Young Center-Houston Advisory Board

Lucy Castaneda read more

Lucy is now 19 years old. She came to the US from Honduras as an unaccompanied child and was in ORR care in Conroe, TX until her 18th birthday in July 2018. Lucy had trauma specific to her journey to the US and her experience crossing the border, however legal relief was not identified expeditiously so that she was placed in adult detention in Humble, TX (CCA) on her 18th birthday. Once the Young Center was able to get Lucy released from detention, she was taken in by a sponsor in the Houston area, along with receiving pro bono legal representation that continues to this day. Lucy has a great desire to support the Young Center and to assist children who are in the position she was in previously. She is an activist at heart and, also, has learned a great deal of English since her release.

Judy Le read more

With deep roots in the Houston community, Judy Le runs her own leadership consulting firm called TakeRoot Consulting and Coaching. Judy used to be the Director for Leadership Rice, and she is particularly passionate about causes that relate to the refugee population, because she herself is a refugee from Vietnam. Judy’s personal story is one of courage and resilience—and it directly shapes how she approaches her leadership work today.

Dr. Dawn McCarty read more

Dr. Dawn McCarty, the Director of the Social Work Program at the University of Houston – Downtown, learned about the Young Center through her work with Casa Juan Diego. When not teaching at UHD, Dr. McCarty lives and works at Casa Juan Diego part of the year.

Dr. Jane Montealegre read more

On faculty at The University of Texas School of Public Health in public health and active in the work at Casa Juan Diego, Dr. Montealegre is a Behavioral Epidemiologist with research interests in health disparities and preventive healthcare utilization among immigrants, racial/ethnic minorities, and the medically underserved. Much of her work focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral and health system interventions to address cancer health disparities among the medically underserved. She grew up as an American in Guatemala with missionary parents and speaks fluent Spanish; she is a board member and long-term volunteer at Casa Juan Diego.

Mary Newsome, PhD read more

Mary is a cognitive psychologist who received her PhD from Princeton University. She is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Rice University and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Baylor College of Medicine, and the Vice Chair of an Institutional Review Board at Baylor College of Medicine.

Amanda Weeks read more

Amanda is a renowned Houston attorney. She comes to the Young Center’s Houston Advisory Board with experience serving on the advisory board of Child Advocates, another local nonprofit. Child Advocates provides advocacy to help abused and neglected children exit foster care, and enter into safe, permanent homes.

Yasmin Yavar read more

Yasmin Yavar is a Senior Staff Attorney with the ABA's Children's Immigration Law Academy (CILA). She began her legal career as a commercial litigator at the Houston office of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw before joining the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) as a removal defense attorney for detained adults. She has also worked with Kids in Need of Defense's (KIND) Houston office and as a consultant for ProBAR's Children's Project.

Young Zheng Sullivan read more

Young Zheng Sullivan is the Young Center's namesake. Young was one of the first unaccompanied children we served and has generously allowed us to use his name. Young graduated from Texas A&M University and went on to get a graduate degree in biotechnology

Kristin Zipple-Shedd read more

Kristin Zipple-Shedd is an Adjunct Professor at South Texas College of Law, where she runs the Asylum and Human Trafficking Clinic. She is also a licensed social worker, and helped the Young Center open its Houston office. Before joining the Young Center, Kristin was a Supervising Attorney with the Crime Victims Program at Cabrini Center, Catholic Charities.