Experience. Together, we dive into Sean's journey to service and City Year, and his committment to service as a pathway to meaningful impact and success.

Today we are joined by Elliot Washor, co-founder of Big Picture Learning. Join us for a conversation on the importance of listening to students and the power of strong adult-student relationships.

Join us in welcoming Dr. Tarra Mitchell, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of City Year Seattle/King County for a conversation on the tremendous impact of both military and service on her own life and the value national service has on our young people and students.

Today we are joined by Shavon Marion, Managing Director of Impact at City Year Memphis for a conversation about her journey to City Year and her experience working with students and student success coaches to cultivate positive learning communities.

Join us for a conversation with Gustavo Ortiz, Principal at Ascot Elementary in South Los Angeles. Gustavo speaks to the impact City Year student success coaches have had on his students and school.

Today we welcome Sam Rodriguez, City Year alum and founder and executive director of Walls for Justice, a Philadelphia based nonprofit that strives to create positive change through art, for a conversation focused on the importance of following your heart.

Join us for a moving episode with Charlie Rose, Dean of City Year. Charlie touches on the impact of community on his own life and on the lives of our corps members across the country.

Today we meet Annie Qin, a City Year Boston alum and current Chief of Staff of Boston Centers for Youth and Families who discusses her time serving with City Year and the impact her service has had on her life and career.

Today we meet with internationally acclaimed author and podcaster, Paul Samuel Dolman, where we touch on the topics of public education, mentorship, purpose, and bringing love into all areas of life.

Join us for another SPOTLIGHT episode featuring James Burton, a recent City Year Boston alum who served at Mather Elementary School in Dorchester, MA.

Today on Why We Matter we are joined by Bethany Little of Education Policy for a conversation on the role of policy in education and national service.

Today we meet with Mario Fedelin, a City Year alum who is now the founder and CEO of Changeist, an organization that brings together 11-26 year olds on Saturdays to build community and create a dialogue focused on civic duty and addressing local and national challenges.

Join us for another SPOTLIGHT episode featuring Rayna Hayward, a student success coach serving with Healthy Choices AmeriCorps in San Francisco.

On today's episode of Why We Matter, we welcome Dr. Sandra Cano, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of City Year Los Angeles. Dr. Cano shares with us her powerful story and sheds some light on the impact of City Year LA on Los Angeles.

Today we excited to share with you another spotlight episode of Why We Matter featuring Dallas Hill, a Team leader serving with City Year New York.

Please join us for a special spotlight episode featuring a current student success coach: Bianca Acuna serving with PASS AmeriCorps in San Diego, CA.

This week we are joined by Dr. Carlos Galan, Sr. Director of TTA Research, Outcomes, and Evaluation at City Year to discuss the quantitative and qualitative data of the Student Success Coach Learning Network.

Today we welcome Symia Stigler, Vice President of Learner & Leader Program Design at City Year Headquarters to the podcast. Together, we continue the dive into the importance of strong relationships with our Student Success Coaches and students.

Join us as we speak with Chris Tuck of New Rochelle City School District to explore the power of relationships in schools and communities.

Dr. Pedro Noguera, Dean of the USC Rossier School of Pedro Noguera joins us to discuss the critical need of SSCs in schools. Through his extensive experience in schools across the country, Dr. Noguera lends his thoughts on the impact of programs like City Year on students, teachers, schools, and communities.

Today we are joined by Michael Lynch, CEO and co-founder of Improve Your Tomorrow, to discuss the impact mentors and Student Success Coaches have on young people, particularly young men of color.

We're honored to welcome Josh Fryday, Chief Service Officer of California Volunteers to today's edition of "Why We Matter." Listen to learn more about national service in California.

Today we met with Maggie Franco, Vice President of Education Ecosystem and Systems Change at City Year. Together, we dive into the pilot California Student Success Coach Learning Network.

The challenges public schools and students are facing are real – chronic absenteeism, declining academic performance, increasing emotional and mental health concerns.  At the same time, we know our youth have limitless talent and potential and they've shown resilience and creativity during and after the pandemic.  In this new podcast series from City Year, education, policy experts, and thought le...