2022 Research Grantee Dialogue

Thursday, May 19, 2022

1

Embracing the Diversity of Civic 

Engagement: Opportunities for 

National Service
2

Katy Hussey-Sloniker, MBA, MSW, LGSW,

Learning Officer, 

AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation

2022 Research Grantee Dialogue: 

Embracing the Diversity of Civic Engagement: 

Opportunities for National Service
3

Welcome!

Please be advised that all lines 

have been muted to avoid 

background noises and to allow 

for greater engagement.

Please use the chat feature to 

submit any questions throughout 

the presentations. Select 

Everyone when submitting your 

questions. We will read your 

questions for you.
Thursday, May 19, 2022

4

African American Youth and 

Civic Engagement

2022 Research Grantee Dialogue: 

Embracing the Diversity of Civic Engagement: 

Opportunities for National Service
Introductory Remark

5

Mary Hyde, Ph.D.

Director, 

AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation

2022 Research Grantee Dialogue: 

Embracing the Diversity of Civic Engagement: 

Opportunities for National Service
6

2022 Research Grantee Dialogue: 

Embracing the Diversity of Civic Engagement: 

Opportunities for National Service
7

Panel Moderators

Andrea Robles, Ph.D.,

Research and Evaluation 

Manager, 

AmeriCorps Office of 

Research and Evaluation

Shane Dermanjian 

Research Assistant, 

AmeriCorps Office of 

Research and Evaluation

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement
8

Laura Wray-Lake, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Social Welfare, 

University of California, Los Angeles

Young Black Changemaker Project

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement
Laura Wray-Lake, PhD

Department of Social Welfare, 

UCLA

May 19, 2022 

AmeriCorps Research Grantee 

Dialogue

The Role of CommunityBased 

Civic Organizations

in Sustaining 

Young Black Changemaking
UCLA Young Black Changemakers 

Research Team

Domonique Henderson, UCLA Channing Mathews, PhD, NC State Kaylon Kenyon, NC State
Young Black 

Changemakers 

and

the Road to Racial 

Justice

Cambridge University Press, 2023
Today’s Aims

What experiences do young Black 

changemakers have in organizations 

that grow and sustain their efforts? 

What implications can we draw for best 

practices in community-based civic 

organizations?
About the Young Black Changemakers Study

Here’s what we asked 

•Tell me about some of your civic activities and how you are engaged.

•Walk me through your own journey of becoming civically engaged.

•What is unique about civic engagement for Black youth?

•How does being Black matter for your civic engagement?

•What other identities do you hold that connect to your civic engagement?

•Tell me what this current moment of political action means to you. 

43 Black Youth in LA

..ages 13-18

..from 13 different orgs

..37 high schools 

..interviewed remotely Feb-Aug 2020

Male

35%

Fema

le 

65% Born 

inside 

the U.S.

79%

Born 

outside 
Gaining Expertise as 

Changemakers

Youth gain voice, civic 

skills, and a systemsperspective through 

experiences in orgs.

Being Sustained by 

Community

Youth’s involvement is 

sustained through support 

from adults and connections 

with others, especially when 

Blackness is celebrated.

Seeing Impact of Civic 

Actions

Youth saw different 

impacts of their 

changemaking that built 

meaning and agency.

FINDINGS
“It is like our job to organize it ourselves. 

And so as I've gotten older in [ORG], I've 

really gotten more of an appreciation for 

like doing civic engagement 

and...organizing it myself based on, like, 

what I care about. Because when I'm 

younger, it's just like, oh, let's make like, 

lunches for homeless people. But now that 

I'm older, it's a lot more in my hands. And 

I've taken that into a lot more. I've taken 

that like experience into a lot more areas of 

my life...I've learned how to like advocate for 

not only myself, but like, people who don't 

have voices, in terms of like, stand up for 

everybody.” Camille, age 15 (she/her) 

Gaining Expertise 

as Changemakers
“It was like the gut feeling I got from being in 

there, because everybody there we just had like 

a good energy and they really wanted to just 

help people. And...they really uplift you. It just 

felt like a family in those [spaces]. It felt more 

like I wanted to be there with those 

people...The adults, they would just be like, so 

cool. They were like, support you in any way like 

you. Like, I was at the meeting like last week, I 

was, I talked, I gave an answer. And then like 

the adults, they just like were like, clapping, like 

they’ll give you encouragement. They’ll just 

have so much positive energy that it’s just like, 

really good.” Cory, age 15 (he/him)

Being Sustained by 

Community
“I have people at my school and people at 

[ORG] it's like, no, it's so you know, it's not a bad 

thing to be Black. It's like, it's beautiful to be 

Black. Like, you know, all these problems, these 

things happening right now. It doesn't mean, 

you know it's bad to be Black. That's basically 

what I'm learning. That's what I'm getting from 

people.” Quinn, age 16 (she/her)

Being Sustained by 

Community
Seeing Impact of 

Civic Actions Oh, um, what keeps me going? So, um, just, 

like, knowing that I am supported because a 

lotta times, it wouldn’t just be me there. It 

would be, like, my classmates and a few of my 

teachers would also be there with me and 

other volunteers, so knowing that, one, 

knowing that I was, like, helping those people 

and, like, them thanking me and me feeling 

good that I had helped them, and then also 

other people being by my side through the 

whole thing and, like, believing that, you 

know, we could really help these people and 

help them to survive, so yeah, those two 

things really helped me to keep going and 

stay passionate about it.” NA, age 13 (she/her)
Seeing Impact of 

Civic Actions “I felt empowered. Like, I felt like I could move 

the world. Because we actually got it to 

happen, that's the crazy part. Like it's one 

thing when you want something to happen, 

and then you just speaking on it, but when 

you really acting on it, that's something 

different. So when that happened, I was like, 

‘Oh, we can really do this, like we're really out 

here.’ So yeah, I feel empowered. Like, I felt 

unstoppable, I was like, ‘Okay, Unique, you 

better go girl.’” Unique, age 17 (she/her)
Implications

xxx

Organizations can help support 

young Black changemaking by: →Providing opportunities to take 

ownership, lead, and develop other 

skills. 

→Supporting and mentoring youth 

through new challenges. 

→Celebrating Black culture and 

identity. 

→ Offering opportunities for youth to 

see impact through action.
THANK YOU, AMERICORPS!

Contact me: 

Laura Wray-Lake, PhD

wraylake@ucla.edu

@wraylake
22

Maren King, MLA

Associate Professor and 

Director

State University of New 

York-ESF

Christina Limpert, 

Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of 

Environmental Studies

SUNY College of Environmental 

Science and Forestry (ESF)

Youth and Civic Engagement in a Diverse Urban Neighborhood:

Reframing Partnerships with Youth

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement
Youth and Civic Engagement in

a Diverse Urban Neighborhood: 

Reframing Partnerships with Youth

AmeriCorps Office of Research & Evaluation

Research Grantee Dialogue: Embracing the 

Possibilities from Communities to Opportunities

May 19, 2022

Maren King, MSLA and Christina Limpert, PhD

This material is based upon work funded by the Office of Research and Evaluation at the 

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) under Grant No. 18RE204028 through the 

Community Conversations research grant competition. Opinions or points of view expressed in this 

document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of, or a 

position that is endorsed by, CNCS.
Meet the Team
Reframing 

Partnerships 

with Urban 

Youth

• Youth as partners

• Youth as amplifiers 

of assets and issues

• Youth as community 

builders
Youth as partners

STAGES OF RESEARCH PROCESS

ESFFACULTYTEEN TEAM 

MEMBERS

ESF - GRAD 

STUDENTS

NEIGHBORH

OOD 

COORDINAT

OR

PMC -

DIRECTOR

PROJECT 

ADVISORY 

COMMITTEE

PMC -

STAFF Total for Stage

Project proposal 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 5 3 high level of involvement

Institutional Review Board Application 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 2 moderate level of involvement

Team recruitment 2 1 1 0 3 2 0 9 1 lower level of involvement

Team building 3 3 3 3 2 0 2 16 0 no involvement/not their role

Ethics training 3 3 3 3 2 0 0 14

Intro to Research Methods 3 3 3 3 1 0 0 13

Topic Selection 1 3 1 2 1 0 0 8

Method selection & development 3 3 3 3 1 2 0 15

Carrying out research 3 3 3 3 1 2 0 15

Data documentation 3 3 3 1 1 0 0 11

Data analysis 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 9

Data representation & communication 3 3 3 0 1 0 0 10

Gathering Garden 3 3 3 1 1 1 2 14

Establishment of Youth Impact Team 1 1 2 3 3 1 3 14

Total for Participant Group

37 32 31 22 20 8 7
Youth as partners
Youth as partners
Youth as partners
Youth as Amplifiers of 

Assets and Issues
Youth as 

Amplifiers of 

Assets and 

Issues
Youth as Amplifiers of Assets and Issues
Youth as Amplifiers of Assets and Issues
Raising the Next Generation of Community 

Leaders: A Participatory Research Project with 

Teenagers in the Near Westside Neighborhood of 

Syracuse, NY

This material is based upon work funded by the Office of Research and Evaluation at the Corporation for National and 

Community Service (CNCS) under Grant No. 18RE204028 through the Community Conversations research grant 

competition. Opinions or points of view expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily 

reflect the official position of, or a position that is endorsed by, CNCS.
Youth as community builders
Youth as Community Builders
Youth as Community Builders
● Changing nature of partnerships at different stages of the process

● Transdiscipinary - how is this evident or actualized? Landscape 

architecture and community design, sociology and youth studies, 

activism and placemaking

● Transcultural - african-american, latino, white, mixed race

● Transectoral - participants from different sectors: academic institution, 

non-profit organization, secondary school, general employment

● Transgenerational - teens, young adult, middle age and older adult

Continuing Research: Reframing Complex Partnerships 

to support continued work in this realm
39

Ayana Allen-Handy, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Lily School of Philanthropy, 

Drexel University

Carol Richardson 

McCullough

Founding Member

Writers Room

Devin Welsh

Artist Year Fellow

Artist Year

Rachel Wenrick, Ph.D.

Founding Director of Writers Room

Drexel University

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement

Anti-displacement: The Untapped Potential of University 

Community Cooperative Living 
40

Study Background

• Our Community-led Participatory Action Research (CPAR) study aims 

to investigate the effects of gentrification on 

residential displacement and affordable housing options in West 

Philadelphia.

CO-DESIGNED

• Centers the voices, expertise, and lived experiences of long-standing 

community members and youth

INTERGENERATIONAL

• Researchers ages 18-80 represent Robeson HS (African American 

Youth), YouthBuild Philly (African American Youth), Drexel, and the 

Mantua and Powelton neighborhoods

INTERDISCIPLINARY

• Incorporates creative writing, photography, music, architecture, 

design, and green building construction

African American Youth and Civic Engagement

Drexel University Team

Anti-displacement: The Untapped Potential of University 

Community Cooperative Living 
41

Study Design

• Community-led PAR Project: CPAR is dynamic and involves 

community generated and executed problem identification, research 

and plan development, collection and analysis of evidence, 

reflection on the findings, sharing of results, and taking action to 

address the problem (Burns, Paul, & Paz, 2012)

• Multi-modal Research Design:

• Our team has collected data through interviews with 

community residents and civic leaders, focus groups, census 

and GIS data, photovoice, narrative, document analysis.

• We have engaged in a collaborative data analysis process 

that leverages the expertise and input of our entire team. 

African American Youth and Civic Engagement

Drexel University Team

Anti-displacement: The Untapped Potential of University 

Community Cooperative Living 

Our team’s collaborative data analysis process
42

Findings

Finding #1: The Sandwich Effect-active gentrification and 

displacement of Black residents from the north and south-

”squeezing” remaining residents in the center where they 

will eventually be pushed out. 

Finding #2: Mantua residents are particularly cost burdened 

where housing costs are more than 30% of income and 

even 50% in some neighborhood census blocks. 

Finding #3: Currently examining housing typologies for aging 

in place. Findings show that the community is excited about 

cooperative living and co-living as anti-displacement 

strategies. Including new partnership with Lomax Real Estate 

Group and Village Square on Haverford Affordable Housing 

Project 

African American Youth and Civic Engagement

Drexel University Team

Anti-displacement: The Untapped Potential of University 

Community Cooperative Living 

Pearl Street House (Helma’s House) Evidence 

Based Design for Phased Intergenerational Coliving
43

Action

Second Story Collective: Forging partnerships with 

neighborhood, university, public and private stakeholders, 

Second Story Collective-an intergenerational co-housing 

network of homeowners and student tenants engaged in 

storytelling and the shared creation of community.

Village Square on Haverford: a new, multi-use construction 

development in Mantua that will offer 116 market rate rental 

units, 32 affordable rentals, 18 for-sale workforce housing 

units, a 21,000 sq ft supermarket, as well as house WURD 

Radio 

African American Youth and Civic Engagement

Drexel University Team

Anti-displacement: The Untapped Potential of University 

Community Cooperative Living 
44

Engaging African American Youth

We Start With Story~Writers Room

• Intergenerational Sharing of Stories

• Co-constructing Knowledge Across 

Intersecting Identities and Differences

• Youth Empowerment through Research and 

Action

African American Youth and Civic Engagement

Drexel University Team

Anti-displacement: The Untapped Potential of University 

Community Cooperative Living 
45

Reflections: Turning Research to Action

Meg Ansara

Director

AmeriCorps VISTA

Betsheell Louis, 

MNM, CNP

Senior Advisor

AmeriCorps CPO \ Office 

of Regional Operations

Jacqueline 

Dulude

Recruitment & Outreach 

Manager 

AmeriCorps Office of 

External Affairs

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement
46

Panelist Discussion and Q&A

Betsheell Louis, 

MNM, CNP

Senior Advisor

AmeriCorps CPO \

Office of Regional 

Operations

Laura Wray-Lake, 

Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Social 

Welfare, 

University of California, Los 

Angeles

Shane Dermanjian 

Research Assistant

AmeriCorps Office of 

Research and Evaluation

Maren King, 

MLA

Associate Professor 

and Director

State University of 

New York-ESF

Meg Ansara

Director

AmeriCorps VISTA

Jacqueline 

Dulude, MPA

Recruitment & 

Outreach Manager 

AmeriCorps Office 

of External Affairs

Christina Limpert, 

Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of 

Environmental Studies

SUNY College of 

Environmental Science 

and Forestry (ESF)

Rachel Wenrick, 

Ph.D.

Founding Director of 

Writers Room

Drexel University

Ayana Allen-Handy, 

Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Lily School of 

Philanthropy, 

Drexel University

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement

Carol Richardson 

McCullough

Founding Member

Writers Room

Devin Welsh

Artist Year Fellow

Artist Year

Andrea Robles, 

Ph.D.

Research and Evaluation 

Manager, 

AmeriCorps Office of 

Research and Evaluation
Closing Remarks

47

Mary Hyde, Ph.D.

Director, 

AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation

2022 Research Grantee Dialogue: 

Embracing the Diversity of Civic Engagement: 

Opportunities for National Service
48

Katy Hussey-Sloniker, MBA, MSW, LGSW,

Learning Officer, 

AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation

Closing Remarks

Thursday, May 19, 2022

African American Youth 

and Civic Engagement

2022 Research Grantee Dialogue: