In 1973, fifteen young Black residents of San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood walked to City Hall with a single demand. They wanted $75,000 to fund job training for people in their community, money the city had not yet committed. This was a Model Cities Program, and the campaign it started became the foundation of Young Community Developers.
More than fifty years later, YCD operates as a 501(c)(3) organization rooted in the same neighborhood that produced it. What began as a workforce development agency now spans education, career development, and housing. The nonprofit’s approach is holistic and helps residents break generational cycles of poverty for themselves, their families, and their communities.
Much of the daily work still centers on employment. YCD runs job readiness training and employment support for adults, including people reentering the workforce after incarceration, and assigns support staff who stay with participants through the job search. A separate track serves transition-age youth, roughly ages 16 to 24, who are working toward a first paid position and longer-term financial footing. Housing staff connect residents who face barriers to stable living with affordable options, and dedicated teams handle reentry and justice services alongside special initiatives.
The organization widened its footprint in 2018 by partnering with 100% College Prep, which works on college access in Bayview-Hunters Point, and Inner City Youth, an anchor in the OMI community and District 11 for more than two decades. Those partnerships carried YCD past its original service area and pulled youth programming further into service.
YCD marked its 50th anniversary in 2023, and the following year, The NonProfit Times named the organization one of its 2024 Best Nonprofits to Work For.
YCD is recruiting a Chief Executive Officer to lead the organization through its next phase. The role calls for someone with experience in social impact and community development who can steer programs across education, workforce development, and housing while working with the staff and board already in place. Applications close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 11.
Candidates can apply through the organization’s recruitment portal at YCD’s ADP careers page.
The next chief executive will collaborate with a mission-driven staff committed to ensuring all residents have the necessary pathways, job training, and guidance to achieve economic mobility.
