Justine Willis Email and Phone Number

Like many 30-somethings of this era, I spent a large portion of my life wondering what I want to do when I "grow up". After years of managing a Starbucks and wanting more variety, travel, and fulfilling experiences I took a long look at what I had done that gave me all of these. I never felt more fulfilled than I had volunteering, be it with little animals or little humans. Considering my yearning for variety and travel, the United States Peace Corps seemed the next logical course of action. After my initial excitement at this new potential direction for my future subsided, reality set in along with the realization that I needed a degree to be competitive in the Peace Corps. After completing my business degree, my enthusiasm for the Peace Corps was still strong and in 2017 I left for two years in the Republic of Moldova. This experience gave me a better understanding of my talent and passion for community organizing and youth development. I worked with the local library to create opportunities for skill gains in STEM fields, leadership, and ESL for the young people in our town. Likewise, I worked with the Director of Youth Services at the mayor's office to build opportunities for youth-serving organizations in our region.Since my return to the USA, I have been working on the Career Pathways Team at YouthBuild USA to support our programs (nearly 300 domestically and internationally) to build the skillsets and mindsets that lead to lifelong learning, livelihood, and leadership for opportunity youth.