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Mark Batenburg,
Executive Director, has spent most of his professional life supporting young people as they grow and develop into adults. He taught high school in Chicago for seven years; started the Youth Service Program at the Volunteer Center of San Mateo County, where he served as liaison among schools, young people, and community-based organizations; and worked for seven years at Stanford's Service Learning 2000 Center, developing publications and facilitating workshops. He co-authored The Evaluation Handbook: Practical Tools for Evaluating Service Learning Programs, which was awarded the Seal of Excellence from the Council on Service-Learning Excellence. He is currently writing a book on the role of service in various spiritual traditions. He has been at YSCal since 2005. His hobby is home renovation, and his volunteer work includes providing handyman services for other nonprofits.
Brian Seilstad, Deputy Director and VISTA Coordinator,
came to YSCal directly after serving as a Youth Development Volunteer
with the Peace Corps in Morocco from 2005-2007. Living in a small town
about 50 miles from Marrakesh at the feet of the Atlas Mountains while
working with youth, teachers, and community leaders was a peak
experience and deeply influential to his life. Prior to that, Brian had
the pleasure of utilizing his academic background in classical
languages and love of teaching as an instructor of Greek and Latin at
the Loyola Blakefield School in Baltimore, where the motto “Men and
Women for Others” informs and directs the lives of all those connected
to the school. Denton, Montana, a small town of 300 people in Central
Montana is Brian’s home, and he enjoys walking in San Francisco,
studying and reading about various subjects and languages, and can
always be persuaded to take in an interesting film, provided that a
lively discussion over good food follows.
Sher Moua, Programs Coordinator,
comes to Youth Service California from the Cal Corps Public Service Center at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as an AmeriCorps Bonner Leader for three years as an undergraduate. During his term as a Bonner Leader, he served as a BUILD (Bears United in Literacy Development) Tutor and Student Director at Santa Fe Elementary and Hoover Elementary in Oakland, CA. His experience as a Bonner Leader cemented his decision to pursue a career in nonprofit following graduation. He holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a Minor in Education from Cal. In his free time, he enjoys playing football and basketball, fishing, and hanging out with friends and family.
Laurel Greyson, VISTA Leader,
Laurel joined YSCal after serving a year as a Cesar E. Chavez Service Club AmeriCorps*VISTA member in Hayward, Ca. During that year, Laurel helped run service clubs at two middle schools, Co-Coordinating various service projects including a school garden, a school-wide recycling program, clothing drive, cooking and nutrition education project, and painting a school mural about peace, non-violence and solidarity. She brings her experience from Co-Coordinating an AIDS Food Drive in High School, volunteering in soup kitchens, working on farms in Italy and Costa Rica, helping to start a school garden for at-risk youth, and organizing events for Choice USA, an organization that promotes women?s rights and health. Laurel graduated from UCSC with a degree in the History of Art and Visual Culture. In her spare time Laurel likes to hike, go bike riding, camp, cook and try new recipes, garden, and practice yoga.
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