Pathways To Success For Michigan’s Opportunity Youth

Pathways To Success For Michigan’s Opportunity Youth
Pathways To Success For Michigan’s Opportunity Youth

Overview

During this webinar, AYPF shared the following sections from our forthcoming report: Michigan’s Opportunity Youth population, research-supported elements of best practice in the current pathways to postsecondary opportunity, and guidance on improving the state’s role in supporting pathways for the Opportunity Youth population. Participants shared ideas on how to move these ideas to action in Michigan.

Presenters Included:

Michele Corey, Vice President for Programs, Michigan’s Youth

Garet Fryar, Policy Research Assistant, American Youth Policy Forum

Erin Russ, Program Associate, American Youth Policy Forum

Presenter Biographies:

Presenter Biographies

Michele-Corey-formattedWith 15 years of experience at Michigan’s Children, Michele has created numerous opportunities for local advocates to become better informed about children’s issues and communicate effectively with local, state, and federal level policymakers. Michele has been a leader in statewide dropout and recovery initiatives focused on producing multiple pathways to graduation by growing better data about young people and the systems that serve them, providing better educational options for young people, and building public support for policy and practice that sustain those options.

A graduate of Reed City High School, Michele received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. She lives in Lansing with her husband, Tom, and their three children Jacob, Andrew, and Sarah.

garetGaret Fryar joined the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) as the Policy Research Assistant in March 2014. Her projects focus on investigating policies, practices, and research to promote success for all youth ages 14 to 26 in postsecondary education and the workforce. Garet’s most recent projects included transitional support for youth formally in foster care, competency based education, expanded learning opportunities, and pathways to postsecondary education and the workforce for disconnected youth.Prior to joining AYPF, Garet interned at the Children’s Defense Fund’s national office. In this role, she focused primarily on child poverty, gun violence involving children, and the cradle to prison pipeline. Garet has also worked in direct service with children and youth through positions at The Children’s Home in Winston-Salem, NC and at Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp and Retreat Center in Fort Valley, VA.  She continues to work with children through her volunteer and advocacy work with the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project in Southeast Washington, DC.

Garet holds a double Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. She is a native of Columbia, SC.

Erin Russ formattedErin Russ joined AYPF as a Program Associate in 2013. Her projects focus on policies and practices that enable a continuum of success for students from K-12 to postsecondary and the workforce. Her areas of expertise include school discipline, as well as supports for youth involved in systems such as juvenile justice and foster care. She has authored and co-authored several briefs and publications, including the AYPF publications “Creating Access to Opportunities for Youth in Transition from Foster Care”, and “From Discipline to Dialogue: Changing the Conversation about Classroom Discipline”.

Prior to joining AYPF, Erin served as Education Initiatives Fellow with The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region in Washington, D.C. In this role she partnered with the Prince George’s County, Maryland community to focus on issues related to education including dropout prevention, parent engagement, early childhood services, and college and career readiness. Erin also previously served as an intern in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. She was a middle and high school Government and Economics teacher for five years in North Carolina and Virginia.

Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Psychology from Anderson University in South Carolina, and a Master of Public Policy with concentrations in Education and Social Policy from George Mason University.

 

Click here to view the presentation slideshow

Presenter Information:

Michele Corey

Vice President, Programs

Michigan’s Children

215 S. Washington Square, Suite 110

Lansing, Michigan 48933

Garet Fryar

Policy Research Assistant

American Youth Policy Forum

1836 Jefferson Place, NW

Washington, D.C. 20036

Erin Russ

Program Associate

American Youth Policy Forum

1836 Jefferson Place, NW

Washington, D.C. 20036

 

 

 

 

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The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policy leaders, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF events and publications are made possible by contributions from philanthropic foundations. For a complete list, click here.