About Us

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Who We Are

We are practitioners and youth workers dedicated to improving after school programs with the ultimate goal of helping children succeed in school, at home and in life. We have developed research-based training techniques through theory and practice. We operate 12 model after school sites and have been in the after school / youth development field for 28 years. Our trainers are degreed professionals who are after school practitioners. So you will receive the highest quality practitioner-based training.

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What We Do

We provide interactive project-based training for after school professionals and paraprofessionals in key core areas that are required in order to operate an effective after school program. The components of our training meet both ASES and 21st Century grant requirements. Our training models the after school environment in that we create an atmosphere that is positive, safe, engaging and fun. Parts of our training actually involve youth themselves! In our training you will not get talking heads or PowerPoint-only lectures!

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Afterschool University Trainers

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Carola Secada (Lead)

Carola Secada, B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior from University of California, Irvine, has dedicated over 10 years to empowering youth. Carola has been working for the YMCA of Greater Long Beach for the past decade and is currently the After School Operations and Training Director. She oversees grant requirements for the 21st Century Community Learning Center and ASES academic enrichment programs, including the successful implementation of a balanced literacy program. She especially finds inspiration in the area of Professional Development, where she thrives on ensuring that the training and coaching of her team is innovative, relevant and has measureable outcomes.  As part of the After School training team, Carola takes pleasure in sharing research and Best Practices in the areas of Youth Development, academic enrichment, project-based learning and family involvement with youth workers throughout the nation. She has also served as a member of the Leadership Team for the nationally acclaimed BOOST Conference for 3 years and is currently part of the Foundational Competency Work Group for ASAPConnect. To maintain a healthy life balance, Carola takes delight in hiking, camping, growing her own food and attending live music concerts. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner, Malka and their new daughter, Harper Rose.

Bob Cabeza (Vice President of Community Development)

Mr. Cabeza has twenty-eight years experience in youth development, group work and digital media arts programming resulting in the ability to build and lead unique programs designed to better the lives of children, youth and families.  Mr. Cabeza has worked in both group dynamic development, community engagement and group work with both children, youth and families for the YMCA, Foundation for the Junior Blind and Village Camps / ETR Tours in Switzerland. His special emphasis has been to help diverse youth develop good interpersonal and working relationships with each other through both the Youth Institute and Change Agent Productions.  Mr. Cabeza has a special focus on youth development and technology equity for underserved communities as it relates to developing both academic and workforce success.  Prior to becoming Vice President of Community Development, he served as Executive Director with the YMCA of Greater Long Beach, YMCA Youth Institute Director, Associate Executive Director of the Ketchum Downtown YMCA in Los Angeles, Youth Services Director for the YMCA of Greater Long Beach, and Director of Camp and Recreation Services for The Foundation for the Junior Blind. He is the founder and creator of both the YMCA Youth Institute and Change Agent Productions social enterprise. He is a fellow of the ZeroDivide Foundation Z-Fellows Program and has been a panelist and presenter at several national conferences.  Mr. Cabeza is the first non-school-based educator to be named an Apple Distinguished Educator by Apple Inc. He is the recent recipient of the Don and Rosemary Vial Award for Digital Inclusion given out by the California Emerging Technology Foundation and the California Public Utilities Commission. He is a sitting Board member of the California After School Network (CAN) and the League of California After School Practitioners (LCAP). He is presently on the California State Senate Task Force on Intersession and Summer Programming for Youth. He has also been named an Honorary Member of the Golden Key International Honour Society with California State University Long Beach. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from San Jose State University. He has been married for 15 years and has a 12-year-old son.

Mark Marano

Currently working towards his K-8 teaching credential with an emphasis in early childhood education, Mark has over ten years of experience working with school-age children in out-of-school-time programs. During his tenure at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach, Mark has served as a front-line staff working directly with Kindergarten participants, as an Assistant Site Director, and then as a Site Director leading day-to-day operations. He currently serves as an After School Program Coordinator supporting and coaching four programs, one of them part of the California Department of Education’s California After School Demonstration Program (CASDP) at the Stevenson-YMCA Community School. This site serves as a free best-practice learning lab for ASES and 21st Century Community Learning Center programs throughout the state. In addition, Mark works closely with the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s After School Technical Assistance Unit as both a mentor to others in the field and as a peer site reviewer. A commitment to youth development, project-based learning, family involvement, and developmentally appropriate programming are the cornerstones of what continues to fuel Mark and his dedication to staff development and the out-of-school-time community. During his down time, Mark enjoys running; studying art history; cooking with his wife, Carina; and searching eBay for parts to restore his vintage Vespa scooter.

Sue Gevedon

Sue Gevedon has been working with youth in YMCA afterschool programs for over 2 decades.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cornell College, and a Master’s of Science degree from Miami University, both degrees are in Geological Science.  She currently is the Associate Executive Director of the Community Development Branch, which manages 11 after school programs.  She directly supports 6 after school sites and has the pleasure of working with the best after school staff around.   Sue also volunteers with the Los Angeles County Office of Education as a Peer Reviewer, and serves on the Workforce Advisory Group.  Sue trains Risk Management and Supervision (otherwise known as Covering Your Assets), and Science. During the summer months, Sue runs our resident camp program, and takes 150 urban youth to the mountains for a week of outdoor camp.  This program is completely run by volunteers, who love this program so much, they return year after year.  In her down time, Sue makes and sells jewelry at boutiques and craft shows.  She enjoys traveling, with cruising being the ultimate vacation.

Al Rodriguez

Alvaro V. Rodriguez has been an after school Youth Developer for the past 11 years. He has advanced his career in the YMCA from working as front line staff, Assistant Site Director and Site Director. Currently, he is an Associate Program Director overseeing two after school sites, Stevenson Elementary YMCA Community School and Cesar Chavez Elementary School, which serve over one hundred youth each day. One of his sites, Stevenson Elementary YMCA Community School, was awarded the California Afterschool Demonstration Program Grant by the California Department of Education; serving as a resource to after school programs in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. As an After School University trainer, Alvaro has enjoyed traveling around the country and training topics like Youth Development, Math and Recreation. Alvaro is also very passionate about YMCA work internationally. He’s had the privilege of being part of the Y-USA International Leadership Institute where he had the opportunity of traveling to Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to learn about the reasons and impact of migration from those countries to the United States as well as learn innovative programs and practices that could be implemented in our programs to better serve our immigrant communities.  Alvaro also represented our Community Development Branch at the 2010 World Council of YMCA’s in Hong Hong. He is currently a member of our Associations Diversity Committee. Finally, Alvaro is a mentor to other colleagues in the field through the LACOE (Los Angeles County Office of Education) Mentorship Program. He is fully committed to serving his students, families and the community.

Bobby Klein

Bobby Klein has a Master’s Degree in Educational Counseling from Azusa Pacific University. He has worked in the after-school field for over 5 years.  He started as a frontline staff at a day camp in Escondido, CA and continued on to supervise an elementary and high school site for the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Garden Grove. He was hired on at the YMCA of Greater Long Beach in 2009 as a Site Director and now holds the position of Associate Program Director in which he supervises a double-funded ASES/21st Century site at Longfellow Elementary. As an Afterschool University Trainer, Bobby has authored the Project Based Learning training, co-authored the recreation training and is one of the homework trainers.  His favorite thing about training for Afterschool University is traveling and meeting  different after-school professionals. He also serves as the PR & Marketing Coordinator for the Community Development Branch, in which he created the new www.AfterschoolUniversity.org website. Bobby is also a mentor for the LACOE Mentorship Program. In his spare time, he enjoys snowboarding, competing in triathlons and playing bass guitar.  He lives in Seal Beach, CA with his wife, Jenny.

Eddie Gardiner

Eddie Gardiner has been working in the after school field and part of the YMCA of Greater Long Beach staff since 2004. He has worked as a frontline staff member, Assistance Site Director, Site Director and currently holds the title of Associate Program Director. He currently supervises two after-school sites, Roosevelt and Keller Elementary. He also serves as the College Readiness Director for the Community Development Branch. A graduate of CSULB, Eddie holds a Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies: Language and Literacy and is currently is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at National University. He has been part of the After School University Training team since 2007, where he has presented workshops locally and nationally including BOOST conference and NAA Conference. Eddie’s trainings include: Literacy,  Lesson Planning and Team Building.

Sunny Im

Sunny Im has 6 years experience working with youth in the after school setting.  After graduating from Cal State University Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies, Sunny became the after school Site Director at International Elementary School.  She later moved on to be a Site Coordinator (managing one after school site) and then presently is in the role of Associate Program Director (managing two after school sites).  Sunny is very experienced in many areas of after school programming including relationship building, cultural competency, administration, coaching and professional development.  As an After School University trainer, Sunny has trained in the subject areas of Homework, Risk Management and Literacy.  Currently, Sunny is pursuing an MPA (Master in Public Administration). Sunny’s great attitude, years of experience, outgoing, fun, and energetic personality make her the expert she is in after school.

Trang Troung

Cyndy Gossett

Catrina Curato

Catrina Curato graduated with her BA in English Education with an emphasis in Language and Linguistics in 2011 from Cal State University, Long Beach. She has been apart of the YMCA After School team for nearly 5 years. Driven by her passion to work with youth and families, she excelled as a Program Leader into an Assistant Site Director, and currently is the Site Manager for Longfellow Elementary School in Bixby Knolls. Along with being a professional development trainer, she has co-trained in various AU Subjects including: Homework, Policies & Procedures, Math, Lesson Planning, and Youth Development. Catrina aims to continue her education to soon become an EFL/ESL instructor and is aspiring to become a volunteer for the Peace Corps. In her spare time, Catrina loves to travel and meet new people!

Les Peters

Les Peters has over sixteen years of experience in youth development and over ten years in digital media arts technology (video, graphics and sound). He develops and implements after-school and year-round programming for low-income inner city teens and youth. Mr. Peters also authors hands-on, project-based digital media arts curriculum for clients of Change Agent Productions. He has experience & knowledge in outdoor education, office management, grant writing & reporting, sound reinforcement, field & studio audio recording, field & studio digital video production, digital photography, studio & location lighting, computer networking & troubleshooting. He currently works for the YMCA of Greater Long Beach’s Youth Institute Program, a nationally recognized teen digital media arts program, as the Director and Digital Media Arts Instructor/Trainer. Prior to becoming the Youth Institute Director, he served as an Education Specialist & Assistant Camp Director for the Yakama Nation Summer Camp Program in Toppenish, WA. Mr. Peters is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges. He trains middle & high school youth development, Project-Based Learning, 21st Century Learning Skills, Digital Media Arts and Technology in After School for Afterschool University. He also has worked with the YMCA of the USA, helping develop new Y-Arts programs. Mr. Peters has a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Electronic Arts and in American Indian Studies from California State University, Long Beach and a Music/Video Business degree from the Art Institute of Seattle. He is currently looking into graduate school & doctorate program in the area of education. Mr. Peters has been married for 11 years and has a 7-year-old daughter.

Leo Salcido

Leo Salcido is a young Youth Developer who grew up in the YMCA Youth Institute. He attended San Francisco State University and is an Apple Certified Technician and Instructor. He has 10 years experience working with young people both as a peer and as an adult. He has experience with working with most creative software applications, Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Pro, Apple Software, Microsoft Office, DSLR Cameras, Post Video Production, Motion Graphics and Mobile Devices. He has taught technology skills for more than 8yrs in a project-based environment with grades kindergarten to 12^th grade. He is currently the Senior Art Director for Change Agent Productions, a Social Enterprise focused on teaching youth high-end technology skill in a real world work environment. Last year Change Agent Productions took in $400,000.00 in earned revenue and gave over $120,000.00 to urban high school youth as paid interns. He develops and implements technology centered project based activities that fall within state content standards. Leo has spoken both nationally and internationally at conferences both as a trainer and keynote speaker.

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After School University is a project of the YMCA of Greater Long Beach: Community Development Branch.

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