NYEC Staff
Executive Director
Thomas Showalter
Thomas Showalter, Executive Director, is an expert on education and workforce policy and related areas (disability policy, juvenile justice, antipoverty programs), as well as Congressional politics and processes. Before coming to NYEC, Thomas advised advocacy organizations and foundations on communications and strategic planning at a Bethesda-based public relations and public affairs firm. He also spent almost five years on the majority staff of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, working for chairmen Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA). With the committee.
Senior Program Associate
Rashaun Bennett
Rashaun Bennett, Senior Program Associate, worked at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) prior to coming to NYEC in Summer 2018. He spent two years working as a Human Services Policy Analyst within the Assistant Secretary of Planning in Evaluation (ASPE) at HHS. His portfolio included homelessness, child welfare, employment and paid family leave. Rashaun has a background in political science and economics from Davidson College, where he was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship for public service and leadership.
NYEC Consultant
Kate O' Sullivan
Kate O’Sullivan, NYEC Consultant, worked at NYEC from 1995-2008. She built NYEC’s hallmark quality standards effort, the Promising and Effective Practices Network (PEPNet). As an independent consultant since 2008, she has helped networks and funders to develop, deliver, support, assess, and improve youth employment programs and systems.
NYEC Consultant
Don Spangler
Don Spangler, NYEC Consultant, has served as policy advisor to the Philadelphia Youth Network, one of the nation’s leading youth workforce intermediary organizations, since its inception in 1999, where he developed extensive expertise in youth workforce activities and related aspects of youth education, employment and training.
Board of Directors
Glenn Eagleson, Chair Principal Administrative Analyst, Office of Economic & Workforce Development, San Francisco, CA
Lisa Johnson, Vice Chair, Associate Director of Programs NIWL, FHI 360, Washington, DC
Ruth Barajas-Cardona, Secretary, Director of Workforce and Education, Bay Area Community Resources, San Francisco, CA
Kisha Bird, Director of Youth Policy, Center for Law and Social Policy, Washington, DC
Daniel Tsin, Chief Impact Officer, Urban Alliance, Washington, DC
Johan Uvin, President and CEO, Institute for Educational Leadership, Washington, DC
Michelle Caldeira, Senior Vice President at College Bound Dorchester, Boston, MA
Mike Davie, Seattle-King County Workforce Development Council, Seattle, WA
Breeanna Decker, Program Associate, Urban Strategies Council, Oakland, CA
Rodger DeVore, Nashville Career Advancement Center, Nashville, TN
Shaena Fazal, Chief of Public Policy, Advocacy and External Communications Youth Advocacy Programs, Inc., Washington DC
Kevin Hickey, Director of High School and Bridge Programs, Jewish Vocational Service, San Francisco, CA
Liz Jackson-Simpson, Chief Executive Officer at Success Centers, Success Centers, San Francisco, CA
Kevin Stump, Vice President of Policy, Communications, & Postsecondary Practice, JobsFirstNYC, New York, NY