Sara
Sara Razavi
Executive Director • 415-808-4435 • srazavi@uwba.org
Sara Razavi joined HEY in 2005 and has served as the Executive Director since 2007. Prior to HEY, Sara was the Parent and Youth Development Program Coordinator at I Have a Dream Foundation located in Aim High Academy Middle School in San Francisco and before that she was the Education Programs Coordinator at The Friendly Center, a family resource center in Orange County. Sara holds a BA in Sociology from University of California, Davis. She is a foster youth advocate with a background in program administration, strategic planning and organizational development.
Dana Mandolesi
Dana
Dana Mandolesi, previously HEY’s Project Manager (Oct 2007 – July 2010), holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology from the University of New Orleans and specializes in research design. She is an expert in qualitative research methods and designed and managed HEY’s 2-year Emancipation Research Project (ERP). Her expertise is evaluating multi-organizational community systems. She has researched social systems in professional and academic settings varying from youth sub-cultural networks and drug policy in New Orleans, urban non-profit functionality in Costa Rica, voluntary and faith based agencies active in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the interaction between San Francisco’s Child Welfare System and transitional age youth serving non-profits. Out of this work she has written many reports and toolkits, such as a guide promoting best practices and communication strategies between agencies active in disaster, multiple statistics sheets, and articles and reports. At HEY, Mandolesi managed all foster care and community research, and acts as the ‘info-hub’ for anyone needing data, statistics or information about HEY’s focus areas. Mandolesi created, designed and marketed HEY materials, such as the HEY Statistics Sheets, the HEY Housing Guide and Immigration Related Barriers. Dana authored the Emancipation Research Project 2007-2009 Compilation of Findings: A collection of best practices and recommendations for change developed from research about aging out of foster care in San Francisco. She helped HEY to develop online fund-raising, internet marketing and social media and built the beautiful new HEY website. Dana is available for consulting work for development of non-profit websites and online strategies for fundraising and mission delivery. She also provides research support for non-profits, especially focusing on at-risk youth, non-profit programs and government systems. Dana is also available to develop strategic metrics and program evaluation measures into programs for fundraising and improvement. You can contact Dana at dana.mandolesi@gmail.com for more information.
Leslie Brown
Leslie
Leslie Brown, previously HEY’s Program Coordinator (Jan 2009 – July 2010) holds a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University and a Masters in Public Administration from University of Michigan. Prior to HEY Leslie was the Associate Director of Ozone House, the nation’s second oldest homeless youth shelter. She has extensive experience and education in non-profit leadership, specializing in designing, implementing, and managing programs and services to supporting transitional aged youth. At HEY, Leslie provided technical assistance training and curriculum development for the employment and education work groups and supports the Emancipated Youth Advocacy Board (EYAB), a team of emancipated foster youth who teach the community about foster youth issues, among other projects. Leslie authored HEY’s Guide: Youth Empowerment which was designed to support agencies and staff to better engage and empower young people as they transition into leadership and adulthood. The tool provides step-by-step instructions on how to best support the growth and empowerment of youth, as well as the staff who work with them, while preparing the entire agency culture for youth incorporation and leadership. Leslie is currently working with CompassPointe, as Assistant Project Coordinator supporting several of their key initiatives. She is available for consulting and training for agencies and individuals interested in engaging and empowering youth, you can contact her at lesliebrown1908@gmail.com for more information.
Justin Slaughter
AmeriCorps VISTA Research Assistant • 415-701-5581 • justin@taysf.org
- Justin
Justin Slaughter graduated from Earlham College last December with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology. He spent the last semester writing an institutional analysis and history of the U.S. health care system for his senior thesis. The last summer he was hired as an internal researcher to develop suggestions for Earlham College’s academic assessment policy. Justin joined HEY as an AmeriCorps VISTA member to help develop, expand, and disseminate the Emancipation Research Project on emancipated foster youth in the Bay Area. After HEY merged with Transitional Age Youth San Francisco (TAY-SF), Justin is housed at TAY-SF where he integrates HEY’s past projects into the partnership’s while he authors the bi-monthly E-Newsletter on problems, policies, and events surrounding local former and current foster youth.
HEY Other Volunteers
Jim Bracken
Organization Development Committee, Member
Nonprofit Communications
Kate Kalstein
Program Committee, Member
Kate Kalstein Consulting
Josefina Bolufer
Web Design Intern
Rebecca Woodson
Organization Development Committee, Member
McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP
Committee & Other Volunteer Positions Open
For more information contact Sara Razavi at 415-808-4435 or srazavi@uwba.org
