Who We Are
YASP Leadership Team
Josh Glenn
Joshua Glenn is a poet, a mentor, and Co-founder of YASP. He is also one of the 4 Leadership Team members. Josh started working with YASP in 2005 when he was locked up and charged as an adult at the age of 16. Josh participated in the art and poetry workshops that YASP holds in the Philadelphia county jails every weekend. Josh was released from the county jail in 2007 when his case was dismissed and started working with YASP as a youth organizer. Since then, Josh has spoken on dozens of panels about youth being charged as adults and his experience with being charged as an adult. Josh has also spoken to many audiences about the school to prison pipeline and structural violence and how it is connected to mass incarceration. In 2009, Josh received a certificate from Midwest for the completion of their organizer training. Josh has lead dozens of workshops in Philadelphia public schools about youth being charged as adults and the school-to-prison pipeline and structural violence. Josh is currently on YASP Leadership Team and is working on training young people to be leaders.
Joshua Glenn is a poet, a mentor, and Co-founder of YASP. He is also one of the 4 Leadership Team members. Josh started working with YASP in 2005 when he was locked up and charged as an adult at the age of 16. Josh participated in the art and poetry workshops that YASP holds in the Philadelphia county jails every weekend. Josh was released from the county jail in 2007 when his case was dismissed and started working with YASP as a youth organizer. Since then, Josh has spoken on dozens of panels about youth being charged as adults and his experience with being charged as an adult. Josh has also spoken to many audiences about the school to prison pipeline and structural violence and how it is connected to mass incarceration. In 2009, Josh received a certificate from Midwest for the completion of their organizer training. Josh has lead dozens of workshops in Philadelphia public schools about youth being charged as adults and the school-to-prison pipeline and structural violence. Josh is currently on YASP Leadership Team and is working on training young people to be leaders.
David Harrington
David has been a youth organizer for three years. David was born in North Philadelphia. At 16, he was charged as an adult and sent up to P.I.C.C., an adult jail that’s on State Road. During his time on State Road, David saw a close friend from the school he attended. The friend let him know about YASP’s workshops. David was not very interested in YASP until his friend told him that they play any music you like. So David attended the YASP program on Saturday while Sarah facilitated the workshop. She had everyone writing poetry. As he was writing the poetry, he felt more free and better. After the workshop, Sarah talked to him about the possibility of working with YASP. As soon as his case was sent down to the juvenile system and he came home, David starting working with YASP. Now he goes into the jails to do workshops with the young men at PICC and the young women at RCF. He also does workshops in colleges and goes canvassing. He is trying his best to help the youth and repeal Act 33.
Sarah Morris
Sarah Morris has been involved in co-coordinating the Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project since it began. Sarah first got involved in this work when she was a fellow at the American Friends Service Committee, running weekly art & poetry workshops for young people in Philly's adult jails. After her work at AFSC ended, Sarah worked with young people who had been in the workshops to help transition YASP into its own, youth-led organization. She is also member of Decarcerate PA, a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to ending mass incarceration and the harm it does to our communities, and the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration (CADBI), which fights to end life without parole (aka death by incarceration) in Pennsylvania.
Romeeka Williams
Romeeka Williams has been a youth outreach coordinator with Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project almost two years. At 17, she was arrested and charged as an adult. After connecting with YASP through our workshops in the adult jails, she was granted work release with us. She has since established herself as a tremendous addition to YASP's staff. She is on the road to being a great leader for the Philadelphia community, not to mention our organization.
Terrance (TA) Williams
The newest member of Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP), Terrance has seen a lot. Terrance is a 21 year old young man from North Philly who seen a lot of tough days and rough nights. After being sent to juvenile placement after four tough months in the adult prison system he realized jail isn’t a place he wanted to visit again. Constantly attending YASP workshops while arrested on State Road, Terrance kept in contact while in placement for 18 months and reach out to Sarah to join the YASP program after his return back home. Now home with a clear path of what he wants in life, Terrance is here to help and reach out to youth to help better their life before it's too late. After seven months on YASP staff, Terrance made his way to become apart of the leadership team for YASP
The newest member of Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP), Terrance has seen a lot. Terrance is a 21 year old young man from North Philly who seen a lot of tough days and rough nights. After being sent to juvenile placement after four tough months in the adult prison system he realized jail isn’t a place he wanted to visit again. Constantly attending YASP workshops while arrested on State Road, Terrance kept in contact while in placement for 18 months and reach out to Sarah to join the YASP program after his return back home. Now home with a clear path of what he wants in life, Terrance is here to help and reach out to youth to help better their life before it's too late. After seven months on YASP staff, Terrance made his way to become apart of the leadership team for YASP