YES! Adult Staff

Bronwyn Lucas, Executive Director
bronwyn@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 1

As a founding member and Executive Director of YES!, Bronwyn believes that intergenerational power-sharing is essential to creating solutions for the challenges of our world. Lucas received her undergraduate degree from Amherst College and received a master’s in public health in maternal and child health from The Gillings School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2000. Shortly after graduation, she began her work developing a framework for youth empowerment that was rooted in theory and practice. In 2012, Lucas received the Sidney S. Chipman Alumni Award, an annual award given to a graduate of the department who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of maternal and child health. She has spent time in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands, El Salvador and Ireland. Bronwyn loves to spend time with her family, travel and go to the beach.

Jeanne Dairaghi, Assistant Director
jeanne@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 2

A founding member of YES!, Jeanne has delighted in YES!’s growth and outreach over the years—demonstrating the positive impact of and need for youth empowerment. She enjoys learning about outcomes and evaluation measures, and feels that youth and adults interested in empowerment work are the best people around. Jeanne came to youth empowerment and prevention work via counseling and women’s issues, having graduated with her master’s in psychology. She loves living in western North Carolina and spends her free time teaching psychology at the local community college, reading, writing a secret blog about Jane Austen, and hanging out with her Steve.

Emily Lockhart, Director of Strategic Partnerships
emily@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 3

Emily Lockhart has been with YES! since 2011. Her professional experience includes fundraising, marketing and community relations roles with other Triangle-area organizations, with a focus on health and prevention. Emily also serves as the Communications Chair on the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Chapter of UN Women. She received her B.A. in communications with a concentration in public relations from North Carolina State University. She enjoys running, swimming, and traveling with her husband to visit family and friends in the mountains and at the beach.

Aidil Ortiz Hill, Team Lead, Substance Abuse Prevention
aidil@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 7

Aidil Ortiz Hill rabble rouses in Durham, N.C. and holds a degree in public relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s in counseling from North Carolina Central University. Born in New York, but now as Southern as sweet tea, Aidil is proud of being bilingual and of her Dominican background. When she’s not tiring out her small dog Maple on long four mile walks, she is busy directing The Answer, the preventing underage drinking initiative at YES!. She has been blessed by the gift to do youth empowerment work for more than eight years.

Parrish Ravelli, Team Lead, Access to Health Care Initiative 
parrish@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 6

Parrish Ravelli, a 2003 graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College, became involved in community development work six years ago when serving one year as an AmeriCorps VISTA with the Montana Prevention Resource Center. Following this, Parrish worked as a buyer for Tidal Creek Cooperative Market. Parrish is currently involved in youth empowerment work focused on school-based health care at the statewide and local level. The rest of his time is spent with his wife, April, as well as playing soccer with his dog, Max.

Christine Laucher, Team Lead, Tobacco Initiative
christine@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 9

Christine Laucher is a founding member of YES! and has been doing tobacco prevention work alongside youth for over eight years. She is energized by watching youth grow in their knowledge, awareness, and accomplishments. Christine loves exploring the festivals, community events, and local restaurants around her new home in Durham. In her personal time, she works to create more access to locally grown foods, in addition to gardening and making homemade goodies like bread and jam with her husband and two young children.

Katie Spears, Team Lead, Real Food, Active Living Initiative 
katie@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 8

Katie Spears, a founding member of YES!, is the team lead for the Real Food, Active Living Initiative. Katie previously served as the tobacco prevention program coordinator with the Question Why Youth Empowerment Center. Katie values the growth of YES! and the sustainable impact it continues to make on youth, adults and the community. Katie was awarded the 2012-2013 Circle Award from the Charlotte Dietetic Association and was a member of the SEED20 (Social Entrepreneurs EmpowereD) Class of 2013 in Charlotte, N.C. She holds a B.A. in physical education and health/community health from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and a M.A. in health education and promotion from East Carolina University. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, working out, playing kickball, and dancing. She is also an avid sports fan.

Diana Manee, Program Coordinator, Real Food, Active Living Initiative
diana@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(828) 232-5801

Diana Manee graduated in 2007 with her Master of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She worked previously as a Health and Wellness Trust Fund grantee out of Haywood County doing tobacco prevention work in six western counties in North Carolina. She is an active member in NCSOPHE and loves living in beautiful Western North Carolina with her family and her dogs Porter and Tucker.

Jenna Simons, Program Coordinator, Real Food, Active Living Initiative 
jenna@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(704) 887-0986

Jenna Simons is a 2008 graduate of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. After spending four years in what she considered “the tundra,” she returned to her home state of Arizona to thaw out a little and contribute two years of service as an AmeriCorps member. Serving as the the service learning coordinator for two low-income, high-needs high schools inspired Jenna to obtain a career empowering youth through activism. She is loving exploring North Carolina with her dog Olive Juice and indulging in the southern hospitality.

Robin Smith, CPA, Finance Manager
robin@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 5

Robin B. Smith has been doing accounting for nonprofits since 1989. Raised in Colorado, Robin moved to Raleigh, N.C. with her family in 1970. After receiving a scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Robin expected to pursue a career in acting until one day she realized that even successful actors are almost perpetually unemployed. She realized that you can do theatre for fun and still make a living. Robin soon discovered the world of debits and credits made perfect sense to her, which gave her complete satisfaction (or “warm fuzzies”). She made a 4.0 in all of her accounting classes at NC State and became a certified public accountant (CPA) in 1992. While studying Spanish, Robin found two new loves: her husband and salsa dancing. Robin and her husband love to travel, play pool, dance and watch movies.

Katherine Randall, Communications Specialist
katherine@youthempoweredsolutions.org
(919) 878-8777, ext. 4

A child of a military family, Katherine Randall is used to moving around. Born in Spain, Katherine spent about 10 years of her life overseas and the rest of it traveling from the East Coast to the Midwest, and back again. Katherine joined YES! in October 2011 after moving from Chicago where she received a master’s in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. After graduating she worked as communications coordinator for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, an organization combating poverty, racism and anti-Semitism in partnership with Chicago’s diverse communities. Katherine lives in Wake Forest and enjoys riding her bike, experiencing different cultures, going to the movies and thrift shopping.