IIY Executive Director joins YDEKC

Invest in Youth Executive Director, Courtney Jones-Vanderleest is proud to be one of the founding advisory board members of the Youth Development Executives of King County (YDEKC). By way of background, the YDEKC is a two year old non-profit whose mission is to build and organize the youth development field in King County. Its supporters are Executive Directors, CEOs and other key leaders of non-profit organizations directly serving youth ages 5 through young adulthood within King County. In October, 2011 the YDEKC had executive leadership from 23 youth development organization in King County. Currently, there are 60 executive leaders working with a newly hired Executive Director and a grant from the Gates Foundation. Being aligned with this growing group of leaders who believe  that every young person should have the opportunity to learn, lead, work, thrive, contribute and connect with youth agencies and non-profits fully supports and augments the Invest in Youth mission.

When asked what direct benefit IIY receives from this collaboration, Courtney noted that “as Invest in Youth continues to establish itself as a non-profit organization, it’s essential that we build our collaborations and network with other youth serving organizations in the area.  Our involvement with YDEKC is a wonderful opportunity to build collective impact and better serve our students and tutors.” Going forward, Courtney will meet on a monthly basis with the full Advisory Board and she is also a member of the Advocacy Committee. For more information about YDEKC and a complete list of partner organizations, visit https://sites.google.com/site/youthdevexecs/.