YCD Fellowship Program
The first cohort of YCD Fellows; all CityWorks Internship alumni.
Building on the success of the The CityWorks Internship Program, the first cohort of Young Community Developers (YCD) Fellows were all CityWorks Internship alumni. The CityWorks Internship began in 2012 through a partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, designed to maximize positive economic, environmental and social impacts for youth within the Bayview Hunters Point community. Over the years, YCD has kept in touch with many of the CityWorks interns, offering academic support and mentorship.
YCD developed the Fellowship Program as they noticed many former interns and college graduates struggling to find jobs that utilize their education. YCD’s Fellowship is designed to bridge the gap between college education and entry-level career placement. The Fellowship connects fellows with high-profile private sector partners, government agencies, and community based organizations. The program is a one year paid fellowship that includes career development, mentorship, core skills and expansion of professional networks.
YCD Fellows (Elijah Dale, Javon Phillips, and Zaria Clemmons) with Executive Director, DJ Brookter, and Program Director, Lindsey Lopez-Weaver, after speaking at City Hall about the opportunities the CityWorks Internship and YCD Fellowship have afforded them.
YCD is invested in cultivating the next generation of young professionals. To date the YCD Fellowship has successfully transitioned out six (6) individuals into a full time career with an organization/company of their choice. YCD Fellowship alumni, Zaria Clemmons, who is now a Diversity Engagement Specialist for Facebook said, “the YCD Fellowship prepared me for a career by providing me with key business and networking skills.” Clemmons also mentioned that, “YCD made it possible for me to achieve my college goals and discover that I am most passionate about social impact.”
There are currently five (5) YCD Fellows on the team who are rocking and rolling with the changes and demands of COVID-19 and working from home. A couple of the fellows are fortunate enough to be able to work on site; Alyssa Williams is currently working at Nektar Therapeutics where she is working as part of the Protein Therapeutics team in their lab. Alyssa is the first intern at Nektar to ever be afforded the opportunity to work in their lab! Mtoa Jones is working on site at Standard Deviant Brewing where he is learning all about the science that goes into brewing as well as the ins and outs of what it takes to run a successful business.
The growth of the program speaks volumes to the talented young adults in our community but we are also extremely grateful to our partners who believe in and support the goals of the Fellowship Program. We appreciate our partners at the Department of Police Accountability, The Office of Supervisor Shamann Walton, SFPUC, and Rafiki Coalition for Health & Wellness. We look forward to placing fellows with the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and Prologis sometime this year. As we continue to grow, we welcome new partners who are interested in hosting a fellow or donating funds to help sustain the fellowship.
We look forward to keeping you informed about the progress of the fellows!
If you are interested in more information or would like to become a partner of the YCD Fellowship Program, please contact, Program Director, Lindsey Lopez-Weaver at llopez@ycdjobs.org