Jaykyri Simpson,
MBA, Ed.D
Executive Director
Dr. Jaykyri Simpson leads Young Man with a Plan, a Boston-based holistic mentoring program serving Black and Latino teens across 8 BPS and charter schools.
Originally from Cleburne, Texas, Jaykyri received his B.A. at the University of New England (UNE) where he captained their division-winning basketball team, and his MBA from St. Joseph’s College in Maine.
In 2021 Jaykyri earned his doctorate in Educational Leadership from New England College. His dissertation research explored college persistence in Black males. Jaykyri incorporates everything learned through his research into curriculum for the young men in the program.
Prior to becoming YMWAP’s director, Jaykyri led Project Ochendo at New Mission High School in Boston, where he taught and mentored students of color, helping them improve their study skills and grades, and to access and persist at college. He also served as basketball coach, admissions counselor, and retention coordinator for three years at Mt. Ida College and as basketball coach for two years at UNE.
Jaykyri was in the 2020 cohort of the Lewis Family Foundation’s Strong Leader Program, TSNE’s 2021 Nonprofit Executive Directors of Color Program, and on the 2022 EdVestors Racial Equity Task Force. He was named a 2021 INP Changemaker, and a 2022 SIF Social Innovator.
Jaykyri is a thought leader whose knowledge of youth is frequently sought by educators, funders, and community leaders. Jaykyri is a founding member of Men on a Mission, a nonprofit in his Texas hometown.
Des Kennard
Director of Program Operations
Desmond Kennard is a native of Boston and graduate of Medaille College with a major in Psychology. Des has dedicated his career to youth development. He worked with autistic students in the Boston Public Schools to design and implement life skills and enrichment activities. Des also was a Senior Youth Counselor at Cooper Community Center in Roxbury. Desmond leads program operations and helps YMWAP build career knowledge and pipelines. He is a certified career coach who has participated in EdVestor’s Career Path development program and leads Success Planning for YMWAP students and alumni. Des brings a working knowledge of Spanish to YMWAP. Des is a 2021 INP Changemaker and received the 2022 Light of Dawnn award for his front-line work during the Covid pandemic.
Marcia Felth, M.Ed
Director of Development
Marcia was a member of the team of school leaders and consultants who created YMWAP’s original design and launched the program in 2015. In her current role, Marcia supports advancement and sustainability initiatives and works with the Board. Marcia received her B.A. in American Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University (first gen!) and her M.Ed. from the University of Vermont. Marcia brings thirty years of experience in corporate and nonprofit program development, consulting, and grant writing to the YMWAP team. She has designed programs to attract, develop, mentor, and retain top talent at corporations, including Fidelity, HP, and Corning, Inc. Outside of YMWAP Marcia teaches poetry to senior citizens and helps high school students write compelling essays for college applications.
Elo Deneus
Assistant Director of Development
Elo joined Young Man with a Plan in February 2024 as Assistant Director of Development, a role in which he will apply his business and fundraising experience to build organizational sustainability. Prior to joining YMWAP, Elo was the Development Manager at Mystic River Watershed Association overseeing their Corporate engagement and relationships. He also has experience in sales and recruiting. Elo received his B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant University, where he played football.
Lenward Gatison II
Assistant Director
Lenward joined the Young Man with a Plan program staff in 2022 as Assistant Director after serving the organization in a mentoring capacity for over five years. Lenward began working with YMWAP as Codman Academy’s school-based mentor and remained engaged with the program and students even after leaving Codman. His previous employment includes roles as Dean of Students at Uncommon Schools and Wellness Director at Codman Academy. Lenward is also a certified personal trainer and brings his extensive experience as a Property Manager in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to YMWAP. Lenward earned a B.A. in Psychology from UMass Boston, where he played varsity ice hockey for the Beacons.
Ailson Lopes Carvalho
Program Manager
Ailson joined YMWAP in 2022 in the role of Program Manager. A native of Dorchester, Ailson brings to Young Man with a Plan a deep dedication to serving youth. Prior to joining YMWAP, Ailson was an English/Science Instructor and College Readiness Advisor at College Bound Dorchester, as well as a youth services intern at ABCD and an Access Counselor intern at Bottom Line. He also serves as Defensive Coordinator for the Brookline High School football team & Tenfold Sports, an off-season developmental program located in Boston. Ailson received his B.S. in Psychology and minor in Criminal Justice from Bridgewater State University, where he also played football.
Závon Billups
School Based Mentor
Boston Collegiate Charter School
Závon was born and raised in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He grew up just 12 minutes down the road from his alma mater, yet entered what he would denote as an entirely different world in the fall of 2014. Now a graduate of Fairfield University, Závon holds a degree in Politics, with a minor in black studies and philosophy. He was also the 2018 recipient of the St. Ignatius Loyola Medal, Fairfield University’s highest student achievement honor. While he held numerous leadership roles throughout his collegiate career (such as serving as President of Class of 2018, President of the Black Student Union, and being a member of the rugby team). Závon is now currently a teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter— where he was brought in to develop and pilot their first ever Civics curriculum during his first year of teaching. When Závon isn’t teaching, he usually in the gym. He would describe himself as an Advocate, Community Organizer, Life-long Learner, and Friend
Mitchell Hercule
School Based Mentor
BCLA
Mitchell is the Physical Education teacher at BCLA. He is the coach for the Varsity girls’ basketball program (defending city champions), the JV boys’ soccer team (undefeated 1st season) and the outdoor track and field teams at New Mission/BCLA. He founded and established a program in 2012 called Herc42skills. Herc42skills is a basketball skill development program that was established to provide young student athletes an opportunity to develop physically as well as fundamentally. It is a differentiated programs for boys and girls of all ages and abilities. They have worked with many college and professional athletes across New England. They aim to help provide athletes a safe learning environment for maximum success. Mitch has also organized a women’s basketball tournament called “Mitch’s women’s tournament” in Boston for the last 14 years to help empower women through sports. They use the tournament as a fundraiser for backpacks and school supplies for inner city youth. Last year they passed out 450 bags full of supplies to less fortunate underprivileged youth. Herc42skills.com
Eleazar Clayton
School Based Mentor
New Mission High School
Born in Jacksonville, FL, and raised in Boston, Eleazar Clayton graduated from East Boston High School where he received a scholarship to North Platte Jr. College. He later graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth where he studied History, and Sociology. Eleazar has worked as a therapeutic mentor engaging with children with social, and emotional issues. He is currently working at New Mission High School coaching JV boys basketball, and leading Project Ochendo where he mentors students of color, helping them improve their study skills, grades, and to access and persist at college.
Jamari Jones
School Based Mentor
Tech Boston
Jamari Jones is the 12th grade Student Development Counselor at TechBoston Academy, a pilot school in the Boston Public School system. In his role, he provides students and families with recourses as well as academic social emotional, and college support. He also started and ran a program at TBA that (allowed students to express themselves through Hip Hop music (Hip HopEd). In his previous roles, Jamari served as a College Adviser through the College Advising Corps and worked as a Quality Control Associate at State Street Corporation. Jamari holds an M.Ed. from University of Massachusetts- Boston (UMass Boston) and a BA in Sociology/Anthropology and Political Science from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he attended as a Posse Scholar.
Lance Mitchell
School Based Mentor
Lance grew up in South Florida (Palm Beach County) Delray Beach. He graduated from Assumption College in Worcester, Ma in 2011 with a B.A. in Human Service. During that time Lance was granted an opportunity to join the Miami Dolphins practice squad, all thanks to his high school football coach Keith Byars (96-97 New England Patriots Running Back). Lance has spent time as a DCF (Department of Children and Families) social worker in the north-central area office. After a two stent with the state department, Lance oversaw a foster care program in Worcester, MA assisting with finding troubled at-risk youth stable housing. He recently just graduated with his master’s degree in School Counselor from Assumption College. When students experience trauma or serve life stressors, it is not uncommon for their lives to unravel. My great passion is bringing healing to students who have been through a traumatic/stressful experience. I help students find healthy perceptions and strengthen their relationships so they can know themselves as peaceful, complete, whole, and safe.
Isiah Benjamin
Guest Educator/Mentor
The Benjamin Blueprint
Isiah Benjamin is a passionate financial wellness advocate and is the Founder and Chief Financial Educator at The Benjamin Blueprint, a volunteer organization dedicated to teaching financial literacy to students and millennial professionals.
Isiah also coaches clients all throughout the Greater Boston area who are enrolled in the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program through a non-profit called Compass Working Capital, and in partnership with local housing authorities.
Isiah was called to financial coaching because he enjoys working with people to achieve their financial goals and believes everyone has the right to be wealthy and financially independent.
Prior to founding The Benjamin Blueprint, Isiah worked at Philadelphia Insurance Companies and The Hartford. He received his degree in Business Administration and Sports Management at Mt. Ida College.
Giovany Morales-Ramos Ed.M
Webmaster
Giovany Morales-Ramos is the current Director of Instructional Technology for Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. He is a former Young Man With A Plan school based mentor for Boston Prep. He now serves as webmaster for YMWAP and is responsible for designing and maintaining the YMWAP website.
Giovany holds a Bachelor’s in Science from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education in School Leadership.