OUR TEAM
PAMELA HUMES
Executive Director
As an advocate, Pamela works to strengthen families by equipping youth and parents with the necessary tools for informed decision-making, increased levels of parent-child connectedness and resiliency through education. As a recipient of the Kalamazoo Community Foundation Women's Education Coalition Scholarship in 2009, Pamela returned to college which culminated in a Bachelor of Arts degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. In 2011, she developed the ReGen Next Survey, a needs assessment tool which measures the relevancy of cultural topics among youth, as a means of ensuring more effective engagement. Under her leadership, ReGen Next has expanded its outreach, providing educational services to community organizations, social service agencies, middle schools, high schools and universities, juvenile justice centers, churches and shelters for the homeless. And, as a result of the research data collected from the survey, ReGen Next was invited by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) to share its findings regarding relationship and marriage aspirational trends among youth at the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (APP) national conference in New Orleans in 2019 with 700+ federal grant recipients in attendance.
Pamela believes that the family is the cornerstone of society. And, regardless of configuration or circumstance, a family can thrive when parents exhibit unwavering commitment, in word and in deed, to the appropriate and holistic (physical, emotional, mental) care of their children.
Presenters
STEPHANIE PICHAN
Stephanie has worked with hundreds of teens and young adults teaching a sexual risk avoidance (SRA) and healthy relationships curriculum in local schools, after-school programs, juvenile justice centers and foster care programs. She also works with undergraduate students at Western Michigan University as a part-time Instructor in the Human Performance and Health Education Department. A common theme in all of her work is the necessity to address the root cause of the issue at hand. One of her favorite quotes is, "We can never solve a problem with the same kind of thinking that created the problem in the first place."
JACQUE EATMON
Jacque Eatmon is the former Director of the Great Start Collaborative, an early childhood systems-building program to coordinate resources and services to prepare families and children for kindergarten. Under her direction the Great Start Collaborative received seven awards for community organization, health equity, parent engagement and leadership. She has served on local, State and regional committees including T.E.A.C.H., State Children’s Task Force, and a review of State Preschool Applications. And, she has presented at national conferences for the National Head Start and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conferences. Her work is ALWAYS dedicated to the best interest of children.
ABRA SMITH
Abra Smith is a certified health & wellness coach and educator. She enjoys helping people to find ways to make healthier eating & living simple, equitable and fun and offers classes, one-on-one coaching and various events that inspire healthy living. As a former ELA teacher and Parent Educator/Family Advocate, Abra is passionate about education, youth, families and the community and proudly represents KYD Network, serving Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties as an OST Program Development Coach.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jelisa Burnett-Lesley
Ashtyn Washington
