Jamestown Builds a Pipeline of Leadership from Within Through Teen Workforce Program

"Jamestown is my home. I am Jamestown and Jamestown is me.”

One of the things that makes Jamestown programming so unique and successful is our ability to join our youth on every step of their academic and personal development journeys. We have countless youth who joined our programs as elementary school students and went on to work with our Youth Workforce summer camps and eventually become Jamestown staff.

Gibran Gonzalez is just one of the many young people who entered our doors as a student and then became a valuable member of the Jamestown leadership. In his current role as Youth Workforce Manager, Gibran coordinates high school employees, who not only receive valuable work experience and compensation but also a mentor from their community who can connect with them on a personal level.

During the lockdown stage of the pandemic, Gibran and his team had ears, hands and hearts on the ground, providing families with meals and other important resources needed to sustain their livelihood during these uncertain times. Gibran texted his students regularly to gain info about how he could support families, including mental health check-ins.

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To hear more about Gibran’s Jamestown journey, check out his interview below.

Q: What’s an important lesson you learned from Jamestown youth?

A: That every generation keeps getting smarter. These kids are teaching me things week in and week out.

Q: What is your fondest Jamestown memory?

A: My fondest Jamestown memory was the program I was in as a teen. I got the chance to have a place to be me, where I was surrounded by people who were like me, all in the same space. More significantly, I had mentors who had similar life experiences as me at some point in their life. Having a space to go to after school is really important.

Q: What do you want your Jamestown legacy to be?

A: I have said it since I was 15 -- I want to be the Executive Director later on in life. I know that I will have big shoes to fill as the directors before me are people I look up to. I want people to know no matter how bad you had it growing up, you can still be someone that can help others.