Philadelphia, PA -- As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. will recognize Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott, University of Chicago Crime and Education Labs' Roseanna Ander, McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University Doris Duke Distinguished Visiting Fellow (former Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Administrator) Liz Ryan, and other American changemakers whose work has led to better, safer, and lower cost youth justice, social services, and public safety outcomes.
YAP® is the nation’s premier provider of community-based rehabilitative, behavioral health, and evidence-based individual and family wraparound services that provide alternatives to placing young people in trouble, in crisis, or who face other complex challenges in corrections and residential care facilities. The 50th anniversary YAP® Making Change Happen Awards Gala takes place Nov. 6, 2025, in Philadelphia. The gala features Judge Glenda Hatchett, star of two-time Emmy-nominated "Judge Hatchett” and “The Verdict with Judge Hatchett,” and a former Chief Judge of the Fulton County Juvenile Court in Georgia.
“Along with paying tribute to YAP®’s late founder Tom Jeffers, current and former board members, outstanding staff. and program participants, we will celebrate transformative leaders, researchers, and innovators whose courage and compassion have fueled the continuum of care that supports families and communities and bolsters our outcomes,” said Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. President and CEO Gary Ivory.
In addition to YAP® pioneers and former and current board members, YAP® Making Change Happen Awards Gala honorees include:
- Roseanna Ander, University of Chicago Crime Lab and University of Chicago Education Lab’s Founding Executive Director
- Shay Bilchik, Affiliate Researcher and Founder and Director Emeritus, Center for Youth Justice at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy
- John Kelly, Co-Executive Director of Fostering Media Connections/Senior Editor of The Imprint
- Sam Lewis, Justice Program Director, Los Angeles County Justice Care and Opportunities Department; Founder, Endless Hope and Redemption, LLC; Former Anti-Recidivism Coalition Executive Director
- Heidi Mueller, Director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
- Bill Ryan, Criminal Justice Reform Pioneer
- Liz Ryan, Doris Duke Distinguished Visiting Fellow, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University/Former Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Administrator
- Vincent Schiraldi, Visiting Fellow, The Pinkerton Foundation/ Formerly served as New York City Probation and Correction Commissioner and oversaw youth justice for the State of Maryland and Washington, D.C.
- Brandon M. Scott, 52nd Mayor of Baltimore, Spearheading Historic Reductions in Violence
The nonprofit’s 50th Anniversary YAP® Making Change Happen sponsors include Alera Group, Baker Tilly, Fulton Bank, GM Financial and McConkey Insurance and Benefits.
About YAP®
YAP® partners with youth justice, child welfare, education, developmental disabilities, behavioral health, and other youth and family services systems in communities in 32 states and Washington D.C. YAP®’s decades of service include working with many young people whose histories include serious offenses, multiple arrests, and lengthy out-of-home placements. John Jay College of Criminal Justice research found 86 % of YAP’®s youth justice participants remain arrest-free, and six – 12 months after completing the program nearly 90% of youth served still lived in their communities with less than 5% of participants in secure placement. Across the U.S., YAP® is also working with public safety systems, applying principles of its unique “no reject, no eject” YAPWrap® individual and family services model to reduce neighborhood violence.
Learn more about YAP® and its 50th anniversary events at www.YAPInc.org.