About YMAN

Our Organization

Founded in 2007 by two veteran educators who understood the importance of making solid connections with young people. They recognized that young people were at their best when their voices were heard and they felt fully supported. Now, we continue that work with a vision that there will be a world where young people are creating, thriving, and leading.

We are founded and led by seasoned educators with over 75 years of combined experience in education. This deep expertise allows us to intimately understand both the strengths and weaknesses of traditional educational systems. We leverage this knowledge to build powerful alternatives and supplements to conventional education, creating innovative pathways that truly serve our communities and challenge the status quo. Our leadership's extensive background in education isn't just about experience—it's about transformation, using our understanding to reimagine what education can and should be for our youth.

The concept of critical mentoring is at the heart of all of our work. Critical mentoring is n innovative perspective that reframes the mentoring experience as a youth-centered one, with an emphasis on race, ethnicity, class, citizenship, gender, and sexuality. Throughout all of our programming, mentors serve as supportive and trustworthy adults in the lives of YMAN youth participants and are available through a mix of one-on-one and group mentoring.

Our Freedom Work

The Youth Mentoring Action Network is a youth power-building organization facilitating transformative mentoring, education and wellness opportunities with young people across the globe.

Meet the Team

The incredible group powering the organization.

Chief Visionary Officer

Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan

Torie is a scholar and practitioner with over 20 years of teaching and youth programming experience. She is also the author of Critical Mentoring: A Practical Guide.

Chief Operation Officer

Angela Solano

Angela is an educator of over 25 years, a wife, and a mother. She is a powerhouse youth advocate and a veteran high school English teacher.

Chief Music Officer

Dr. Gayle Weiston-Serdan

Gayle is a well-respected featured artist and educator of over 30 years. Her musical sound spans generations and she utilizes her music knowledge and experience to create world-class programming for the organization.

Inland Empire Program Lead

Jade Arceneaux

Jade is a facilitator, educator and nurse in training. Her background in teaching and training give her strong skills in communication, empathy, adaptability, and problem-solving.

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YMAN Scholar

Vee Kativhu

Vee (Varaidzo) Kativhu is a rising leader in the world of education and youth empowerment, with a strong focus on girls’ education.

Meet the Board

A dynamic and experienced group of leaders.

Board Chair

Steve Vassor

Steve Vassor is a proud Daddy, husband, and mentor, who enjoys travel, and as a former DJ loves rap, his musical first love. For 25 years, he has worked with, and on behalf of young people and their families. His calling and passion are improving the life chances of young people, especially urban youth and young Black men.

Board Treasurer

Colton Wickham

A loving father, husband, and friend. Professionally, a career accounting and finance professional, having spent the early part of his career as a licensed CPA in public accounting and the recent part of his career in various finance and strategy roles in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Board Member

Dr. Brandi Fletcher

Brandi Fletcher Daniels is a dynamic high school administrator who began teaching at the School of Arts and Enterprise (also known as the SAE (SAY). Brandi has served as a Master teacher for Claremont Graduate University and mentors new teachers as well as the students in her class.

Board Member

Jennifer Rosenberg

Jenni Rosenberg is a seasoned litigator working at the intersection of law and policy.

She is currently a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California, and in that role, she works on complex issues of constitutional law and state power, including litigating cases addressing the state's affordable housing crisis and election law matters, defending common-sense gun control measures and COVID-19 public health orders in high-profile, high-stakes lawsuits, and providing advice to law enforcement agencies regarding anti-hate crime laws and initiatives.

Board Member

Dr. Tunette Powell

Dr. Tunette Powell is an activist mama and disruptor who has dedicated her life to dismantling the status quo while also honoring the freedom dreams of those who have come before us - our ancestors who believed that education could be and should be a passport. Her most important work is raising her three sons. She lives by the words, "Nothing About Us Without Us."

Board Member

Jennifer Sabbagh

Jennifer Sabbagh is a Social Studies teacher at Etiwanda high school. She has been in the educational field for 13 years and teaching History for 6 years. She earned her Masters in Education from the University of La Verne where she also earned her Bachelors in Social Science and Single subject credential.