STOCKTON, Ca. (July 7th, 2022) — Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) announced today that it has hired Jesús Andrade as the organization’s Director of Development for the Central Valley region. IYT’s mission is to increase the number of young men of color to attend and graduate from college and universities. The Director of Development will work closely with IYT leadership on expanding their programmatic footprint across school districts in the tri-county area of the northern San Joaquin Valley region – San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties.
“We are delighted to have Jesús on board,” said Michael Lynch, CEO of Improve Your Tomorrow. “He has the right skillset, passion, and network that will allow us to engage with community and corporate leaders in advancing the futures for Central Valley’s young men of color.” He added.
Jesús brings a wealth of knowledge from the non-profit and government sectors to Improve Your Tomorrow. As a former Council Member with the City of Stockton, he worked several non-profit organizations, community groups, and philanthropic entities to create citywide programming focused on inclusive economic development. While on the Council, Jesús lead the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as well as co-founded the Stockton Schools Initiative, which was an organization focused on improving academic outcomes across the four school districts in the city of Stockton. Before serving his hometown on the Stockton City Council, Jesús lived in Los Angeles, CA, and worked for equity-focused organizations like UnidosUS, Community Coalition of South LA, and the California Charter Schools Association. Jesús also worked for the 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign in Colorado, and was a fellow with Jesse M. Unruh California Assembly Fellows program in Sacramento, CA.
Jesus will help lead IYT’s Power of Us campaign, which is mobilizes leaders in the corporate and philanthropy sectors around our mission of closing the college-opportunity gap. Drawing from his long standing ties to the community and deep commitment to educational access, Jesus will help garner over $500,000 in support to fuel the college-bound dreams of its members across the Northern Central Valley.
“I am thrilled to join the IYT team,” said Andrade. “IYT has a unique proposition that will help our most vulnerable young men of color in the Central Valley. The organization truly believes young men of color are brilliant, and when provided with the right environment they thrive beyond low expectations that are often placed on them. IYT is a unique 12-year mentorship program that works with young men from as early as the 7th grade and provides a full array of services from middle school through college and beyond. I can’t wait to bring this program to school districts across the Central Valley, where on average only 10% of young men of color attend college and 4-year universities, compared to 19% statewide.” He added.
Jesús will be based out of Stockton, CA but will work with school districts and communities across San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties.
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Have questions for Jesús? Contact developmentteam@improveyourtomorrow.org
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