Our Board

Alan Kantz

Alan has been involved in organizing and student activism since his college days. He has experience with nonprofits from several years working in the public health nonprofit sector. Alan has been a member of the YA-YA Network board since 2020. He lives in Astoria and works in software development.

Joi Rae

Joi joined the YA-YA Board in 2023. She brings with her a wealth of professional experience from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Joi currently works for a non-profit organization that is committed to defending democracy and voting rights. She resides in Brooklyn.

Don Kao

Don is founder and director of Project Reach. He is a resident of Manhattan, has served on the board since 2015, and a co-founder of GAPIMNY.

Jerry Chen

Jerry is a student at Boston University. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he lived in a low income, minority neighborhood and received public education from Pre-K - 12. He has interned for New York State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Jerry serves as the youngest board member since May 2022 and is an alum of YA-YA’s programs.

Shalena Broadnax | Board Chairperson

Shalena serves as Chairperson and has been on the board since 2018. She is a resident of Washington, D.C., is principal and founder of Work Renewed, and pursues  a Ph.D. at George Washington University. Shalena is an alum of YA-YA’s program.