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Atlanta's Tyronda Minter Wins Prestigious Fellowship
Tyronda Minter,
MAYOI program officer
Tyronda Minter, program officer for the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative, is a 2007 recipient of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's prestigious Children and Family Fellowship. The Casey Foundation established this 18-month executive leadership program for visionary nonprofit professionals who have a proven track record of outstanding accomplishments illustrated through their commitment in working with children and families.
Minter's own life experiences propelled her to want to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged children and families. From her birth, she grew up in a tough public housing community in Atlanta, the daughter of a single, teen mother who relied on government assistance to raise her family. "Economically, generations of my family lived on less than enough to make it sometimes, and I really wanted to break that cycle," she says. "Excelling educationally was the vehicle I used to do that." She earned exceptional grades throughout high school, college and graduate school, always striving for excellence in order to earn a competitive edge. Her life changed when she attended Clark Atlanta University, a historically black college, and majored in French and political science. She yearned to see a broader world view. To immerse herself in other cultures and languages, Minter took advantage of opportunities to study aboard, living in Canada, France, and the Soviet Union.
After graduating magna cum laude from college, she joined the Peace Corps and put her French to use in Gabon, Africa, where she taught English to French-speaking high school students. While there, she experienced poverty not all that different from her experience growing up in Atlanta. "In Gabon, I realized my purpose in life was to return home and help to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged children and families," she says. "Each day that I set out to do this in partnership with others, I enjoy every minute of it, even though it's sometimes challenging."
At MAYOI, Minter oversees programs that help young adults transitioning out of the foster care system. MAYOI links young people from foster care with companies and organizations that can provide opportunities in healthcare, employment and housing. With support from a strong Community Partnership Board, Minter has garnered more than 24 substantial "door openers" of additional public and private resources, including partnerships with The UPS Store, and Kaiser Permanente, leveraging more than $1 million in funding. She also has led youth advocacy efforts by creating and supporting an active and vocal youth leadership group. She has made it possible for 225 youth in foster care to have matched savings accounts totaling more than $50,000 in savings and has helped more than 40 youth purchase assets, including cars, homes and investment accounts. Minter also is working as a consultant to Georgia's Department of Family and Children Services in redesigning Georgia's Independent Living program.
Minter conceptualized Making My Way Home, an innovative housing and supportive services program that offers two years of subsidized rental housing and service coordination for homeless youth who have transitioned from foster care. With funding from a local community development organization in DeKalb County, the project is just beginning with a dozen young people identified to receive this resource. "It is a special project dear to my heart," Minter says.
MAYOI's success has resulted in Youth Services America awarding the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta (TCF) the 2007 Harris Wofford Award, one of the highest honors in the nonprofit arena. Each year, the Institution Award is given to a national, state, or local nonprofit organization, foundation or corporation with demonstrated record of activity and impact devoted to service, youth voice, service-learning, or civic engagement. MAYOI is an initiative of TCF in partnership with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.
After a rigorous selection process, 16 Casey fellows were chosen from a nation-wide pool of 146 applicants. During the 18-month program, fellows will participate in leadership opportunities, including executive seminars, site visits to learn about other agencies and organizations across the nation, and an opportunity to develop a project within their home organization.
