From the Margins to the Center: Interrogating the Precarity and Possibility of Community-Based Youth Work in Challenging Times

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

As a field, youth work is recognized as the practice of supporting children and youth, and encompasses the education, guidance, and mentorship of young people through a variety of spaces and often in community-based organization. This session brings together youth work practitioners, community-based leaders, young people, and researchers committed to protecting community-based spaces for youth and ensuring quality programming for young people made vulnerable by the pernicious effects of racism, anti-Blackness, and economic disparities exacerbated by the current moment. This session will be interactive and collaborative to engage in meaningful dialogue and chart a plan for action to fill gaps in research, tackle critical policy issues, and share useful and context-specific strategies for learning and youth development in community-based educational spaces.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chairs

• Bianca Jontae Baldridge, Harvard University

• Deepa Sriya Vasudevan, Wellesley College

• Jessica T. Fei, Sadie Nash Leadership Project

Panelists

• Dana R. Fusco, Queens College CUNY

• Tené Howard, Sadie Nash Leadership Project

• Ben Kirshner, University of Colorado - Boulder

• David O. Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Deepa Sriya Vasudevan, Wellesley College

• Torie Weiston-Serdan, Youth Mentoring Action Network, Chapman University