Fayise A. Ecclesiaste is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Youthprise, where she leads coalition building, economic opportunity initiatives, and youth-centered governance efforts. In this role, she advances cross-organizational partnerships to improve outcomes for young people and communities across Minnesota.

Guiding Quote: “There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.” – Dalai Lama

Aisha (aka Adyiam) as a Development Associate supports and helps organize grant details and data entry. She graduated from Whitman College in 2019 with a B.A. in Politics and Global Studies. She spent 2 years teaching English in Spain and loves to travel. Aisha also has spent several years in community organizing and youth programming in her hometown, Worthington, where she advocates for BIPOC, immigrant/refugee communities. You can reach out to Aisha for all things grant-related as well as international travel, politics, jazz music, and spirituality.

Guiding Quote: “Remember where you came from to know where you’re going”. – Unknown

Wokie has over 20 years of varied professional experience in operations and programs management, strategic planning, and racial and social justice within government, education, and hospitality. In her role, she will work closely with the President and senior leadership team to promote continuous improvement of the overall business operations, a positive staff culture, management information systems, and the administrative functions of the organization. Prior to joining Youthprise, Wokie served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Brooklyn Park for six years. Before that, she worked for 12 years at the University of Minnesota, more recently as the Assistant Executive Director and Director of Operations & Programs at the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC). In a volunteer capacity, Wokie has spent a significant amount of time developing and implementing strategies to increase access to information and resources in underrepresented and underserved communities, including serving as the Founding Director of Public Affairs & Engagement for African Career, and Education & Resource, Inc. (ACER).

Guiding Quote: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” ― Lilla Watson (Aboriginal elder, activist, and educator from Australia)

Claire leads and implements strategies to advance overall organizational effectiveness at Youthprise. This includes setting the evaluation agenda to measure external organizational impact and improving internal organizational functioning by advancing solutions around structure, human relations, power, and culture. Claire has an MA in Organizational Leadership and Evaluation and is trained in teaching therapeutic yoga. You can reach out to Claire to learn more about organizational strategy; yoga and alignment; or her dogs, Luis and Remington.

Guiding Quote: “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed; happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.”

Melissa has an established background in customer service, leadership, new hire, and ongoing training and employee coaching. At Youthprise, Melissa provides full administrative support to the president and board of directors. Outside of work, her children keep her fairly busy and that is fine by her. However, when she makes time for herself she enjoys seeing live music, cooking, and being in the sun.

Guiding Quote: “Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” – Toni Morrison

Talbrey Benson-Goupil joined Youthprise in 2022 as Controller and is currently serving as Interim Finance Director. As such Talbrey is responsible for financial planning, directing and evaluating the overall financial operations of Youthprise to ensure long-term sustainability of the organization. Before joining Youthprise, Talbrey spent almost three years overseeing the day-to-day financial operations for the largest mental health non-profit in the Minnesota northland. She has a diverse professional background, which has allowed her to enhance her business acumen through entrepreneurship and retail management and operations over the span of a decade. Talbrey is a lifetime Minnesota resident and spent the majority of her youth in Coon Rapids. She participated in Postsecondary Enrollment Option through the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities campus and later graduated from University of Vermont with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a minor in Business Administration. Talbrey returned to school, earning an Associate’s Degree in Accounting from Lake Superior College and Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from University of Wisconsin – Superior.

Guiding Quote: “You many not be able to alter reality, but you can alter your attitude towards in, and this, paradoxically, alters reality. Try it and see.” – Margaret Atwood

Maurice has over twenty five years of experience working in the fields of non-profit and government. During much of that time, he focused on youth development, racial justice, and public safety issues. He is responsible for providing funding, resources, and technical assistance to oganizations that work on youth development issues. You can reach out to Maurice to learn more about funding and all things related to barbecue.

Guiding Quote: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Christa leads the vision and builds the capacity of Youthprise’s Nutrition Program. She is responsible for all aspects of the program and supports Youthprise’s network of Nutrition Program participants. Christa earned a degree in Dietetics from Iowa State University and has a background working in food service and nutrition education. You should reach out to Christa to learn more about our Nutrition Program and to tap into her extensive nutrition expertise. As a young person Christa credits her relationships with strong independent women for helping her to succeed.

Melissa oversees management, technical support and the cultivation of positive relationships with public, private and non-profit community partners at Youthprise. She has 11 years of experience in youth development, project management and capacity building. Her strengths include positivity, connectedness and empathy. Melissa is a mother and enjoys being a positive role model for those seeking holistic healing and purpose-driven lives.

Guiding Quote: “The sun keeps shining…don’t let anyone try and dim your light when you were created to shine!” – Original

As the Nutrition Program Manager, Colleen monitors and supports meal sites for Youthprise’s Nutrition Program. She is responsible for conducting site visits, assessment, daily compliance paperwork, and site staff trainings. She graduated with a degree in Nutrition in 2015 and served with Americorps in Utah as a Meals Manager. You can reach out to Colleen to learn more about regulation, interest in becoming a site, and an occasional bad joke.

Guiding Quote: “To live is one of the rarest things in the world, most people just exist.” – Oscar Wild

Cora Márquez (she/her) has over a decade of experience in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector in Chicago. Growing up in Minnesota as a daughter to a Mexican immigrant, Cora is deeply committed to Social Justice and Racial Equity. Cora hopes to bring her full self and all her identities as well as years of experience back to the Twin Cities. Cora will manage grantmaking processes for Youthprise as well as the Believe to Build initiative. Reach out to Cora for any technical assistance needs as well as to learn more about grant opportunities.

Guiding Quote: “Your no makes the way for your yes. Boundaries create the container within which your yes is authentic. Being able to say no makes yes a choice” – Adrienne Maree Brown

Grant Hargett’s professional experience has included positions in community-based program delivery, working directly with participants, in education support advocacy, as well as, administrative roles centered in customer service, compliance, data analysis. He played JUCO and Division 2 basketball from 2004-2008 and, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – Sports Management, from the University of Minnesota. Grant has 15+years’ experience coordinating and implementing basketball and other youth sports programming in communities throughout the Twin Cities. Grant is a Twin City Resident with his wife, Callie, sons Cruz (17), Vinny (15), Xavier (6) and daughter Violet (6). In his spare time, he enjoys producing music, lake life at the cabin, fishing, and catching any sports game on TV.

Guiding Quote: “There are five fundamental qualities that make every team great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride. I like to think of each as a separate finger on the fist. Any one individually is important. But all of them together are unbeatable.” -Mike Krzyzewski

Kristy Snyder is working with young people and other stakeholders to build out a network aligned for meaningful impact, narrative shift, policy and legislative changes that prioritize “opportunity youth.” She has over 20 years of experience in as a middle school teacher in Baltimore City, a faculty member and interim dean at Minneapolis College and director at a local nonprofit. In her spare time, she will be outside hiking or chasing down cheap airline tickets.

Guiding Quote: “Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, reveling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community.” – Bell Hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, 2003

Erin helps build infrastructure and drive the strategic direction for Youthprise’s policy agenda and system transformation programs. Erin has worked in youth development for more than a decade. She has an MBA, Master of Social Work with a focus on multi-cultural macro practice, and a master’s level certificate in human services management from Augsburg University. She is also a licensed social worker. You can reach out to Erin to learn more about Youthprise’s policy agenda, or to chat about MN soccer teams, camping, and the best bike trails and coffee shops in the Twin Cities.

Guiding Quote: “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Quincy has been working in the youth service field since his days as a high school student in the Twin Cities. With over a decade of experience, Quincy has cultivated his skills as an advocate for policy that promotes racial equity, as well as inclusiveness and a sense of belonging for young people who have traditionally been systemically disenfranchised. He is also adept at connecting with young people through facilitating focus groups and listening sessions, using this information to ensure their perspectives and desires are included in critical discussions focused on forging change in policy and practice.

Guiding Quote: “Those who say it can’t be done, are usually interrupted by others doing it.”– James Baldwin

Natasha is a 23 year old first generation Afro Latina from Minneapolis. She grew up in tumultuous house hold which led her to struggle but creatively navigate through the world with her different experiences. She took her hardships and trauma to build other pathways for her peers and community, through mental health and youth advocacy. She’s uses her skills of empathy to console and inspire youth through personal journeys and uplift them in their professional journeys.Natasha believes in radical love and empathy to empower young people to change their communities now. Natasha has been a youth organizer since 2017 starting in high school where she worked as a peer resource, She has worked for Bridgemakers as their Youth Engagement Director and is now starting her journey as Youth Leadership Coordinator here at Youthprise! mIn her free time Natasha loves to travel, crochet and workout.

Guiding Quote: “Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances.” – Maya Angelou

Amelia is a human rights advocate whose work has centered on understanding and dismantling the systems that make people vulnerable to exploitation. Her career has taken her from global research on forced labor and human trafficking to direct, trauma-informed support for survivors and their children. This work in the anti-trafficking field has shown her how profoundly stability, belonging, and opportunity shape a young person’s trajectory. That understanding fuels her commitment to walking alongside foster youth as they navigate postsecondary pathways. 

Lynne Matthews is a seasoned communications and development professional with a 25-year career spanning strategic communications, fundraising, event management, and business development. She brings deep expertise in grant strategy, event management, and storytelling, and has earned national recognition for her scriptwriting skills in connection with a public relations campaign for the U.S. Administration on Aging. Over the past 12 years, Lynne has helped secure over $30 million to advance the mission of nonprofits in youth development, public health, education, and workforce development, particularly among underserved communities. Before joining Youthprise, she led a consulting practice serving organizations such as UMN’s School of Social Work and local affiliates of the National Urban League and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Lynne is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Guiding Quote: “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” – Napoleon Hill

Eliza brings extensive experience working with nonprofits to her development role with Youthprise where she will be providing direction and operational support. Over the last two decades, Eliza has worked on behalf of missions rooted in racial equity, social justice, and systems change. Aspiring to be part of meaningful work with community at the center, she brings a deep commitment to listening and building trust. Eliza is a graduate of Mills College with a BA in Ethnic Studies.

Guiding Quote: “I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world.” ― Mary Oliver

Law brings a unique combination of skills and passion to the role of youth advocate and storyteller at Youthprise. With his Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media Arts from Hamline University, he excels in graphic design, photography, video production, and marketing, weaving his technical proficiency with his creative vision to craft powerful and inspiring content. His goal is to use his talent for communication to drive positive change for youth and make a lasting impact through his work. As a visionary and creative problem-solver, Law leverages his background in marketing and advertisement, complemented by a minor in Nonprofit Management, to elevate Youthprise’s message and mission. With his unwavering dedication and drive, Law is poised to unleash his full potential and inspire others to see the transformative power of youth work.

Guiding Quote: “Creativity Is Intelligence Having Fun.” – Albert Einstei

Colnese Hendon, Senior Writer, holds a BA in Professional Communications/Public Relations and an MA in Public and Nonprofit Administration from Metropolitan State University. Her professional experience includes serving the Twin Cities’ nonprofit sector as a communications and development professional for over 25 years. In her spare time, Colnese enjoys creative writing, traveling, and spending time with her family.

Essence works as a Youth Engagement Coordinator at Youthprise. That entails training youth people in youth-directed giving, equipping organizations with tools to assist them in discovering ways to effectively and best benefit the young people they work with, leading focus groups, and assisting with communications. Her focus is on having youth be at the epicenter of these processes, through training and facilitations. Essence aims to tap into the power that youth naturally possess and allows them to make change within their own agency. Essence received a BA from Metro State and is pursuing an MA from Adler Graduate School to become a licensed LMFT with an Expressive Art Specialty.

Guiding Quote: “The greatest among you will be your servant” – Matthew 23:11

Joanna Nishimoto is a New York–based producer, writer, and communications strategist working across multicultural contexts. She translates nuanced ideas and experiences into narratives that bridge cultures, shaping meaningful connections between people, brands, and creative worlds. A former competitive figure skater for 15 years, she brings discipline, precision, and artistry to her practice. She graduated with honors from New York University in 2018, earning a double BA in Journalism and East Asian Studies.