Part 1: Credible Messenger Mentoring

What It Is and How It Works: Credible Messenger Mentors in the Workplace

Please join us at John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Tuesday, October 17th, from 12:00pm-5:00pm, for a conversation on Credible Messengers.  Credible messenger mentoring is a transformative group mentoring intervention for young adults in the justice system. At its heart, men and women who were themselves justice-involved are hired to engage young people in structured and intentional relationships. Transformative mentoring relies on the hiring of credible messengers as paid mentors. Because mentors share — and have overcome —similar experiences, including involvement in the justice system, young people find them trustworthy. Transformative mentoring with credible messengers has been able to successfully reach young people who were disconnected from education and employment and not otherwise inclined to participate in positive youth programming. At its best, it helps young people change their attitudes and behaviors and ultimately go on to help others, becoming mentors themselves.

This discussion will be held in the 2nd Floor Dining Hall at 524 West 59th Street (between 10th and 11th avenues). Lunch will be served at 11:30am. Speakers will begin promptly at 12:00pm.

This symposium is generously sponsored by the Pinkerton Foundation and organized by the Pinkerton Fellowship Initiative at John Jay College.

Keynote Speakers

Clinton Lacey was appointed Director of the District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS), DC’s cabinet-level juvenile justice agency, in 2015. Before joining DYRS, Clinton served as Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Department of Probation; Director of the Youth Justice Program at Vera Institute of Justice; and Assoc. Exec. Dir. of Friends of Island Academy. He has more than 25 years of experience working with youth and families and travels throughout the USA and abroad speaking on such issues as racial and ethnic disparity, comprehensive re-entry services, and overall youth and human development. Clinton has a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean History from Herbert H. Lehman College (CUNY) and is a graduate of the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at Columbia University. Clinton is married and the father of two sons and a daughter.

Ed DeJesus has served as the National Director of Workforce Development Programs and Policy at Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) since 2014. Prior to joining YAP, he served Executive Director at STRIVE-DC and as Director at National Youth Employment Coalition prior to that. Over the past 30 years, Ed has provided technical assistance and training services to more than 100 organizations. He received his BA from Fordham University and an MS in Urban Policy Analysis from the New School for Social Research. As a Kellogg National Fellow, he focused on international youth development.

Featured Panelists

Rev. Rubén Austria, Community Connections for Youth
Sharon “Ife” Charles, CCI Save Our Streets Bronx
Eric Cumberbatch, Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice
Tyree Hicks, Institute for Transformative Mentoring
Abdul Malik, Families United for Social & Educational Development
Elizabeth Walker, Good Shepherd Services
Carl Johnson, The Children’s Village
W. Cyrus Garrett, New York City’s Young Men’s Initiative
(more speakers to be announced)

Agenda

Registration & lunch
Opening Remarks
Featured Speaker & Q&A: Clinton Lacey, Director of the District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS)
Ice Breaker facilitated by Credible Messenger Mentors
Panel 1 and Q&A: A conversation with young people about Why Credible Messenger Mentoring Works
Panel 2 and Q&A: Managing for Transformation: Credible Messenger Mentors in the Workplace, Opportunities and Challenges
Featured Speaker: Edward DeJesus, Acting Vice-President Maryland-DC Region/National Director of Workforce Development Programs and Policy Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP)
Closing Remarks

Registration for this event is now closed.