Coaches, External Assessors and Trainers
Our coaches are seasoned youth development professionals who care about the quality of programming youth are experiencing in our community and have a desire to support site teams as they participate in each phase of the continuous quality improvement process. They represent fellow site leads, supervisors, and managers from OST time organizations within the Richmond Region who are also involved in the YPQI process. Each participates in annual training, after which they become certified by the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality.
External Assessors conduct assessment visits at the site level, collect research quality data, and then input the scores from the assessment into the online Scores Reporter. Our Methods Trainers facilitate the ten Youth Work Methods trainings designed by the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality. The majority of our trainers manage youth development programs or centers in our local community. Their expertise and experience make them valuable members of the YPQI team.
Myla Burgess – Coach, External Assessor
Myla Burgess is a retired educator with 35 years of experience as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. She holds a B.S. in Communication Disorders from Hampton University, a Master of Education in Special Education from UNC Greensboro, and a certificate in Administration and Supervision from Virginia Commonwealth University. Having worked in four diverse school systems, her passion continues to be improving the lives of children and families, particularly in underserved and at-risk communities. For decades, Myla has been active in the community through Spring Creek Baptist Church, St. Phillips Episcopal Church, Midlothian Chapter of Jack and Jill, Inc., and Chesterfield Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Kelly Burnett – Coach, External Assessor
Kelly Burnett is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she studied Psychology and Business Development. She began working for Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond just after graduating college. Beginning in an administrative position in their Development office before moving to the Programs & Impact team, Kelly has played several roles for the organization since her start in 2014, including contributing to the development of a theory of change, measurement strategy for programmatic outcomes and building a culture of continuous improvement. As part of these initiatives, Kelly spent two years learning from partners at The Forum for Youth Investment and the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality.
LeKai Butler – Coach, External Assessor, Trainer
With over 10 years in the education field, Kai Butler holds a B.A. in English from Old Dominion University, and a Master’s in Counseling from Howard University. She has previously served as an English teacher, school counselor, and Director of School Counseling in both middle and high schools. Today she is the Executive Director and Founder of Work of Art, a local nonprofit designed to empower girls 13-18 from single parent or low-income households, foster care, or other unforeseen circumstances. She serves as a Career Coach for John Tyler Community College and in her spare time enjoys dancing, hot yoga, and spending time with family, friends, and her dog Paris Rose.
Tina Carter - Trainer
Tina Carter has 20 years of experience working in nonprofit and education. Prior to becoming the director of VCU’s Mary and Frances Youth Center in January 2010, she managed two school-based afterschool programs in Rhode Island, serving more than 200 students daily. Her previous experience also includes directing AmeriCorps programs, coordinating service-learning initiatives, volunteer management and team building facilitator. Carter manages the daily operations of the Youth Center and Lobs & Lessons program, which includes development, curriculum planning, community relations, evaluation and volunteers. She earned a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, a bachelor of science in Psychology from East Tennessee State University and a certificate in non-profit Management from VCU.
Ronee Davis – Coach, External Assessor
Ronee Davis is a native of Richmond and has worked in youth development since 2005. She is currently the Center Director for Higher Achievement Binford, where she works to develop fun and engaging activities for her students. Ronee has been a part of the YPQI process as a site director for over four years and is excited to continue the work to make sure all students have high quality programs to attend. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Morgan State University.
Melissa Derricott - Trainer
Melissa Derricott began her youth services work over a decade ago at William Byrd Community House, supporting youth with barriers to employment. Over seven years ago, Melissa transitioned to Higher Achievement as part of the launch team for the Richmond affiliate. During her time at Higher Achievement, Melissa has served Richmond youth in several positions, including her most recent role as the National Senior Data Analyst. In this role, through site observations and analysis of data, Melissa works with staff in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Richmond, and DC, to support high quality programming. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from VCU.
Kayla Brooke Dransfield – External Assessor
Kayla Brooke Dransfield first joined regional nonprofit Greater Richmond Fit4Kids as an AmeriCorps VISTA in 2014. Throughout the past five years, she has worked on a variety of health and wellness initiatives. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator where she has developed their newest program, Game On, Girl! - a comprehensive initiative to empower adolescent girls to be physically active, nutritionally fit, and ready to take on the world! Dransfield graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology.
Criszia Edmonds – Coach, External Assessor
Criszia Edmonds has been blending her passions for children and community in various forms for over 12 years. A graduate of Howard University with dual degrees in English and Political Science, she has served as an educator in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, and Mississippi with a focus in Special Education. Additionally, Criszia serves students in her community through creating and advocating for equitable educational opportunities and resources. She is currently working on a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Union University.
Amir Elsayed – External Assessor
Amir Elsayed serves as the Director for NextUp and Power Scholars Academy for the YMCA of Greater Richmond. He earned his degree in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University, and is currently completing his Master’s in Developmental Psychology. Amir has worked with the YMCA of Greater Richmond for four years, including with the Afterschool Achievement Gap program at Highland Springs Elementary, which focuses on Social Emotional Learning and Academic Performance. Amir directs eight Power Scholars Academy sites in the city of Richmond, tackling summer learning loss for youth in the city through a partnership between the YMCA and Richmond Public Schools Summer School. During the academic school year, Amir works with four NextUp sites at Boushall, Lucille Brown, Elkhardt-Thompson, and Henderson Middle School, providing high quality afterschool enrichment for middle school students in the City of Richmond.
Kinda Fernandez - Coach, External Assessor
Kinda Fernandez is the owner and director of Kindasgarden Daycare, a before and after school program in Chesterfield, VA. She earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology and American Studies from SUNY Oswego. Kinda has served children and youth in many capacities throughout the community and her church over the last 16 years. Currently she serves as a youth planning team member for Spring Creek Baptist Church, Mega Mentors, and Little Miss mentoring group. Kinda is a wife, mother of four and a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
Taekia Glass – Coach, External Assessor
Taekia Glass holds a Bachelor of Architecture and a Master of Construction Management from New Jersey Institute of Technology. She worked in architecture for 12 years as a Project Manager before joining the non-profit sector as the Program Director for ART 180. While practicing architecture, Taekia worked with ART 180 as a mentor, program assistant, and program leader. She has four years of experience serving as a YPQI Site Lead at ART 180.
Marvin Green - Trainer
Marvin Green has spent nearly two decades supporting and equipping youth in the out-of-school time sector throughout the metro Richmond community. He has served as a program director, teen director, Strengthening Families facilitator for the City of Richmond Police Department, human relations commissioner and more. From child abuse prevention and behavioral health, to family supports and program development, Green has robust experience serving youth and families across the region. He currently serves as the club director for the Capital One Boys & Girls Club in the Northside of Richmond.
Kristin Hott - Trainer
Kristin Hott has a diverse background in education and service that includes both youth and adult programming in Greater Richmond. Over the past 17 years, she has worked for local adult education and non-profit organizations, including a year of service as an AmeriCorps Team Leader, a Milk River Arts board member and the Community Outreach Collaborator for Richmond Young Writers. Most recently, she was the academic coordinator in a community college program serving first generation GED to college students. She holds a Master of Adult Learning degree with a specialty in Adult Literacy from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she is an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education.
Charles Johnson - Trainer
Charles Johnson is the Program Manager for Richmond YPQI at the Mary and Frances Youth Center in the Department of Community Engagement at VCU. Johnson brings over 10 years of non-profit experience, including work in juvenile justice, public health and experiential education. He holds a Master of Arts in Educational Ministry from Covenant Seminary, is a trainer around Trauma Informed Care, and is certified by the David P. Weikart Center in Social and Emotional Learning Methods.
Betsy Kelly – Coach, External Assessor
Betsy Kelly has nearly two decades of experience collaborating with people of all ages to facilitate learning, connection, creativity, and positive change. A California native with deep roots in Richmond, she has developed relationships throughout the community through her work with ART 180, the University of Richmond’s Center for Civic Engagement, and Hope in the Cities/Initiatives of Change. She is also a licensed professional counselor with expertise in expressive arts therapies, grief and loss, and trauma. Betsy earned her bachelor’s degree at Stanford University, and holds advanced degrees from Appalachian State University and the University of Southern California.
Martha Lambert - Trainer
Martha Lambert has more than 24 years of experience in prevention education, community collaboration and staff supervision. She is currently the coordinator of community education at Hanover Community Services. Lambert is a certified prevention specialist with a specialty in alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention (P.S. - ATOD). She has a special passion for program development and implementation, service delivery, evaluation, grant writing and staff supervision. Lambert also brings significant experience in all phases of youth development, youth programming and training.
Terri Lawson - Trainer
Terri Lawson currently serves as the Senior Director of Youth Development with the YMCA of Greater Richmond. Her passionate commitment to supporting youth and families and improving their opportunities is demonstrated through more than twenty years of dedication in diverse educational and support settings with an emphasis in at-risk and underserved communities. Terri received her BS in Sociology from VCU and her Master’s in Education from Middle TN State University. She previously worked for the Metropolitan Nashville Public School district as the Program Specialist for Extended Learning. Prior to that, she was the Director of the Family Resource Center with the non-profit, Family & Children’s Services.
Tito Luna - Trainer
Tito Luna is the neighborhood outreach director for VCU's Division of Community Engagement. In this role, he serves as a liaison to VCU’s surrounding neighborhoods, working closely with a team of neighborhood representatives and the VCU Neighborhood Team. Luna helps link faculty, staff and students to opportunities for collaboration with neighborhoods and other community partners. Luna has a robust background in teaching, youth serving organizations, and YPQI, where he was one of Richmond YPQI's first Methods trainer and external assessor. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Spanish from Binghamton University.
Mary Maupai – Coach, External Assessor
Mary Maupai has over 15 years of non-profit experience and has served as an external assessor for Richmond YPQI for the past four years. She began her non-profit career with the YMCA as an Executive Director and then in 2007, switched from operations into the development world and has never looked back. She has worked for both large and national non-profits, as well as small local grassroots organizations. She currently serves as the Development Director at Safe Harbor. Mary's passion is working with organizations in strengthening their annual fund through expansion of individual donor giving. In her free time, Mary enjoys reading, Bikram yoga, and scuba diving all over the world.
Shekinah Mitchell - Trainer
Shekinah Mitchell has 10 years of nonprofit experience in youth development, fundraising and community development. Her experience ranges from database management and program development to affordable housing and quality improvement. She is currently the Neighborhood Partnerships Manager for Virginia LISC and responsible for overseeing their Financial Opportunity Center Network, small business grant programs, community engagement efforts, youth and safety initiatives. As a Richmond, Virginia native, Shekinah also has local knowledge and community experience rooted in the Richmond region. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Radford University.
Laura Robertson - Trainer
Laura Robertson is the adolescent development specialist for the Hanover County Community Services Board, where she is a mental health first aid-youth instructor and a facilitator of the Strengthening Families Program. Robertson began her career working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence before moving into prevention services. She brings nine years of experience working with youth and has worked in the human services field since 2005.
Jeanine Turner - Trainer
Jeanine Turner is the programs manager for NextUp, an afterschool initiative for middle school students in the Richmond Public School district. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University and began her teaching career as a ninth and tenth grade English teacher at Highland Springs High School in 2001. She returned to VCU to earn a master's in education degree in educational leadership and over the next eight years, served as the assistant principal and later principal of Thomas H. Henderson Middle School of Richmond Public Schools. Turner has transitioned into the field of youth development, serving clients as an education/out of school time consultant, providing support to organizations that wish to implement quality academic and enrichment programming for students beyond school hours.
Kesha Williams – Coach, External Assessor
Kesha Williams is the Fairfield Court Promise Center site coordinator with Peter Paul Development Center, where she has served as a site lead for Richmond YPQI. She has worked in youth development for approximately six years at both Higher Achievement and Peter Paul. She holds a Master's in Management and Leadership from Webster University and a Bachelor's in Mass Communication/Journalism from Clark Atlanta University.
Methods trainings are based on content developed by the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality, Forum for Youth Investment, and HighScope Foundation. Recent findings from the Youth Program Quality Intervention (YPQI), a randomized experimental study, demonstrate that exposure to and use of this content improves program quality in out-of-school-time settings. Our trainers have been trained in and certified to deliver this content. Methods trainings, however, are not directly affiliated with or sponsored by any of the organizations that developed it. Nevertheless, the Weikart Center and Forum are pleased you have selected this evidence-based content to advance your program quality initiative.