Thirty executives from youth serving organizations from across Indiana have been selected to The 2019 Executive Journey Fellowship. In response to a growing need for ongoing professional and personal renewal in the field of youth work, the Journey Fellowship was created in 2002 and funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. The Executive Journey Fellowship provides Indiana’s youth workers greater opportunities to bring more meaning to their lives and make stronger commitments to the field of youth work.
“This Fellowship is about renewing individuals, which leads to renewing organizations and ultimately, to renewing the entire field of youth work,” says Tom Plake, Journey Leader.
Each of the thirty participants in the Journey Fellowship will attend a series of residential retreats designed to create new ways of thinking about and practicing youth work within existing systems and youth programs. Fellows are awarded personal renewal scholarships, and will be supported to make a difference within their local organizations and communities.
So far, the Journey Fellowship has served more than 1,000 prospective and current youth workers (2003-2018) through this retreat-based format. Fellows are engaged in creating exploration and renewal opportunities throughout the state of Indiana. Countless other youth workers have been served through conference workshops, day-long seminars, and other types of renewal for staff and organizations within local communities facilitated by Journey Leaders.
“We know that youth workers play a vital role in the lives of young people. It has been documented in dozens of ways that youth who enjoy positive relationship with adults over time do better in life,” explains Janet Wakefield, Journey Leader. “We also know that many people enter the profession because they ‘want to make a difference’ and they enjoy building positive relationships with young people. The Executive Journey Fellowship provides Indiana’s youth workers greater opportunities to strengthen themselves as leaders and invest in their careers serving the young people of Indiana.”
Congratulations 2019 Executive Journey Fellows!
The Journey is pleased and honored to announce the 30 distinguished Indiana leaders in the field of youth development who have been nominated and selected to be the seventeenth class of The Executive Journey Fellowship.
Bloomington
Kevin MacDowell
Teen Services and Digital Creativity Strategist, Monroe County Public Library
Josh Reynolds
Campus Pastor, Monroe Christian Student Fellowship
Bluffton
Jennifer Simpson
Healthy Families Director, Family Centered Services
Columbus
Heather Carson
Director, Council for Youth Development Bartholomew County
Crown Point
Kevin Elkins
Juvenile Probation Supervisor, Lake County Superior Court
Fort Wayne
Sharon Pohly
Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana
Aisha Smiley
Recruiter and Field Lecturer, Indiana University School of Social Work
Goshen
Jessica Hilary
Director, Student Hunger Drive
Community Outreach and Enrollment Specialist, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Elkhart County
E-man Monge
Executive Director, The Post Youth Center
Greendale
Jon MacMurdo
Family Case Manager Supervisor, Indiana Department of Child Services
Indianapolis
Robyn Baker
Regional Manager, AYS, Inc.
Burt Beck
Warren Township Area Site Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis
Lauran Canady
Director of Clinical Based Services, Adult and Child Health
Brian Dinkins
President, National Institute for Child Empowerment
Anthony Dumas
In-House Manager, Outreach, Inc.
Letitia Haywood
State Clinical Director, Dockside Services
Melaina Gant
Director Education Services, Indiana Department of Child Services
Matthew Gooding
Assistant Deputy Director, Indiana Department of Child Services
Floranne Ploi Pagdalian
Senior Director of Programs, Arts for Learning
Randy Pease
Director of Education, Indiana Repertory Theatre
Karis Reid
Divisional Manager, Indiana Department of Child Services
Abbe Shapiro
Director of Programs and Evaluation, LifeSmart Youth
Danielle Shockey
Chief Executive Officer, Girl Scouts of Central Indiana
LaPorte
Brenda Stellema
Director of Court Appointed Youth Advocate Program, Family Advocates, Inc.
Madison
Brandi Poling
Chief Executive Officer, Lide White Boys and Girls Club
Marion
Tammy Pearson
Director, Project Leadership
Michigan City
Brandi Lewis
Executive Director, Boys and Girls Club of Michigan City, Inc.
Muncie
Russell Higgins
Mental Health Therapist, Associates in Behavioral Counseling
Palmyra
Rachel Harting
21st CCLC Afterschool Program Coordinator, Blue River Services, Inc.
Wabash
Elizabeth Learned
Regional Manager, Indiana Department of Child Services
The Journey is home to a variety of programs that seek to support the renewal and professionalization of youth workers in Indiana and around the country. To learn more, visit www.thejourneyonline.org