MD Staff

• A Conversation with AALEAD Staff Mecca!

  

  By Neel Saxena, Executive Director interviewing Mecca McPherson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator

  Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff

  As February wrapped up last Friday

• My Favorite AALEAD Moments, pt3.

  By Anu Sharma, MD High School Program Coordinator; Shaima Ahmad, VA Programs Manager; and Ha Nguyen, Development & Communications Associate

  Photos courtesy of AALEAD Staff
  

  This week, we visit Anu and Shaima, who are currently working with our AALEAD High School youth in Maryland and Virginia programs. However, did you know that both Anu

• Greetings from Anu!

  By Anu Sharma, MD High School Program Coordinator
  Photos Courtesy of Anu Sharma and AALEAD Staff

  In a response to the question “What keeps you going?”, Angela Davis, a Black political activist, author, and scholar, explains:
  

  “Optimism is an absolute necessity… What has kept me going has been the development of new modes of community. I don�

• Thank You, AALEAD

  By Diane Bui, former AALEAD MD High School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of Diane Bui and other AALEAD Staff   In summer 2015, I had just returned from my post-grad gap year in Australia unsure of what next steps I wanted to take in my life. I knew I needed to get a job, but I had no idea what job I wanted. I found the position of MD Middle School Program Coordinator at AALEAD and thought it would be a good fit. My first day at AALEAD was September 8, 2015. And I had no i

• Black and Asian Pacific American Solidarity – a history of resistance

  By Mecca McPherson, MD Middle School Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff In 1926, Black History Month was first established in by

• Winter Nostalgia: Making Meaning from Winter Reflections

  By Ari Pak, MD Programs Manager Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff This winter season, AALEAD youth in Maryland chose "Winter Nostalgia" as the theme for our 2017 AALEAD Winter Holiday Party. Following the lead of our AALEAD youth, Maryland AALEAD staff wanted to provide a chance for us all to slow down, take pause, and reflect on our journeys. Winter can be a time of celebration, hards

• #ThrowbackTuesday

  By Diane Bui, MDHS Program Coordinator Photos Courtesy of AALEAD MD Staff After-School programs in Maryland start THIS WEEK! We are so excited to be back in our schools, reconnecting with returning youth, and welcoming new youth to programs. Youth in schools today are busier than ever. Between magnet programs, IB classes, AP course loads and a number of after-school activities, it’s no surprise our youth are always on the move. This got our MD staff talking about when we were younger, and

• Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned: What Young People Taught One Youth Worker

  By Keo Xiong, Former AALEAD Staff Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff In August 2013, I packed into my new Scion XB a few bags of clothes, some books, photo scrapbooks, and a few snacks, and hit the road on a three day road trip from St. Paul, MN to Washington, D.C. to begin my new job at Asian American LEAD as a Maryland Middle School Program Coordinator. Four years later, after having become the Maryland Programs Manager, in August 2017, I repacked my now-tattered Scion XB (thanks, DC drivers)

• Back-to-School Memories with AALEAD

  By Chelsea Iorlano, Development & Communications Associate Photos Courtesy of AALEAD Staff Across Washington, DC, Montgomery County, MD, and Fairfax County, VA, summer break has ended and school is officially back in session. From planning lunch recruitment sessions to meeting with school staff and administrators, from printing intake forms to writing program lesson plans, AALEAD staff are hard at work preparing for another school year of successful programs. As staff work diligently to br

• Changed For Good, Farewell to AALEAD

  During the final song in the musical Wicked, the Good Witch, Glenda, and the Wicked Witch, Elfaba, are in Elfaba's castle. They know the castle is about to be o