Participants will discover how to harness the voices and perspectives of our youth to tackle community challenges. While some may feel disheartened by the behaviors of teens, fostering genuine connections can transform them into powerful allies in our efforts rather than seeing them as obstacles.

Katrena Perou is a seasoned collective impact strategist with over 21 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector. As the Founding Executive Director of Inspiring Minds NYC (IMNYC), she specializes in developing transformative community engagement models across various districts in New York City.

Katrena’s previous roles include Director at Groundwork Inc., CAMBA, and Chief Program Officer at Urban Arts Partnership, where she has demonstrated a profound ability to identify and leverage assets within partner communities to create program models and initiatives that unite stakeholders around common goals centered on youth empowerment.

Her work was particularly impactful during the pandemic. She engaged underserved youth and earned recognition in local and national media outlets such as PIX11, CBS, and Good Day NY.

Katrena firmly believes that passion, skills, talent, hard work, and resilience are key to solving problems in any community. This principle has enabled her to make a significant impact, sharing her expertise through TED Talks and participating in various state-wide and national conferences.

Her contributions have been honored with several prestigious awards, including the Al Vann Legacy Award, the Women of Distinction Award from the NY State Assembly, and the Power Women of Brooklyn Award.

Additionally, she was inducted into the Cleveland Heights Hall of Fame.

Katrena began as a standout basketball player on a Final Four team at Penn State University, where she completed her undergraduate degree. She further advanced her leadership skills by completing the Executive Leadership Program for Nonprofit Management at Columbia University. To explore Katrena's passion for her work, visit her inspiring TEDx Talks on YouTube.

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