Youth
Staff
Jenny DeBower, LMSW
Director
Jenny DeBower has more than 13 years of experience in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. She has worked in leadership positions for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, Planned Parenthood, and the AIDS Resource Center of WI. Ms. DeBower also worked at Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, ACT for Youth program where she provided training and technical assistance on the Positive Youth Development model for agencies throughout New York State. Ms. DeBower served as an adjunct instructor in Sex & Sexuality for the City University of New York. She has her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Columbia University and completed the Columbia University Institute for Not-for-Profit Management in 2004.
Christine Cruz
Learning Lab Specialist
Christine is an energetic, passionate, and fun-loving person! She is of Dominican-descent and grew up in Inwood. She started youth work when she was just 17 years old as a part of PAL (Police Athletic League) and has been so moved by doing so, that this is the career path she has chosen. Being the YES Learning Lab Specialist will allow her to reach youth in our community and she hopes to help them grow into successful and confident individuals. Christine has a BA from Connecticut College in Philosophy and wishes to pursue higher education soon.
Jennella Green
Program Coordinator
Jenella is an equal opportunity pronoun user,
has been a member of the YES staff for three years and is interested in
bringing various types of art and recreational programming into the
program. Previous roles as a camp counselor, archery instructor,
kitchen staffer, teacher’s aid, high ropes assistant and prevention
specialist have molded Jennella into a jack-of-all-trades of the YES
program. While daydreaming of dodge ball tactics, Jennella is often
found at the desk working on some sort of art project.
V Figueroa
Prevention Specialist
V is a youthful, butch, queer, Guatemalan-Italian, California native
who calls coffee a “hobby” and has a passion for books and tattoos. And
sometimes imagines V as a pirate. Before working at YES V worked or
volunteered in various roles with youth. V has worked at YES a little
over two years, first as the Program Assistant and currently as a
Prevention Specialist. V is most happy when helping others or making
connections with young people to make a positive impact in their lives.
V currently facilitates or co-facilitates a variety of groups such as
Gender X and Sex + and has a drop-in counseling day.
Shelley Goldman
Community Organizer
Shelley Goldman is the YES Community Organizer. She co-facilitates the
Safe Schools Internship Program and YO! - Youth Organizing. You can
also find her in Activity Groups, Rated: Q (the weekly film viewing and
discussion group) and Open Lab. She loves doing political education and
organizing with young people having grown up in a Jewish Socialist
Youth Movement that is a lot like YES. She fine-tuned her organizing
skills with the Midwest Academy and has worked at several community
organizing outfits in both New York and Chicago, her hometown. Before
coming o
staff at YES, Shelley was the Immigrant Justice Organizer with Jews for
Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ). Shelley identifies as queer. Do
you want to change the system? Talk to Shelley!
Jennifer Heckathorn, MSW
Education & Training Services Coordinator
Jenn is a tattooed, high femme, social worker; she started working at
YES four years ago as an intern from Columbia University. Jenn has more
than eight years experience in the NYC education, working in various
schools and organizations. In her current role at YES, she is the one
to talk to about high school, scholarships for college, and leadership
opportunities in the program. She is also responsible for trainings
conducted for school personnel and students in any NYC public high
school or middle school.
Scott A. Kramer, LMSW
Prevention Social Worker
Scott is the Emotional Fitness Coach for the Youth Pride Chorus,
facilitates the Young Men's Group, the Open Lab, the ‘Zine, and has a
weekly drop-in session where young people can come in and talk with him
about anything without judgment or any assumptions. Scott graduated
from Stony Brook University and is a native New Yorker. You can usually
find him smiling while working in the YES Department.
Michelle Olivero
Program Assistant
As a queer/bisexual Chinese and Puerto Rican woman native to New York, it has become more and more important for Michelle to be socially conscious and pro-active in all aspects of her life. She has dedicated herself to being a vehicle of change not only for personal growth but for various communities and optimistically, the world. Thus, it is with tremendous pleasure, excitement and gratefulness that Michelle has joined the Y.E.S team and staff as the “Program Assistant” as well as The Center as a whole. What an HONOR, to say the least!! Michelle truly believes that another world filled with true freedom, equality, and justice is possible and is certain that our LGBTQ youth can help take us there! Michelle knows that changing the world can begin with a simple smile so she’s here to greet and welcome you, answer your questions to the best of her abilities and ultimately, aid in providing you with a safe, affirming, and empowering space for you to healthily develop to the best of your potential.
Kathy Rodriguez
Administrative Manager
Kathy has been doing youth work for nearly 12 years. She began as a
youth activist with the youth-run youth group BiGLTYNY (Bisexual, Gay,
Lesbian, and Transgender Youth of New York) where she found a passion
for a community of young people creating safety, space, and empowerment
for themselves. She has previously worked at Callen-Lorde’s Health
Outreach to Teens (HOTT) Program, as well as the Hetrick-Martin
Institute. She is a performance artist, an educator, and currently a
student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Kathy is thrilled to
work in the very space where she found her self, her community, and her
calling.
Raul Tamayo
Arts & Media Specialist
Raul attended Talent Unlimited High School for the Performing Arts as a theater major where at sixteen he discovered a passion for social services; by age twenty-one he already had volunteered & worked for numerous non-profit agencies such as GMHC, People Of Color In Crisis, & The Hetrick-Martin Institute; while also attending The Bronx Dance Theater on scholarship. For his community work Raul was picked for the TEACH Intern program of NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, & Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Raul completed the TEACH intern training requirements & was certified a Community Health Specialist. Raul has worked diligently mentoring, advocating, coaching, and creating innovative programming for thousands of New York City LGBT youth and has gained an in depth perspective on LGBT youth concerns; such as gender identity, HIV/AIDS prevention, sexuality, homelessness, and ballroom culture.
Glenn Zermeño, MSW
Senior Program Coordinator - Supportive Services
Glenn has worked at YES since 2002 in various roles including resident
construction-paper-cutting-creative-genius. Glenn has worked with LGBT
youth throughout New York City since 1999. He oversees the YES
Program’s supportive services including drop-in groups, drop-in
counseling, intake, and orientation. Ask him about Working It Out, a
10-week coming out group where young people get information and support
around coming out, safer sex, substance use, relationships and more.
contact usCall 212.620.7310 and ask for the YES program (or a specific staff person's name), or email us at YES@gaycenter.org. |