Dorothy Stoneman

Biography

Dorothy Stoneman, 2007 Skoll Awardee, was the Founder and CEO of YouthBuild USA, Inc., from 1978 through 2016. This organization is the national support center for over 260 YouthBuild programs in the USA and the sponsor of YouthBuild International which has brought YouthBuild to 21 other countries.

In YouthBuild programs low-income young adults work toward their own high school diploma or equivalency while learning job skills and getting paid for building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people in their communities. Over 180,000 YouthBuild students have built over 33,000 units of affordable housing while rebuilding their own lives.

Stoneman is a leader in advocating for youth engagement in civil society and for ending poverty. After joining the Civil Rights movement in 1964, Stoneman lived and worked for 24 years in Harlem, where in collaboration with local teenagers she created the first YouthBuild program in 1978 and then orchestrated its expansion throughout NYC, USA, and internationally.

In 2012 she spearheaded the creation of the National Council of Young Leaders and now supports them full-time to build out Opportunity Youth United as a grassroots membership organization focused on civic engagement for low-income young adults dedicated to increasing opportunity and decreasing poverty in America, building racial equity and racial unity.

Stoneman also serves with the Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Network, Voices for National Service, America’s Promise, the National Advisory Board for Public Service at Harvard University, and serves on the board of Public Allies and as board chair for Youth Action YouthBuild in East Harlem.

She received the MacArthur Fellowship in 1996, honorary PhD from Bank Street College of Education, John Gardner Leadership Award in 2000, Harvard Service Award in 2011, America’s Promise Award in 2017, and the Woke White Women Who Walk the Talk award in 2019.