Dorothy Stoneman is Founder and CEO of YouthBuild USA, Inc., the national support center for more than 273 YouthBuild programs in the U.S., and 56 in twelve other countries including Mexico, South Africa, and Israel.
In YouthBuild programs, low-income unemployed youth ages 16-24 that lack a high school diploma enroll full-time for 6-24 months. They work toward their GED or diploma while building affordable housing for homeless and low-income people. Caring adult staff emphasize personal responsibility, mutual support, and leadership development. Graduates go on to jobs in the construction industry or to college. Many earn AmeriCorps education awards for their service in the community. Since 1994, more than 120,000 YouthBuild students have produced 22,000 units of low-income housing in America’s poorest communities.
Stoneman has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Bank Street College of Education. She was awarded the international Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007-2013, the John Gardner Leadership Award in 2000, and a MacArthur Fellowship in 1996. She has worked in the fields of youth and community development since 1964.
