Human Rights Awards Reception – Spotlight! On Ms. Lori Kaplan

Human Rights Awards Reception – Spotlight! On Ms. Lori Kaplan

Our Human Rights Awards Reception is on December 8, and we are so excited to honor individuals and organizations dedicated to furthering human rights across the world and in our own community!

Today, we want to introduce you to our Community Human Rights honoree, the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). LAYC creates safe spaces to work with low-income youth of all backgrounds through a variety of services including bilingual programs and opportunities in academics, arts and recreation, job readiness, safe housing, and health and wellness to help youth make a successful transition to young adulthood. They also advocate for policies and laws that create opportunities for youth and their families in our region.

Ms. Lori Kaplan, the President and Chief Executive Officer of LAYC, will accept the Community Human Rights Award later this week. We took a few minutes to catch up and chat about her background, current pursuits, LAYC’s impact, and human rights.

           

UNA-NCA: To start out on a lighter note—we know that you completed your master’s degree in education at the George Washington University. With an undergraduate degree in anthropology, how did you enter into the academia forum? We would love to hear about those experiences and the continuing impact on your life. 

L.K.: In 1979 I saw an ad in the newspaper for the LAYC for volunteers. I was an office manager at the time and when I walked into the center I never walked out. When I first started as a volunteer, it was a very small, fledgling, grassroots organization with strong values, fun and wonderful people …that was almost 40 years ago. Along the way, I decided to go back to school for adult education and became very fortunate to become a part of what we do at LAYC. I did not set out to be an executive director, it sort of happened that way.

UNA-NCA: Your passion for education in the National Capital Region has led to a resounding impact within the Maryland and Washington, DC school systems. How do you see your initiatives lending themselves to UNA-NCA’s mission to prepare present and future leaders to work for a better world, both globally and locally?

L.K.: I have seen so many success stories. Three of the four charter schools founded were meant to re-engage students that have dropped out and were not on educational or career pathways. These are second chance schools, grounded in respect for young people with an interest to help some that got off track get back on track. If you don’t catch them when they’re young, then their prospects can become bleak later on, and you cannot take a generation of young people and forget about them. That’s the generation that needs the youth center the most.

UNA-NCA: In your February 26, 2016 blog, “Today’s Dreamers, Tomorrow’s Leaders,” you highlighted the Dream US, an advocacy organization that helps undocumented young people go to college when a shortage of money would otherwise prevent them from doing so.

L.K.: “Dream US is a very competitive scholarship program. We have seen an influx of immigrants who have come here to take advantage of education opportunities and often times their experience has been disrupted. It’s tough, they aren’t where they want to be as their grade and ability to speak English aren’t in the same place. There are certainly challenges along the way that we are here to help to overcome.”

UNA-NCA: You have worked hard to engage and partner with other organizations to champion youth. What have been some of your biggest challenges and greatest successes in that expanding area?

L.K.: We are a comprehensive program and serve as a link to resources outside of the center. Partnerships are important because no one organization has the capacity to manage everything. Our goal is to speak to all aspects of a young person’s life. We want to connect all of the dots for young people so that they can succeed. Many of our alumni return to LAYC to give back. Some challenges we see are barriers facing undocumented or homeless families. While we do house families, there is a waiting list. We also see hunger, food and mental health issues at LAYC. Therefore we work with federal agencies to assist in meeting these needs where we cannot.

UNA-NCA: How do you see the work that you do at the Latin American Youth Center making an impact in these areas? 

L.K.: I do feel confident that the center will be around for years to come. There are seemingly a lot of unknowns, specifically with the incoming administration. We receive a lot of federal funding and hope not to lose funding streams or see deportations or negative impacts to Dreamers. The national conversation has become pretty challenging regarding these young people. We will stay strong in our commitment to our values, diversity and inclusiveness. We will stay the course and continue to support our young people. This recognition for our work in the area of human rights is very important. It represents our commitment to standing for social justice issues, multi ethnic, racial, faith, gender and identity. Social justice work has been so much a part of our fabric since our inception.

UNA-NCA: Thank you so much for your dedication to serving our community and improving the lives of low-income youth. We look forward to learning more about your work later this week.

To find out more about LAYC and their work in our community, please join us at the UNA-NCA Human Rights Awards Reception on Thursday, December 8. You can register here.