Our Board of Directors
Steve Boyarsky, Presidente
Steve nació y creció en el Valle Central de California. Al graduarse en la Universidad de Western Washington, se casó con su novia del instituto y se trasladó a Redmond, Oregón, donde Mary aceptó un trabajo de profesora. Mientras conducía el autobús escolar y ayudaba a Mary, descubrió que le gustaba trabajar con niños. Obtuvo un certificado de enseñanza y un máster en la Universidad de Western Oregon. Steve enseñó biología, liderazgo y anatomía y fisiología en las escuelas de Medford durante 18 años.
Steve pasó a la Universidad del Sur de Oregón coordinando los programas universitarios y al ESD del Sur de Oregón como redactor de subvenciones. Trabajó en el ESD durante 10 años como coordinador de planes de estudio y 6 como superintendente.
Steve y Mary tienen tres hijos y dos nietas. En su jubilación ha disfrutado pescando con mosca, tocando la batería en una banda y escribiendo entrevistas para el Mail Tribune y la revista Southern Oregon Magazine. Steve forma parte de los consejos de Project Youth+, Crater Lake Trust y Gordon Elwood Foundation.
Carol Christen, Vice President
Carol es la autora de What Color Is Your Parachute for Teens (De qué color es tu paracaídas para adolescentes), Random House, 4ª edición, 2021.
Carol está en deuda con un acto de equidad educativa de hace tiempo por su éxito profesional y vital. Carol cree que la capacidad de ganarse la vida decentemente es un derecho inalienable, especialmente en un país sin redes de seguridad. Lamentablemente, no son muchos los jóvenes estadounidenses que tienen acceso a ayuda para alcanzar, y mucho menos para conocer, sus objetivos profesionales y educativos.
Carol oyó hablar de College Dreams poco después de mudarse a Grants Pass en 2017. Aunque ahora es Youth Project+, sigue siendo una pareja hecha en el cielo de las misiones. Carol está deseando ayudar a Youth Project+.
Greg Redfern
Greg brings more than 27 years of experience as a physical therapist to his role on the board of Project Youth +. A graduate of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, he has called the Rogue Valley home for over 26 years. He was the managing partner of a physical therapy practice that he co-founded in 1999 in Grants Pass. He retired in 2023. Throughout his career, Greg has been dedicated to helping individuals achieve their highest functional level, emphasizing the importance of health and mobility for all.
Greg has been a dedicated board member of the Kids Wellness Network (previously known as Kidzone Community Foundation) since 2009. Their mission has been to promote physical activity for children, teens and their families.
Seeing so many young people in Southern Oregon being helped by PY+ has been inspiring, which is why Greg and his wife, Lisa, have been longtime financial supporters of this great organization. Now, as a new board member, Greg is eager to contribute to the mission of PY +. He sincerely values the opportunity to work alongside such a dedicated team to support the youth in our community.
Outside of professional commitments, Greg enjoys spending time with his wife and dog Tillie. He enjoys exploring the gravel roads of Oregon on his bicycle, and embracing the great outdoors through hiking, fishing and camping.
Ralph Burrelle
While spending 37 years in public education, 33 of which as a high school counselor, I found no greater professional satisfaction than to see young people find success in whatever they chose to do and to leave high school with a sense of purpose and meaningful goals, whether they involved further education or meaningful employment. To be of some help to students as they matured and developed into young adults with direction and vision was and remains one of the most rewarding parts of my commitment to public service. The feeling of optimism and hope continues in me as those affiliated with Project Youth+ make their way to a brighter future.
While a counselor at North Medford High School, I also served as activities director, department chair, and scholarship chair. I served on school counselor advisory committees for the Oregon University System and the University of Oregon and was a contributing editor for the first edition of Sparks Notes 283 Great Colleges. I remain a member of the Pacific Northwest Association for College Admission Counseling, for which I served as president in 2007-2008. After “retiring” from the Medford School District, I worked part time for both the American College Test company and the admissions office at Case Western Reserve University.
I have previously been a board member of the Anna May Family Foundation, OnTrack Rogue Valley, and the Medford Schools Foundation and have volunteered with a number of community service organizations, including the Oregon Community Foundation, SMART Reading, CASA, the Fairy Godmother Scholarship Committee, and the Gray Family Foundation. I live in Medford with my wife of 38 years. We have a daughter, an attorney for the Walt Disney Company, who lives in Valencia, California with her husband and our granddaughter.
Armando Lopez
Armando was born in Michoacán Mexico. In 1989, he and his mother and two sisters immigrated to the United States to be with my father and two brothers.
Armando se graduó en la Southern Oregon University con una licenciatura en Sociología y Español. Su primer objetivo era convertirse en profesor de español. Mientras estaba en SOU tuvo la oportunidad de participar en varios programas de liderazgo para grupos minoritarios. Una vez que se graduó, fue contratado como Consejero de Admisiones para el alcance de la diversidad y el reclutamiento en SOU. Tuvo la oportunidad de reunirse con muchos estudiantes, sus familias y dar consejos sobre las admisiones y el proceso de búsqueda de la universidad.
En 2009 Armando comenzó a trabajar para la empresa forestal de su padre. Este trabajo le permite involucrarse en organizaciones locales como el Southern Oregon Latino Scholarship Fund, SOU Youth Programs y la Providence Foundation. Armando es el entrenador de fútbol JV en North Medford High School y disfruta de los viajes, el golf, el ciclismo de montaña y el senderismo.
Kendell Ferguson
Kendell believes that all children deserve the best and most wide ranging opportunities possible to help them become productive and successful adults.
Kendell was born and raised in Medford, Oregon. She graduated from South Medford High School in 1999. She attended Southern Oregon University and graduated Cum Laude in 2003 with a degree in Chemistry. She then went to law school at the University of Oregon and earned her JD in 2007. She began practicing law in Grants Pass that same year. She was on the Board of Directors for ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum from 2008 to 2013. She was on the Board of Directors for Lovejoy Hospice from 2012 until 2017. She was elected to the Medford School Board in 2023. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and spending time with her family, friends, and dogs.
Linda White
In her 40-year career in the field of education, Linda has been dedicated to seeing, knowing, and helping students who are looking to caring adults around them for stability and support. She believes that "every student is one caring adult away from a success story." As a teacher, principal, and District Office administrator in Medford and Grants Pass, she has stayed true to this purpose.
Currently, Linda is a leadership coach for school leaders in the Rogue Valley and is also an adjunct professor at SOU in the Educational Leadership department.
Linda and her husband, Paul, have five sons and enjoy living in their home in the mountains near Prospect.
Brenda Patton
Brenda fundó la Fundación Table Rock con su buen amigo Phil Hart en 1996 con la intención de conectar a personas solidarias de todo el mundo con un enfoque en proyectos humanitarios, culturales y medioambientales, creyendo que enseñando a nuestras futuras generaciones la filosofía de la autoestima, así como el servicio por encima de uno mismo, podríamos mejorar la calidad de vida de todos.
Katie E. Mena
Nacida y criada en Phoenix, Oregón, Katie se graduó en la Phoenix High School en 2015. Como estudiante de secundaria fue una participante muy activa en el Project Youth+ (entonces llamado College Dreams). Obtuvo su Licenciatura en Psicología y Estudios Liberales y su Licenciatura en Español, así como un Certificado en Estudios Chicanos Latinos y Estudios Globales en la Universidad Estatal de Portland. Ella quería volver a casa para estar con su mamá y sus dos hermanas menores (15 y 12). Este es su segundo año trabajando para los Servicios Migratorios del ESD del Sur de Oregón. Ella está ganando experiencia para determinar su próximo paso profesional, tal vez en la programación de computadoras.