John Valverde is the President and CEO of YouthBuild USA, Inc. He joined YouthBuild in 2017 after decades of work as an advocate for creating access to opportunity and removing barriers for formerly incarcerated and marginalized people.
John began working with imprisoned individuals in 1992 to ensure access to HIV/AIDS counseling, high school equivalency instruction, alternatives to violence programs, and college education. In 1998, he co-founded Hudson Link for Higher Education, the first privately funded accredited college program in New York’s prisons. He also was part of the team that developed the first green jobs training program for formerly incarcerated people in NYC and led programs for young adults with criminal justice involvement.
John is a Marano Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Sector Skills Academy and a Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow. He holds a Master of Professional Studies in Urban Ministry from the New York Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Mercy College.
Economic Opportunity • Education • Environmental Sustainability • Financial Services • Health • Human Rights • International Justice • Livelihoods • Living Conditions • Peace • Peace and Human Rights • Post-Secondary Education • Secondary Education • Sustainable Markets • Youth Job Skills
Caribbean, Central America, Central and Southern Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South America, West and Central Africa
