---

“Before joining YouthBuild, I attended Austin High School. I moved out on my own at 16, after a very troubled childhood and dropped out. I began working at a restaurant to support myself. After a while, I realized that I needed to return to school and enrolled at Garza, an alternative high school in Austin. Although the teachers and staff there were supportive, I struggled to stay on track academically and eventually stopped attending.

After a coupld of years of going back and forth between work and trying to finish school, I found American YouthWorks (AYW) and enrolled. I joined the Casa Verde Builders green construction program, earned my diploma, and received several certifications while gaining real-world experience. Most importantly, I found a community that believed in me and provided the encouragement I needed to succeed. For the first time, I felt seen, supported, and capable of building a better future.

After graduating from the program in 2009, I was a grad CVB member and then began working with AYW as an administrative assistant. I was in that role for almost a year before funing cuts led to layoffs, and I found myself unsure of what was next. During that time, I experienced homelessness and spent several years traveling the country by hitchhiking and riding freight trains. When I became pregnant, I decided to return to Texas to rebuild my life and raise my son.

Once I returned to Austin, I reconnected with AYW to see if there were opportunities to get back on track. I completed a WERC internship program, which provided job training and support, and before long, I was offered a temporary staff position that grew into a full-time role. Today, I’ve been a proud AYW staff member for nearly a decade.

YouthBuild truly changed the course of my life. It gave me the tools, confidence, and sense of belonging I needed when I had nowhere else to turn. Now, as someone who has grown within this organization and built a life I’m proud of, I’m committed to giving back and helping our members find their own success.

For me, YouthBuild will always be home — the place that believed in me before I belived in myself.”

 

YouthBuild Program

---

What roles and positions have you had at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a staff member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What roles and positions have you had at AYW?

I started as a Crew Leader, then a staff position, in our Conservation Corps program working in the field in a position that is now held by AmeriCorps members. This was when the whole program was built around two 15 passenger vans. I eventually became the Lead Crew Leader, where I led my fellow Crew Leaders as well as my crew. I then moved into the program coordinator position, then program director. It was wanted of me to be involved in the exec team, and for 15 years now, I’ve been the CEO.

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

I just had my 30th anniversary on December 11th!

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

I’ve learned a ton about how many approaches can work. You may think you have the best idea, but it’s amazing how other people, with other abilities and experiences can be just as or more right. This is a continuous lesson for me — many approaches can work.

 

How has AYW changed since you started as a staff member?

We went from a very small organization to a much larger one — we’ve grown tremendously! And I think we’ve become much more advanced in the requirements to deliver youth development and even the project work has become much more complex. We moved from only being grant funded to having a revenue-generating, project-based funding model. We’ve diversified funding streams and the complexities of generating agreements with many different types of entities — from government agencies to other nonprofits and foundations. It’s a much more complex effort to do the cool work we do. The compliance and scrutiny that comes along with government and foundation funding requires us to be much more incredibly purposeful in the way we manage the programs and meet criteria.

What’s stayed the same, though, is the heart around giving young people opportunities to gain new perspectives, to see their own value, and do hard things and have a good time doing them.

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I play the drums and have long studied traditional folkloric dance and music practices.

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

Gratitude for the incredible relationships and experiences that this work has afforded me, from getting to connect with so many people that care about young people and care about their communities, to getting to work with and build relationships with all the organizations, from local to national agencies, people who care about the outdoors and affordable housing and all the community issues we care about as well. Opportunities to connect on a personal and professional level. AYW really is a vessel for doing good in the universe. Really grateful for it.

 

Donate Today!

---

What roles and positions have you had at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a staff member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What roles and positions have you had at AYW?

I started at AYW back in 2008 as a Conservation Corps participant, serving a 1,700-hour term. I really enjoyed that experience, and after finishing my term I was asked to stay on as a crew supervisor for a summer crew working with students from the charter school at the time. That led to me completing an additional 200–400 hours.

Not long after, my site supervisor became the principal of the charter school and brought me on to help on the education side of things. From there, I moved into managing the Computer Corps program for a few years. I played a big role in combining the Computer Corps and CVB programs, which eventually became YouthBuild Austin.

Around 2015, I helped start AYW’s in-house Print Shop and managed full-time AmeriCorps members who were supporting classrooms. In 2018, I started managing staff, and in 2020 I helped open the Pearson Review Center. In 2025, I stepped into the role of YouthBuild Program Director. Now, I’m back with the Conservation Corps program as the Austin Operating Site Director.

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

I’ve been with AYW for about 17 years now — 16 of those as a staff member.

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

It’s funny to say this, but Austin — and AYW — have been home longer than anywhere else in my life. A big part of that comes from being able to move between different programs over the years. I’ve learned how to work with people, how to manage teams, and how important patience really is.

Especially through YouthBuild, I’ve seen that people genuinely want to change their lives — they just need support and opportunity. Our role is to help create those opportunities. Everyone comes in with something to offer, and we all learn from each other along the way.

 

How has AYW changed since you started as a staff member?

One thing I’ve always focused on is helping AYW feel more professional as it’s grown. Early on, it felt very much like a small, early-stage nonprofit. Over time, we’ve become a much more structured and confident organization, with strong funding, community support, and clear systems in place.

We’re better at advocating for what we need, especially when it comes to partner cost share, and we’re intentional about working with partners who complement our strengths. Moving away from being a charter school really helped us focus on what we do best — workforce development — while bringing in partners like the on-site Goodwill Excel Center to focus on education.

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

In my free time, I am a printmaker. I create and sell linoleum block-print art, and this year I’ll have done about 17 events.

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

We’re always looking for ways to grow and create more opportunities for participants. AYW really is a life-changing experience — it gives people a chance to see something different, build skills, and grow alongside others who are on a similar path.

 

Donate Today!

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Courtney Reeves, CORE Service Coordinator

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

Feb 2026 will be my 10 year

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

I graduated from American YouthWorks in 2009, and AYW has been part of my life ever since. Over the past 10 years of working here, I’ve learned the true meaning of resilience, community, and support. My journey started as a homeless teenager searching for stability, and through AYW I found not only opportunity but also a family that believed in me. From Administrative Assistant, Recruitment and Outreach, to now serving as CORE Service Coordinator, I’ve seen firsthand how life-changing this organization can be — for me and for every young person who walks through our doors.
AYW changed my entire life by pointing me in the right direction, thanks to Miss Yvette, Miss Jessica, Mr Matt, and to Mister David, I am what I am today

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my kids. Who you will see often on campus! Traveling, spending time outdoors and reading.

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

AYW changed my life, and I’m proud to be part of giving that same opportunity to others. Every day, I see our members grow, succeed, and discover their own strength. It’s an honor to be a part of their journey, and I’m excited to see the impact AYW will continue to make for years to come.

 

Donate Today!

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Megan, AYW Placement Coordinator

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

I became our Individual Placements Coordinator in 2023. Before that I served three terms with Conservations crews: my first with TXCC in Austin in 2019, the second with Southwest Conservation Corps in Durango, Colorado, and the third one with TXCC again with the very first San Antonio Crew. It’s been quite the adventure these past 6 years!

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

It’s hard to answer this in just a few sentences! If I have to boil it down, I would say that my time at AYW has taught me about the incredibly vast world of conservation and “land management” (a term I had not heard before working here), and about the deep value of teamwork, especially in challenging situations and projects. I’ve also learned a lot about myself and what matters to me in my own professional development as well as the professional development of our AmeriCorps members.

 

How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?

AYW has gone through a number of changes over time to meet the changing needs of our partner organizations, the interests of our members, and the ever-changing nature of the world we live in. AYW’s resilience and the passion we have for our members, and the members’ own resilience and ability to inspire us, always keeps us motivated to continue growing and improving!

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I enjoy mountain biking and off-roading in my jeep! While there aren’t any mountains in central Texas, there are still hundreds of miles of dirt trails to explore across the state. While serving an AmeriCorps term with Southwest Conservation Corps in Colorado, I had the opportunity to rent a bike and ride it down a trail I had helped build, and to take my jeep to some really cool alpine locations in the San Juan mountains — all experiences I remember very fondly and hope to do again someday!

 

Donate Today!

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Erick Nino, Houston Development Director

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

7 and a half years

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned at AYW?

I say the positive aspects that I take from being at AYW are the successful stories of the members that we train, and also understanding the service that we give Clean and Green program members.

What I take as most important for AYW, is knowing that the members that we are training are succeeding in life. Every time I hear about their successful stories, including members from programs that I have coached, and hearing them thank the program as part of their success, because we are a whole unit, when I hear about their successful stories I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. All of our hard work and the nitty gritty details do something and make a difference for someone. I have members reach out to me asking for references when they apply to new jobs, and I know that they are remembering what they learned with me and taking it forward. And it is great to hear when they come back and say thank you and that they got the job.

When I got out of the military and got through college after the military, I was looking for an organization where I could implement the same values I already had. I wasn’t looking for AYW, but AYW popped on my radar by surprise after I finished college. I had moved recently to Texas and didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was looking into teaching, and American YouthWorks popped up. It said opportunities for Clean and Green as a crew supervisor. When I started reading the job description it reminded me a lot of the military. Leading crews for community service, reporting. I did some research on AYW and saw their crew models, and it reminded me of what I did in the military. It is an organization that helps transition veterans to active environmental service. They offered me this path of transitioning to civilian life. Going through college afer the military was a huge adjustment. What solidified that adjustment was American YouthWorks.

 

How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?

I have to say it’s changed for the better. Let me be clear when I say changed for the better in Houston specifically. When it got started it was a young office with a lot of young staff including myself. We were started because of Hurricane Harvey, so there were a lot of new programs. The people who were starting them were very passionate about the programs we were starting. When I look back now, we look more professional now, we are now recognized as a good program in Houston, not just for the community but also for members. We are just more polished, we have a good presence in the community, they know us.
We started with a conservation crew, GulfCorps program, and Clean   Green. After Covid, we started HEAT and summer crews.
We’ve come a long way into solidifying our programs, working hard to solidify professional development for our members. We are delivering better opportunities so when our members leave, they are better equipped for the labor market.

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I enjoy listening to music, especially analgue music on vinyl. I have a vinyl collection. I like actual physical media. I have a huge movie collection! I enjoy tangible things you can open, look at, and explore, with extra features, commentary from directors and actors.
I enjoy listening to music for countless hours, looking at the vinyl.
I’m passionate for cooking, getting the cookbooks and making a meal that would make Gordon Ramsey proud!

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

I’m proud of working with like-minded staff, coming to work and working with people who are passionate about the job they do. When I see all the work put in by the staff and crews, it makes me really proud of the team I work with. I feel like we are very passionate about the work we do. We care a lot. That’s something I’ve observed with the people I work with. We are passionate, we want to be good environmental stewards, caring for the environment. I feel like our job as staff is deeper than caring for the environment. I feel proud when we look at the new young generation, and proud that as we mold them, they are taking that. When they see the motivation of the staff, they are willing to buy into the program, and that’s why they want to come back. Staff make that positive member experience possible.

 

Donate Today!

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Gabriella Bible, Site Coordinator

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

2 years

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

When I began as a member I majored in art history, after my second term I switched my major to environmental science. I enjoyed working with the people I was meeting and learned so much about the environment and the ways I could help make a difference. I wanted to help give others the same opportunity and was proud to return as staff. Knowledgeable staff and members continue to inspire me to learn more and do better.

 

How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?

AYW has changed a lot since I started as a member in 2018. The Houston office has grown in leadership, development, and staff making it feel like there is a clearer path forward.

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I like to crochet

 

Donate Today!

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Johnnie Perales, Maintenance Associate

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

In June I celebrated 30 years at AYW. I definitely could have retired but I enjoy coming to work every morning. It keeps my mind occupied and creating projects on campus keeps me busy and then I go home and I work on creative projects around my house that need to get done.

 

As a Staff Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

I was hired by Richard Morgan (CVB Director) and what I brought to the table at that time was, I was a surveyor and I was there to layout the Hemisphere in San Antonio — we did elevation work, where the pavilions were going to go. I had experience in CAD and architecture drawings, and product knowledge to share with members, I had built custom homes, and much more!

I was a Casa Verde Builders (CVB – Construction Training Program) Trainer — we used different green materials in building the houses. We started the weatherization program for low income residents’ homes. At that time the COO would have to go and do the painting in classrooms because we didn’t have a staff member doing the work and managing the facilities, and Richard would bring me into the situations regarding facilities.

 

How has AYW changed since you started as a Staff Member?

Over the years a lot of people have contributed to AYW’s growth. When Richard would have a staff meeting he would ask “what is your dream for AYW?” and “what is needed for the classrooms, so participants stay at AYW, what are their needs?” and he would try to find a way to meet those needs. Housing, bus passes, childcare – all of these support services requests came from participants themselves and staff would meet those needs to make sure participants could stay enrolled.

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I have several. Garden hydroponics; woodworking and woodturning, anything to do with carpentry — making picnic tables, patio furniture out of recycled fencing. I made some pieces for AYW when it was downtown; with the engraving machine I’ve made names and awards for staff in wood and granite and this opened a whole avenue for me. I really enjoy doing projects with the engraver, and overseeing the projects for staff and on campus. Ensuring the quality in our projects is something I really enjoy doing.

Ideas for AYW for a shed with raised garden beds and rain capture and using solar panels to create an irrigation system.

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

I’m always trying to serve others, I’ve always tried to go beyond what needs to be done, if you need something done you can always call on me and I will be there for you. A lot of this has to do with my faith, I find that being a servant and giving makes me happy and more at peace. I can see where some of the participants are, I have been there and you can change it, I come to them with a giving heart. I’ve been married 56 years and what makes success is love and work, and when you work you can make yourself better and it is easier if you work at it. Sometimes things are not as hard as you think they will be.

 

Donate Today!

 

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Board Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
How has AYW changed since you started as a Board Member?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Rubén Cantú, Board Chair

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

6 years

 

As a Board Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

I have learned to lead a board that has many different talents, priorities, and perspectives and help ensure we are moving in one direction.
 

How has AYW changed since you started as a Board Member?

It has grown from a state wide organization to an interstate organization and has increased staff and capacity. It also has adopted a more inclusive and diverse culture and created a space for innovation to thrive.

 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I love exploring nature and the outdoors and having an organization like AYW that promotes this is amazing.

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

We all have the capacity to help in a small way, we all have diff gifts and talents and resources. When we bring them together we can move mountains. AYW is a mountain that was once a dream. Our hope is that we can sustain this movement of a mountain moving into our next fifty years.

 

Donate Today!

 

---

What is your name and position at AYW?
How long have you been working with AYW?
As a Board Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?
What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?
Anything else to share with our audience?

 

What is your name and position at AYW?

Ellen Hunt, Board Treasurer

 

How long have you been working with AYW?

One year, plus supporter for many prior

 

As a Board Member, what have you learned or what has been your experience at AYW?

Everyone is dedicated to the mission, and focused on helping students grow and learn.
 

What is a hobby or interest you’d like to share?

I design jewelry and use lots of tools to make it. My mother was also a jeweler and I have some of her tools that I use. I love that part of solving jewelry problems has to do with designing and making specific tools to fit the project.

 

Anything else to share with our audience?

I’m so excited for AYW’s 50th Anniversary and I’m excited to see how we grow and change to serve our students in the next 50 years.

 

Donate Today!