ABOUT US :: Board and Staff :: History :: A Word from Our    Executive Director   A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ruthie D. King M.P.A. It is with great excitement that I am writing to you as the new Executive Director here at UYA. I believe in UYA's great mission to train our youth to be "Work Ready, Life Prepared and Community Minded". Therefore, I would like to note some of the strides we are currently making to achieve this goal. We have begun revitalization efforts that include a stronger focus on helping youth to be prepared for a "global, sustainable world of work". While we will continue to focus on providing youth with high quality workforce experience, we will focus these efforts on key areas that distinguish the UYA approach from other workforce development programs, including: Stronger integration of workforce development with education support that prepares all students to be college bound Greater focus on providing youth with experience in emerging careers especially in areas of sustainability and green technologies Increased efforts toward global workforce development based on our success in 2009 and 2010 in the Beijing China global workforce project Enhanced efforts in defining and measuring the unique UYA approach to leadership that expands our efforts in learning through service and civic engagement UYA remains committed to providing youth with the opportunity to become "work ready, life prepared and community mined". With over 40 years of experience in youth workforce and leadership development, the board of directors, executive director and staff are energized by the opportunities ahead. We will continue to strengthen existing relationships as we develop new partnerships with corporations, educational institutions, and local/state government to insure that youth-at-risk have the opportunity to fully participate as productive, prosperous and engaged citizens of our region. Sincerely, Ruthie D. King M.P.A.