Community for Youth Announces New Board Members
Seattle, WA – Community for Youth announces the appointment of four new board members: Mohammed Adeeyo, Rovina Broomfield, Richard Manhattan, and Ben Masters.
MOHAMMED ADEEYO is an alumnus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he served on the board of student run social advocacy groups promoting youth development such as the national society of black engineers engineer and the universities African and Caribbean student association. He accepted an offer from Boeing upon graduating RPI and is currently a structural analysis engineer at the company. Since moving to Seattle Mohammed has been active within the community working on youth STEM programs, mentoring and creating spaces of empowerment for underrepresented individuals. Mohammed is also a designer and model for the Koeles Group which creates Afro contemporary fashion. Mohammed is an avid sports fan and a left footed striker when he steps on the football (soccer) pitch. He is passionate about being culturally responsible and impacting his community positively.
ROVINA BROOMFIELD is passionate about business, creative thinking, and community involvement. She studied finance at Washington University in St. Louis, and has a master’s in business administration from Olin Business School. In 2012, she relocated to Seattle to begin an exciting career at Amazon, where today she leads a product development team within global marketing and advertising, while also serving as the global president of Amazon’s Black Employee Network. One of her proudest professional accomplishments occurred in March 2018, when she was awarded the “Just Do It” Award from Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, for exemplifying customer obsession and bias for action as the team leader for the company’s Textures & Hues online storefront launch. Outside of work, she enjoys playing basketball and public speaking, which includes instructing a business productivity workshop at Seattle’s General Assembly, and sharing with students of color and young adults about foundation habits of leaders and pushing through the constructs of the corporate world. When asked why she supports Community for Youth (CfY), Rovina stated, “As a former CfY mentor, I appreciate the organization’s genuine commitment to a healthy community for all participants. I’m excited to shift my participation to its board to have greater impact on the integration of inclusion and diversity into the organization. Being on the board will be a valuable experience that connects my interests in leadership, business strategy, and young people. I’m thrilled to join!”
RICHARD A. MANHATTAN is a strategic advisor primarily for sports and entertainment clients at Propyrion, a boutique consulting firm. After obtaining degrees from UC Berkeley and UNLV Law, Richard now looks to establish roots in Washington and wants to help CfY nurture other first generation college graduates like himself. Richard shared, “CfY is a long-standing, legacy non-profit with an amazing board, staff, and the most dedicated mentors…period. The organization’s commitment to critical mentoring is so very important for the students and families it serves. In a rapidly changing world, we must encourage vulnerable young people to be strategic about their educational and career objectives. I am excited to help CfY evolve and expand to serve the State of Washington by empowering the youth of Seattle to achieve their best.”
BEN MASTERS Originally from Cincinnati, OH, Ben moved to Seattle for its abundance of outdoor activities and to pursue a career in technology. Ben has a Masters in Information Systems and is currently pursuing a second Masters in Computer Science from Georgia Tech while working as a Program Manager for Microsoft Azure. He believes in the power of technology to transform lives and has witnessed firsthand the power of introducing youth to the field of Computer Science. Ben strongly believes in the mission of Community for Youth to inspire and support the holistic development of our community and sees technology as a catalyst for the success of those involved.
Our full list of our Board of Directors can be found below.
Lara Hansen, Building Oz, Board President
Stephen Koszalka, Amazon, Board Vice President
Sheila Roe, Sheila A. Roe, CPA, Board Treasurer
Richard Manhattan, Propyrion, Board Secretary
Mohammed Adeeyo, Boeing
Jerrid Anderson, Colliers International
Rovina Broomfield, Amazon
Clay Gilge, KPMG
Michael Koger, Providence St. Joseph Health
Roger Lorenze, Ewing & Clark, Inc.
Ben Masters, Microsoft Azure
David Roe, Slalom Consulting
Chris Rooney, Willis Towers Watson, Immediate Past President
Community for Youth (CfY) inspires and supports the social, emotional, and academic development of students through mentoring, learning experiences, and a powerful community. Through activites and conversations that are youth-centric and youth led, students explore issues that impact them. Caring adults act as trusted advocates and opportunity brokers so youth can set and achieve their goals, explore career options and improve their community through service learning.
If you are interested in joining the Community for Youth Board of Directors, please email our Executive Director, Janice Deguchi at Janice@communityforyouth.org.