Gallery Video:
Sponsored Employment Program (SEP) -- Summer 2011
About SEP
SEP is a successful, grassroots, summer youth jobs initiative in East Palo Alto (EPA), CA. One East Palo Alto (OEPA) has spearheaded this groundbreaking initiative since 2005 through its role as convener of the East Palo Alto Crime Reduction Task Force (EPACRTF) and agency lead of the Task Force’s Prevention and Alternatives Committee, which oversees SEP’s annual implementation. EPACRTF was established in 2004 by San Mateo County Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, who continues to co-lead and support the group’s efforts.
Now in its seventh year, SEP provides summer employment, mentoring relationships and community connectedness opportunities for youth at highest risk in East Palo Alto. SEP‘s employment component places EPA youth with Employer-Sponsors in nonprofit and public sector job sites, as well as in a growing number of private sector organizations.
The Barbara A. Mouton Multicultural Wellness Center
The Barbara A. Mouton Multicultural Wellness Center (The Mouton Center) is a new mental health facility and programmatic initiative resource for East Palo Alto (EPA) residents. Opened in June of 2009 by One East Palo Alto (OEPA), The Mouton Center is a place where consumers of mental health services and their family members can go to receive support, information, and be in community with each other.
Woman of the Year: Faye McNair-Knox, Ph.D.
PRESS RELEASE: MARCH 5, 2010
STATE ASSEMBLYMEMBER IRA RUSKIN NAMES FAYE MCNAIR-KNOX, Ph.D., AS WOMAN OF THE YEAR FROM DISTRICT 21
Dr. McNair-Knox, Executive Director of One East Palo Alto Neighborhood Improvement Initiative, to be Honored in State Capitol Ceremony on March 8, 2010
REDWOOD CITY, CA - In a ceremony on March 8, 2010, at 11:00 a.m., Assemblymember Ira Ruskin (D-21) will honor Faye McNair-Knox, Ph.D., as the District 21 Woman of the Year. The ceremony, hosted by the California Legislative Women's Caucus, will recognize McNair-Knox -- and other women across the state -- for their exemplary accomplishments. The 80 Assemblymembers and their honorees participate in the annual program.
"I am so pleased to be honoring Dr. McNair-Knox in this ceremony," Ruskin said. "She has a long history of making a difference in East Palo Alto and this state. Her agency focuses on youth in East Palo Alto - identifying resources, developing skills, and building family resilience - in partnership with more than 50 local organizations. She has helped foster small business initiatives in the area, and held teaching and administrative positions at various universities, including Stanford. She is dedicated to the improvement of youth, students, and her community - and an inspiration to me personally."
McNair-Knox received her Bachelor's Degree from Stanford in 1972, and her Ph.D. in Education from the same university in 1985. She has been Executive Director of One East Palo Alto Neighborhood Improvement Initiative since 2004. Before that, she was Executive Director of East Palo Alto Micro-Business Initiative (dba Start Up) for more than five years. Earlier in her career, McNair-Knox held teaching positions at several colleges and universities.
A Fulbright Scholar, McNair-Knox was inducted into Stanford University's Multicultural Alumni Hall of Fame, and received the Excellence in Economic Development Award from the Community Development Institute in East Palo Alto. She is also a graduate of Class XV of the American Leadership Forum-Silicon Valley.
The Woman of the Year program was started in 1987. The March 8 ceremony on the Assembly floor is the centerpiece of a celebration that includes lunch with the Assemblymember and an afternoon reception hosted by the Women's Caucus.
For more information about the ceremony or the event, please call 650 691-2121.