Yale Alumni Service Corps (YASC): Using Virtual Book Clubs to Support Student Access to Education| Celebrate Service Week

Hear about a new literacy effort organized by Yale Alumni Service Corps and Amandla Development for promising students in grades 7 and 9 in the township of Philippi, an underserved community on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa.

Due to the legacy of apartheid education, most kids in Philippi are not exposed to a culture of reading, making literacy a major challenge. To encourage reading and develop comprehension, the students read Kwame Alexander's Crossover series. After completing the series, Yale volunteers and local mentors, led by YASC veterans Ann Kennedy PhD and Judy Kessen Crawford ’76, used fun and interactive activities to encourage engagement.

Join us for a virtual discussion of this program as part of Celebrate Service Week and hear Ann and Judy share their experiences, discuss lessons learned, and identify ways to improve future sessions.

The panel will also include Andrew Burgie ’87, trip producer for YASC Puerto Rico 2023, who will discuss expanding the reach of this program with a virtual book club for students in underserved communities in San Juan. The project will be organized in collaboration with Instituto Nueva Escuela (New School Institute), a nonprofit organization whose mission is bringing Montessori education to public schools and supporting the families of enrolled students.

Speakers

Andrew Burgie ’87 - Industrial Hygienist, Adjunct Professor

Andrew is an industrial hygienist specializing in worker health and safety training initiatives, particularly in hazardous waste operations and emergency response. He works at the NYU School of Global Public Health on a National Institute of Health Environmental Health Sciences Grant, educating New York state and city emergency responders and other occupations regarding health and safety protocols in various capacities. He is also an adjunct professor at NYU School of Global Public Health specializing in Global Environmental Health. He is also very involved as a volunteer on various committees of the American Industrial Hygiene Association. He has a master's degree in Environmental and Occupational Health Science from Hunter College in New York. As a Yale volunteer since 2008, Andrew is a board member of many Yale Alumni organizations including yaleNYC (Yale Alumni Association of New York), YANA (Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance), YASC, and as a member of the YAA BOG (Board of Governors).

Judy Kessen Crawford ’76 - Retired Public School Educator

Judy is a recently retired public school educator in the field of library media. As a library media specialist, she provided direct instruction to elementary students in library skills and literature appreciation. As a library media teacher specialist, she led a team of educators in writing library media curriculum for PreK through Grade 5, participated in review and evaluation of materials, and provided professional development and support to librarians at more than 100 schools. Judy is a member of the YASC Board of Directors and has participated in nine service trips, including to Ghana, Brazil, and South Africa. In a previous career, she practiced criminal defense as a public defender in Los Angeles. She and her husband Tom Crawford ’76 reside in Maryland as do their daughter and son.

Ann Kennedy, PhD - Educator, Adjunct Professor

Ann recently retired after 22 years as a reading specialist in the Arlington County (Virginia) Public Schools. She continues in her 17th year as an adjunct in Linguistics/Program of Transformational Education at Georgetown University. Her research involves second language literacy development in adolescents and adults. Ann is a member of the YASC Board, having first traveled with YASC to India in 2015 and subsequently enjoying five additional trips. She now serves on the Amandla Fundraising Committee, after the YASC 2018 trip to Cape Town. She is on the NCAC Fulbright board as well as the board of Dream Project of Virginia. For the past six years, she has led a weekly mentoring program, guiding Dreamers through the college and scholarship application process.

Moderator

Perry Sayles ’88 - Interior Designer

Perry is the current chair of the YASC board and has been involved with YASC since 2014. He has been on five YASC trips (India, twice to Brazil, South Africa, and the Dominican Republic) and was the trip producer for the March 2019 trip to the Dominican Republic, in partnership with Yspaniola. Prior to starting his own interior design practice, Perry was a partner in a large international law firm. He received a JD degree from Columbia Law School and a degree in interior design from the Parsons School of Design. In addition to his work with YASC, Perry serves on the U.S. advisory board to Amandla Development, YASC's partner on its trips to Cape Town.