Veronica Thompson
Program Director
Brooklyn,NY
Summary
Accomplished Program Director with 5 years experience as a Program Director in DYCD funded after school programs. Very passionate and effective in creating enrichment's, policies and procedures that address student, parent and community needs.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
4
4
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Program Director
LEAP NYC
Brooklyn, NY
08.2017 - 09.2021
- Managed 372k program budget.
- Established and managed the BK Event Team during the remote Covid year to increase student/family engagement and LEAP artist/ activity awareness.
- Initiated a Pop-up performance grant that was then later approved and executed during the summer which allowed our students to create a performance piece called, "From Zoom to the classroom".
- Developed hybrid programming for both in-person and remote.
- Developed program to increase student voice with student led clubs, LGBTQ+ support groups and youth councils.
- Partnered with WE.org to provide our students with service learning, including completing one local project and educating students on global issues. One such accomplished project was researching & educating, marketing & acquiring donations for the homeless. 50 total packages completed with 10 different items delivered to Susan's place, a local women's shelter as well as a showcase on homelessness awareness.
- As a part of the D.E.I team I helped to establish best practices around job description language, screening and interview processes with regard to different positions for youth facing staff and continued advocation for the inclusion of underrepresented groups in areas of decision making.
- Co -created and designed our LEAP sexual harassment policy and trainings in line with NYC sexual harassment laws, NYS child care laws, mandated reporter and DOHMH through the lens of; employee to employee, employee to participant, participant to participant.
- Trained site based staff on NYS state child care laws, program policies and procedures, DYCD workscopes/ data entry / rubrics on literacy, stem & leadership.
- Advocate for Art, STEM and Leadership based activities within the school.
- Establish partnerships with community programs and school to further increase community engagement and safe spaces for our youth.
- Partnered with Expand Ed to provide fellowship opportunities to NYC MEN Teach fellows within our program.
- Implement School and program goals and incentives.
- Increase ROP and enrollment
Program Director
BELL Foundation
Bronx, NY
02.2015 - 06.2017
- Managed 453k budget to ensure funds are being utilized to ensure diverse student experiences; such as increased tech supplies, trips to Broadway shows, cultural spots, student led clubs, trained staff and partnered programs.
- Retained, trained and cultivated afterschool staff who have great rapport with the school community and parents, attended all parent engagements and conferences, continued their education in their artistic field and led specific programs in addition to their classes. Such as starting a Middle School Baseball Team, Running Debate Team, creating an online Magazine for Photography class and the Community Round Table.
- Full-filled enrollment and ROP two years consecutively with +75% ROP rate.
- Reduced vendor cost by 11% by negotiating pricing fees, trainings and supplies for a STEM class which taught "The Formula" of Business Entrepreneurship. Maintained current pricing on Reach the World vendor whose expansion increased pricing on services.
- Provided 9th and 12th grade with community service and mentoring opportunities, cultivating more peer to peer relationships with other grades. This showed increased positive behavior among the 6th, 7th and 8th grade and gave 12th graders technical skills by collaborating with Enrichment Teachers
Program Coordinator
BELL Foundation
Bronx , NY
09.2014 - 01.2016
- Analyze and evaluate program to ensure quality and compliance are met.
- Established collaboration between afterschool stakeholders, site coordinators and admins which led to hiring more school staff and creating a more seamless transition between day school and afterschool, increase in program visibility and operations as well as space usage.
- Established procedures for communicating between day teachers and staff to increase retention of student work, progress reports and family engagement. This fostered more line staff to teacher collaboration, program buy in and attendance rates.
- Planned and managed special commencement events that showcased the students work, 'mastery of skill' and talents.
Assistant Director
The Eagle Foundation
Bronx, NY
09.2013 - 06.2014
- Created and maintained all student files and schedules including incident and progress reports.
- Supervised 15+ staff, ensured time sheets, lesson plans and other operational forms were handed in, in a timely manner.
- Assisted with the creation of program expectations, events, and retention campaigns to build upon first year program needs.
- Built relationships within the school community to identify key leaders whose support and collaboration helped to generate faster results with regard to planning and implementation.
Attendance Specialist
Phipps Community Development Center @ MS.391
Manhattan, NY
09.2007 - 06.2009
- Tracked and recorded daily attendance of youth participants in all activities, event data and employee information into youthservices.net
- Created attendance reports and met weekly on attendance retention concerns and creative campaigns to increase attendance rates.
- Covered any activities that need assistance
- Used Microsoft Word and other software tools to create documents and other communications such as agendas, memo’s, scheduling trips, making copies, faxes and preparing cash reimbursements.
Group Leader
Phipps Community Development Center @ Kipps Bay
Manhattan, NY
06.2006 - 02.2007
- Supervised a camp counselor and a group of (12) 8-9 year old children
- Responsible for creating and submitting lesson plan for 3 classes; Crafts-making, Sports and Fashion
- Directed the fashion showcase, winter and summer season
- Promoted program services and retained new membership
- Filed and maintained completed applications
- Participated in team-building activities to enhance working relationships
- Exceeded goals through effective task prioritization and great work ethic
Education
Community Resource Exchange
New York, NY 11.2020 - 05.2021
CUNY School of Professional Studies
New York, NY 10.2019 - 01.2020
School Age Child Care
Dignity of Children - SACC Credential
New York, NY 05.2016 - 06.2019
Skills
Slack, Asana
Salesforce, ADP,
GSuite; excel, docs, slides, surveys
DYCD Connect
Timeline
Community Resource Exchange
11.2020 - 05.2021
CUNY School of Professional Studies
10.2019 - 01.2020
Program Director
LEAP NYC
08.2017 - 09.2021
School Age Child Care
Dignity of Children - SACC Credential
05.2016 - 06.2019
Program Director
BELL Foundation
02.2015 - 06.2017
Program Coordinator
BELL Foundation
09.2014 - 01.2016
Assistant Director
The Eagle Foundation
09.2013 - 06.2014
Attendance Specialist
Phipps Community Development Center @ MS.391
09.2007 - 06.2009
Group Leader
Phipps Community Development Center @ Kipps Bay
06.2006 - 02.2007