To celebrate our newly published book, The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation, the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), a program of WCW, launched the Journeys in Youth Development podcast series with host Georgia Hall, Ph.D., director of NIOST and co-editor of the book.
In the first episode of the series, Georgia talks to two colleagues who contributed essays to the book about their experiences in youth development: Marisela Montoya, chief program officer at Foundation Communities in Austin, TX, and Kourtney Andrada, senior director of school-based programs at Girls Inc. of Alameda County in Oakland, CA.
Marisela reads several excerpts from her essay “Sweet Spot,” about how she happened to wander into an afterschool program and found her calling. She talks about an inspiring interaction with a supervisor who pushed her to constantly look for new opportunities to learn and to share that learning with others. Kourtney reads from her essay “Investing in Communities of Color,” about her early experiences working with youth as both a track coach and as an advisor to teens in a migrant farmer community who would be first-generation college students. She talks about a fellowship experience that shifted her mindset from working within existing systems to changing those systems.
About Journeys in Youth Development Podcast
Marisela and Kourtney’s essays appear in the book co-edited by NIOST, The Heartbeat of the Youth Development Field: Professional Journeys of Growth, Connection, and Transformation. Through both research and personal essays, the book shines a light on the intricate connections between research and practice, touching upon both the vulnerability and triumph of youth development work. The passionate voices of youth workers in this volume lead to the inescapable conclusion that programs and policies for youth must be informed by these same voices and the values they express.
You can find the Journeys in Youth Development podcast wherever you listen to podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeart Radio. Follow the podcast on your favorite platform to get notified when new episodes are released monthly.
December 1, 2022
