The Riley Institute at Furman University has selected Tyneisha K. Gibbs, Director of Expanded Learning Opportunities of NJSACC: The Statewide Network for New Jersey’s Afterschool Communities, to participate in the White-Riley-Peterson (WRP) Policy Fellowship. A partnership with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the WRP Fellowship is a ten-month, national program designed to equip graduates with a real-world understanding of policy-making for afterschool and expanded learning.
“I am so proud to have been chosen for the 8th cohort of the White Riley Peterson Policy fellowship” said Tyneisha K. Gibbs. “This fellowship will help to further the work that I do at NJSACC. All of the work that we do as the statewide network would not be possible without the support of policy makers and educational policies that support this important field.”
In October, Gibbs will travel to Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, to begin the program. As part of the fellowship, Gibbs will develop and implement a state-level policy project in cooperation with NJSACC and the national Afterschool Alliance.
With over ten years of Youth Development, Management and Supervision experience, Gibbs believes, “Unorthodox methods of Education can break generational cycles of mental enslavement.” As a “Daughter of Newark,” N.J., her life’s passion is dedicated to uplifting communities of color through education and access to resources.
Including Gibbs, 16 individuals have been selected to become WRP Fellows this year. The number of WRP Fellows nationwide has grown to 122 in 49 states since the initiative launched in 2012.
“I am so proud to welcome 16 more leaders to this outstanding program,” said former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. “It is so important for young people to have access to high-quality academic enrichment opportunities during afterschool hours and in the summer – and we need policy leaders who can make that happen.”
Over the course of a year, WRP Fellows study an intensive policy curriculum, learn from policy experts and benefit from national networking opportunities. This will include working with the Afterschool Alliance, a national advocacy organization, as well as the Mott Foundation’s 50-state afterschool network.
WRP Fellows are expected to complete the program with newfound expertise to help inform and advocate policies that support afterschool and summer learning opportunities for children across the country. They put these new skills to use by developing and implementing afterschool-related policy projects in their home states.
“Students who attend afterschool and summer programs are better prepared for work and life. They attend school more, make gains in reading and math, improve their grades and have higher graduation rates,” said Cathy Stevens, director of the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship.
According to the national Afterschool Alliance, over 10 million children in America participate in afterschool programs, but more than 19 million additional children would participate if programs were available.
The 2019-2020 WRP Policy Fellows are:
- Anna Almerico, Network Lead, Idaho Out-of-School Network (Boise, Idaho)
- Benjamin Baird, Spokane County Program Quality Manager, School’s Out Washington (Spokane, Washington)
- Brent Balog, Community Liaison & Outreach Coordinator, Clackamas Workforce Partnership (Portland, Oregon)
- Tiyana Brown, Charlotte NEXT Director, MeckEd (Charlotte, North Carolina)
- Charmaine Davis-Bey, 21st CCLC Education Program Specialist, Ohio Department of Education (Columbus, Ohio)
- Robert Dorigo Jones, Policy and Outreach Associate, Michigan’s Children (Lansing, Michigan)
- Kate Foster, Program Coordinator, Wyoming Afterschool Alliance (Laramie, Wyoming)
- Tyneisha Gibbs, Director of Expanded Learning Opportunities, NJSACC (Westfield, New Jersey)
- Brandon Hutton, Research Project Coordinator, Kansas Enrichment Network (Lawrence, Kansas)
- Jeff McConaughy, Director of Policy and Communications, New Mexico Out-of-School Time Network (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
- Heather May, AmeriCorps VISTA, Maryland Out of School Time Network (Baltimore, Maryland)
- Kate-Marie Roycroft, Director of Public Policy, The Alliance of Massachusetts YMCAs (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Rev. John Unger II, West Virginia State Senator and President of GRaCE Company (Charleston, West Virginia)
- Zong Vang, Strategy Manager Policy and Network Evaluation, Ignite Afterschool with Sprockets (St. Paul, Minnesota)
- Shawna Viola, Research and Evaluation Specialist, Connecticut After School Network (Branford, Connecticut)
- Heather Williams, Program Director, Policy and Outreach, California AfterSchool
