Our Staff

Aleah Rosario has over ten years of experience advancing equity in the youth development and nonprofit sectors, leading statewide technical assistance and capacity building efforts. Aleah has been a champion for the development of responsive policies and strategies that uplift, advance, and bring dignity to the youth worker workforce. Born and raised in rural central California, Aleah is descended from five generations of women of color activists in the Central Valley. Aleah received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from CSU Stanislaus. She is an alum of CalSAC’s Leadership Development Institute and the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship. She serves as a Board Member of the California School-Age Consortium and is a member of the Fundraising Committee with the Radical Monarchs.

Contact Aleah.

Jessica Gunderson has over fifteen years of experience advancing equity and good governance in state, local, and federal advocacy and policy making. For the last two years, she served as policy and research consultant for the Partnership for Children & Youth, building on her seven-year role as the Senior Director of Policy and Communications. Jessica also worked as a policy director for Californians for Safety and Justice and a senior planner at the Vera Institute of Justice. She began her career as a legislative staffer for former Assemblymember Karen Bass and the Select Committee on Foster Youth. She has led numerous statewide campaigns and published over twenty public reports. Jessica received her MPA in Public Policy from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and her BA from the University of San Francisco.

Contact Jessica.

As the Director of Policy, Jen Dietrich leads the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance (CA3), a coalition of more than 20 community-based and advocacy organizations across California advocating for improved quality and access of expanded learning programs. Jen joined PCY in 2012 with five years of state and federal legislative experience. In Washington, D.C., she served two members of Congress from California, and in Sacramento Jen advised two chairs of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance during the Great Recession. Jen earned an M.A. in Political Management from George Washington University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington. She was a 2018-19 White-Riley-Peterson Afterschool & Expanded Learning Policy Fellow.

Contact Jen.

As a Policy Manager, Ben Nash supports the California Afterschool Advocacy Alliance (CA3) and helps coordinate PCY’s policy, budget, and outreach efforts. Prior to joining PCY in 2021, Ben served as a Legislative Aide in the state Assembly, where he advised a budget subcommittee chair on K-12, higher education, and business and professions issues. Ben earned a B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, in Society & Environment, and an A.A. in Social & Behavioral Sciences at Chabot College. Ben has worked in outdoor education, managed a local school board race, and was a peer advisor at Chabot College. He was a 2019-2020 Assembly Fellow in the Capital Fellows Program.

Contact Ben.

As an administrative and operations manager, Tamara Schmidt develops and implements PCY’s procedures and supports the PCY staff. With over 12 years of professional experience in operations and administrative work, Tamara has assisted executives and aided in project and logistics management in several fields. She holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires.

Contact Tamara.

Monik Vega has 13 years of experience in education, 12 of which were spent working in expanded learning programs serving Sacramento’s most vulnerable populations. Over the course of her career she became familiar with public school systems, Waldorf education, restorative methods, social justice, social and emotional learning, and diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. As a blooming professional in the field, she supervised 11 diverse expanded learning programs serving TK-12, while spearheading the advocacy and workforce initiatives for a community-based organization. Monik also launched several state licensed child day care programs that ran on school sites in Sacramento. She is a seasoned professional development specialist and has facilitated training for all levels of expertise throughout her expanded learning career. She has served on the Elk Grove Unified School District Community Advisory Committee for Special Education since 2020 and enjoys assisting community members with understanding their children’s rights and laws surrounding special education. Monik also volunteers for the School of Rock, where she teaches stage presence.

Monik earned her BA in English from San Diego State University and her Master’s in Education and Training from the University of Phoenix. In 2020, Monik earned a training certificate from the National Society of Leadership and Success.

Contact Monik.

As Program Manager, Destiny supports the delivery, management, and day-to-day operations of Partnership for Children & Youth’s technical assistance projects. She has over seven years of combined experience educating and counseling K-16 students and adult learners in a workplace setting. She has designed, developed, and implemented numerous programs and digital tools with special attention to user-centered design and equity. She studied Political Science and Education Studies at University of California, San Diego, and completed training in UX Design, Project Management, and Painting Technical Foundations. She is passionate about social justice, equity, and community wellness.

Contact Destiny.

Stephanie Pollick has been a member of Partnership for Children & Youth’s communications team since 2015. As the Director of Communications, Stephanie develops and implements PCY’s communications strategy, ensuring clear and consistent messaging and bringing attention to PCY’s core issues. Stephanie writes, edits, and designs printed and digital materials and manages PCY’s communication channels, including websites and social media accounts. Prior to joining PCY, Stephanie worked for UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza) in marketing and event coordination. She has a passion for education, drawing from her experience in youth programming at summer camps in the Bay Area and within transitional housing communities. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Clark University.

Contact Stephanie.

Chris Valenzuela has over ten years of experience advancing equity in the youth development and nonprofit sectors, with a background in program design and fundraising. As Director of Programs, Chris leads the delivery and management of PCY’s technical assistance projects. Chris earned a B.A. in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an M.S. in Education from Johns Hopkins University.

Contact Chris.

Jennifer Peck led Partnership for Children & Youth since its founding in 2001. During her tenure she developed and implemented initiatives to build high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs, access to meals and health care for students, and integration of social and emotional learning in the education system across the state. Prior to forming PCY, Jennifer spent eight years as an appointee of President Bill Clinton at the United States Department of Education, where she supported implementation of initiatives including student loan reform, School-to-Work, and 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Jennifer has a B.A. in Sociology and Women’s Studies from Colgate University and is the proud mother of Emilia.