We are counting down the weeks until we convene our national network at the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) Spring Convening 2025 in California. We are thrilled to reconvene the OYF network in LA for the first time in 10 years! We are honored to return to LA to uplift this full circle moment in our movement, in partnership with the Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative (LA OYC), our local OYF Collaborative hosts, as they mark a major milestone: their 10-year anniversary.
During our time together, we look forward to engaging in national conversations that inspire intergenerational approaches to achieving equity, justice, and impact, in ways that improve systems that serve opportunity youth and foster belonging, meaning-making, wellbeing, and purpose (BMWP).
Bringing together the collective expertise of a diverse range of national, state, local, youth, and social sector leaders, organizers, and artists, we will set stage to spark ideas and dialogue that builds community and solidarity. Through collective action, we aim to drive transformative change that accelerates the power of community organizing, civic engagement, and the values of our democracy. By immersing in truth-telling and leveraging the knowledge of our network, we will propel intergenerational partnerships and foster progress — to achieve meaningful outcomes that inform policies and build towards an equitable future where all people can flourish and thrive.
Plenary Speakers Spotlight
Angela Parks-Pyles is the Deputy Director for the County of Los Angeles’ Department of Children and Family Services, Contract Services Bureau. She provides executive administration for the Community-Based Support Division, Youth Development Services Division, Authentic Youth Engagement, Faith Based, Family First Prevention Services, Supportive Housing Division, Volunteer and Intern Programs and Family Bonding/Visitation Programs.
Ms. Parks-Pyles is a nationwide recognized champion for “All things TAY and Equity work”, and serves as the proud Executive sponsor for the Community Equity and Father Engagement work in the department. Ms. Parks-Pyles has over 30 years of successful achievements in Los Angeles County leadership, senior management and social work experience. Additionally, she is a certified Leadership Coach in the Art of Coaching and Effective Black Parenting Facilitator.
Brenda Solórzano is known as a leader focused on continual learning while making time to play and enjoy life. Solórzano is the President and CEO of The California Endowment. She was appointed to the position in 2024. This is a return for Brenda, after working at the Endowment early in her philanthropic career.
Brenda began her career in advocacy circles and has continued to ensure community voice remains at the center of her philanthropic work. She is a nationally recognized leader in trust-based philanthropy, a values-driven approach that advances equity, shifts power, and builds mutually accountable relationships between funders and nonprofits. As a founding member of the movement, Brenda understands that democratizing philanthropy, putting the community at the center, and building trusted partnerships and relationships are critical to ensuring positive and healthy change.
Brisia Gutierrez (she/her) is the Systems Change Project Manager for the Los Angeles Opportunity Youth Collaborative at the Alliance for Children’s Rights. A former foster youth and passionate advocate, Brisia co-leads the DCFS Director’s Youth Advisory Council and oversees the design and implementation of the Youth Engagement Section (YES), embedding youth-led frameworks into DCFS operations.
She holds a B.A. in psychology and political science with a minor in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies from CSU Long Beach. Brisia is dedicated to shifting power to those most impacted and building pathways for young people to lead systems change.
Gerardo Ruvalcaba was named Assistant General Manager of the Workforce Development Division in 2021, earning the position after building two decades of experience in the workforce and community development fields. Mr. Ruvalcaba began his City career in 2000 at the Community Development Department (CDD), the precursor to the Economic and Workforce Development Department which was formed in 2013. Over his 22-year career with the City of Los Angeles, Mr. Ruvalcaba has held leadership positions for a multitude of high-profile projects for CDD and EWDD, including serving as Eastside Regional Director for CDD, Program Manager for the Northeast Los Angeles Riverfront Collaborative – an innovative community planning effort for the Los Angeles Riverfront communities – and Director of Workforce Development.
Under Mr. Ruvalcaba’s leadership, EWDD has administered more than $500 million of state and federal grants for job training, apprenticeship and other programs designed to uplift the City’s most vulnerable populations. His knowledge of Federal, state, and local legislation has allowed EWDD to structure funding opportunities in a manner that is both efficient and maximizes our competitiveness. He also serves as a Trustee for the US Conference of Mayor’s Workforce Development Council.
Jacqueline Robles is an inclusive economic development advisor working at the intersection of policy, community wealth building, and systems change. She partners with cities across the United States to support local organizations in co-creating solutions that advance economic justice and center youth voice. With lived experience in the foster care system, Jacqueline is deeply committed to ensuring young people, especially those historically excluded, have equitable access to opportunity and decision-making power.
Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from California State University, Long Beach and a Master of Public Policy from UCLA. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new cities, testing TikTok recipes, and adventuring with her German Shepherd and Husky.
Kareem Crayton is the Brennan Center’s Vice President in the Washington D.C. office, where he manages the Brennan Center’s affairs inside the Beltway and programming that includes a new organization-wide project focused on the American South. An established scholar on the intersection of law, politics, and race, Crayton has served on law and political science faculties across the country and authored more than two dozen publications that explore the connections between race and politics in representative institutions. The substantive architect of a first-generation video game about redistricting, Crayton is also a digital content creator who integrates the theoretical and practical aspects of civic participation to engage the broader public.
As counsel and advisor, Crayton has represented advocacy groups and public officials, including the Congressional Black, Hispanic, and Asian Pacific Islander Caucuses. He served as chief of staff and special counsel to the Alabama House Minority Leader during a special session on redistricting. During the 2020 redistricting cycle, he advised nearly a dozen local jurisdictions, commissions, and legislative caucuses. He previously served as executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, where he hired and trained a litigation team to argue in two key gerrymandering cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mary R. Barraza currently serves as the Senior Deputy Director of Prevention and Child Wellbeing Administration for Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC-DMH). She is responsible for administrative and programmatic oversight of the Prevention Bureau which includes the Anti Racism Diversity Inclusion, Solidarity and Empowerment (ARISE) Division, School Based Community Access Program, United Mental Health Promotorers/Promotoras Programs; Child Welfare Bureau; Children’s Directly Operated Clinics and the upcoming Office of Transition Age Youth (TAY).
Prior to her employment with Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Mary served in both managerial and direct clinical services positions in California and Washington State. She has over 30 years of experience working with children, Transition Age Youth (TAY) and adults including the forensic and child welfare populations. Mary has over 25 years of management experience in program administration, clinical over-site, and collaboration with County, State, Federal and community-based organizations.
Robert Sainz serves as the President and Executive Director of New Ways to Work, a nonprofit focusing on advocacy and technical assistance to improve workforce and education programs and systems. Serving young adults who often live in the shadows, the agency has an intense focus on those from foster, probation, and homeless systems. Having recently concluded a 31-year public sector career in the City and County of Los Angeles, Robert previously served as Assistant General Manager for the City of Los Angeles Economic Development Department where he managed over $100 million annually in public agency grant funds, resulting in programs and services for thousands of Angelenos.
Thanks to a clear vision for how to re-engage young people, Robert established the City of Los Angeles YouthSourceSystem, Los Angeles Performance Partnership Pilot (LAP3) and is a founding member of LA:RISE – an innovative model serving homeless and re-entry populations. He also established HIRE LA, one of the nation’s largest public-private youth employment initiatives that combined the visibility of corporate America with solutions designed by policy experts. As part of his extensive tenure with the second largest city in the nation, Robert also served as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement and worked as the Assistant and Interim Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families. He served as past president of the US Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council, and current Chair of the National Youth Employment Council. He also currently serves on several local and national nonprofit boards.
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor; Former Chair of the Democratic National Committee; Former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice;
Tom Perez is a nationally recognized civil rights lawyer, public policy leader, and former Obama administration cabinet Secretary who has dedicated his entire career to public service at the federal, state, and local levels. He has held senior leadership positions in various key government agencies and nonprofits, focusing on civil rights, labor issues, and immigrant rights. For 8 years, Perez served in both Obama-Biden administrations: first as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice (2009–2013), and then as Secretary of Labor (2013–2017). In both positions, he assumed leadership of agencies with critical missions that were underperforming. As head of the department’s Civil Rights Division, he led the charge against police misconduct, voter suppression, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and immigrant-bashing sheriffs’ departments. Then as Secretary of Labor, he fought to protect and expand opportunities for America’s working people – from better wages and overtime pay, to retirement security and collective bargaining rights.
In 2017, Perez was elected as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Upon taking over a DNC in disarray, he overhauled its critical infrastructure, broke fundraising records, and rebuilt voter trust and party unity. His transformation of the DNC enabled Democrats to win key victories across the country, beginning in 2017 and culminating with the historic election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020. Most recently, Perez joined Venable LLP as a partner in the Washington, DC office. But Tom’s strongest roots are in local organizing. In 2002, he became the first Latino elected to the Montgomery County Council. And as board president of CASA de Maryland, Tom helped grow the organization from a small service provider in the basement of a church to one of the largest immigrant advocacy groups in the mid-Atlantic.
Stay tuned for more on Featured Plenaries and Speakers!
Unable to join us in-person this year? We extend a virtual invitation to subscribe to our Youtube Channel to view all our featured plenaries online later this Summer. Follow us on our social media channels @AspenFCS for LIVE updates during the convening.
About Us
The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions (AFCS)
The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions plays an integral role throughout the opportunity youth movement, with a primary focus on supporting the Opportunity Youth Forum. The Opportunity Youth Forum was launched in 2012 to leverage the new visibility and momentum of the opportunity youth movement coming out of the White House Council on Community Solutions, which called for innovative, place-based, collaborative solutions to reconnect the 6 million opportunity youth in the United States at that time.
The Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF)
The Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) is a network comprised of over forty local collaborations in urban, rural, and tribal communities across the United States that seeks to build and scale reconnection pathways that achieve better outcomes in education, employment and overall well-being for opportunity youth. Opportunity youth are young adults, 16-24 years of age, who are engaged in neither work nor education. Learn more about our opportunity youth work.
