You're invited to a community conversation with EPIP DC and three youth-centered nonprofits to discuss the pandemic’s local impact and philanthropy’s necessary future.

In October, leading medical groups declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health due to the pandemic’s ongoing isolation, disruption, and adversity and the US’s struggle to address structural racism. More than 140,000 children have lost a primary and/or secondary caregiver, with youth from communities of color disproportionately impacted.

Join the Latin American Youth Center, Homeless Children's Playtime Project, and Gearin' Up Bicycles to learn more about how they have navigated the pandemic, their inclusive programming with young people, and their perspectives about how philanthropy can meet this moment. We'll have time for dialogue in breakout rooms and for you to learn how to get more involved in their missions. 

Speakers include: 

• Lupi Quinteros-Grady, President & Chief Executive Officer, Latin American Youth Center (LAYC)
• Brandi Stanton, Development Director, Homeless Children's Playtime Project
• Keith Jackson, General Manager, Gearin' Up Bicycles 
• Eric Channing, Board Member, Gearin' Up Bicycles

As we get ready to celebrate the end of the year, attendees also will have the chance to win one of several door prizes benefitting youth-led initiatives, such as Frères Branchiaux Candle Co started by three brothers in the DC area and with 10% of profits going to homeless shelters nationwide.  

We invite you to learn more about our speakers and their organizations in advance of the event: 

Lupi Quinteros-Grady, Latin American Youth Center President & CEO

In June 2018, Lupi Quinteros-Grady stepped into the role of president & chief executive officer of Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), a nationally recognized, community-based, youth development agency in Washington, DC. Prior to becoming CEO, Lupi has been a part of the LAYC family for 23 years. Founded in 1968, LAYC expanded into Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in 2005, establishing the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers (LAYC/MMYC). LAYC empowers a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood, through multicultural, comprehensive, and innovative programs addressing youths' social, academic, and career needs. LAYC serves over 4,000 youth annually.Lupi was introduced to LAYC as a fourteen-year-old when she participated in their Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). She understands first-hand the importance of providing programs to youth to connect them to opportunities. Lupi is humbled to lead an organization that works to create a safe space where youth can belong and believes it our responsibility to help prepare our future generations.

Follow LAYC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Brandi Stanton, Playtime Development Director

Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Brandi Stanton earned a B.A. in English from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in English from Indiana University. She taught college-level literature, writing, and gender studies classes for 13 years and served as an academic advisor for first-generation college students and faculty consultant for teaching first-year students. Before she came to Playtime, Brandi led grant writing and communications at Latin American Youth Center in Washington, DC, for five years. Homeless Children’s Playtime Project's mission is to cultivate resilience in children experiencing family homelessness by providing and expanding access to transformative play experiences. We do this by creating ongoing play opportunities that nurture healthy child development; challenging systemic injustice by advocating for policies and practices that reduce the risk of chronic homelessness; and connecting families with critical support services and supplies in the community to meet their concrete needs. Currently in five shelter sites and one school site in Washington, DC, and Maryland, Playtime staff set up playrooms with developmentally appropriate toys and activities, to help children experiencing homelessness build resiliency and nurture their healthy social, emotional, and physical development. Over 18 years, approximately 7,000 children have experienced more stress relief, joy, teamwork, and skill-building through play because of Playtime.

Follow Playtime on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Keith Jackson, Gearin' Up Bicycles General Manager

Keith Jackson has been a resident and avid cyclist in the DMV since arriving at the University of Maryland in College Park in 1986. He has worked in myriad retail businesses over the years, managing everything from British car restoration firms to multi-million dollar bicycle shops. He is currently the General Manager of Gearin’ Up Bicycles, a non-profit bicycle shop dedicated to youth workforce development located in Washington, DC.  Always keenly aware of the lack of representation in specialty retail and non-traditional sports such as cycling and motorsport, Keith has always sought to identify the barriers keeping people of color from having the early-stage opportunities to address attainment gaps as well as issues of inequalities of outcomes.

Eric Channing, Gearin' Up Bicycles Board Member 

Eric is a Washington DC resident of 20 years who was born and raised in the area. He has 30+ years of experience in riding the local paved roads, gravel roads and trails of the Mid-Atlantic region. Eric's passion led him to spin his wheels in such places as the mountain trails of Colorado, the boulevards of Mexico City, the foothills of Tanzania, and the cols of Southern France. As a founder of the Annual DC Tweed ride and Searsucker Social bike ride, he's been bringing folks together with his wildly popular urban based bike events for the past 12 years. Eric has raced bicycles on and off since his early 20s and is currently a professional bicycle tour guide and ride instructor. He joined the Gearin Up Bicycles board of directors in 2020. Since the explosion of interest in cycling due to the pandemic, Eric has begun to plan for the creation of more entryways for people of color into the activity of cycling.

Gearin’ Up Bicycles’ purpose is to create career development opportunities and teach essential workplace skills to youth from under-served communities, while encouraging cycling as a practical, healthy means of transportation. Gearin’ Up provides access to quality, affordable, used bicycles for those in need and hosts various community outreach programs throughout the year. Their community-focused organization focuses on four pillars to achieve their mission: job training, refurbished bicycles, experiential education, and community engagement. Gearin' Up was founded in 2012.

Follow Gearin' Up on Facebook and Twitter.