Our Board of Directors

Alan Kantz | Board Secretary

Alan has been involved in organizing and student activism since his college days. He has experience with nonprofits from several years working in the public health nonprofit sector. Alan has been a member of the YA-YA Network board since 2020. He lives in Astoria and works in software development.

Shalena Broadnax | Board Chair

Shalena serves as Chairperson and has been on the board since 2018. She is a resident of Washington, D.C., is principal and founder of Work Renewed, and pursues  a Ph.D. at George Washington University. Shalena is an alum of YA-YA’s program.

Don Kao

Don is founder and director of Project Reach. He is a resident of Manhattan, has served on the board since 2015, and a co-founder of GAPIMNY.

Jerry Chen

Jerry is currently a full-time student at Boston University. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, he lived in a low income, minority neighborhood and received public education from Pre-K - 12. He has interned for the United States Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts, United States Eastern District Court of New York and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Jerry serves as the youngest board member since May 2022 and is an alum of YA-YA’s programs.

Mariella Villacorta

Mairella joined the YA-YA board in 2025. Mariella comes from the civic engagement and youth organizing space. With 8 years of experience at the local and national level, she has helped leverage resources to help movements organizations and leaders create community-led change. As a justice-centered fundraiser, she has worked and consulted with progressive foundations and non profit organizations. She is currently the Development Officer at North Star Fund. Previously, she was at Alliance for Youth Action and New York Historical. Mariella is a proud immigrant from El Salvador.

Christina Morales

Christina joined the YA-YA Board in 2025 and brings over a decade of experience supporting young people and their families in the postsecondary readiness, access, and success space. She is particularly interested in equity-focused program design and fostering youth-centered third spaces. Christina currently serves as the Senior Director of Postsecondary Programs at East Harlem Tutorial Program. She lives in Inwood with her family.