Since 1994, YouthLaunch has advocated for youth empowerment through service.
Our mission is youth empowerment through service.
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YouthLaunch is the backbone organization supporting a network of peer mentorship programs across Austin educational institutions. ​​
Our Team
Executive Director klockhart@youthlaunch.org
KAMP & P2K Consultant Lecturer and Adjunct Professor with the Plan II/KIPP Partnership, & Senior Strategic Consultant for the KIPP Alumni Mentoring Program jill@theesselstyns.org
Board of Directors
Chair: William Herndon
Educator
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Treasurer: Stuart R. Block, CPA
Owner, Stuart R. Block, PLLC
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Secretary: Rebecca Yerly
Project Analyst, TXP, Inc.
Minnie Hollyman
Nonprofit Community Advocate
​Valerie Granoff, LCSW
Psychotherapist & Consultant
Grant Thomas
Founder & Chair Emeritus
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What We Believe: The YouthLaunch Theory of Change
After more than three decades in the youth service field, YouthLaunch has distilled some essential characteristics that underly all that we do: the YouthLaunch Theory of Change.
Our Story
YouthLaunch was founded in 1994, under the name Peer Assistance Network of America (PAN-America). Its founding was inspired by the success of the PAL (Peer Assistance Leadership) Program, a peer mentoring program that began at one Austin high school in 1980 and is now being implemented by hundreds of school districts throughout Texas and beyond. The central purpose of the organization was and is to serve as a champion of the concept of youth empowerment through service.
In 2004 the organization was renamed YouthLaunch, reflecting the expanded scope of its work. Since its founding, the organization has initiated and participated in a wide variety of noteworthy programs and partnerships that exemplify the youth as resources concept.
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Read about our legacy programs here.