Dorothy Stoneman

Dorothy Stoneman (born c. 1942) is the founder and former CEO of YouthBuild USA, Inc. and former chairman of the YouthBuild Coalition, with over 1,000 member organizations in 45 states, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands. She has been widely recognized for her contributions to the civil rights movements, poverty elimination efforts, and the emergence of the youth development field in the United States. Among the numerous awards she has received, Stoneman was awarded a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship, and the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship (2007).

Early life and education Stoneman was born and raised in Belmont, Massachusetts. She graduated from Belmont High School in 1959. She received her B.A. in history and science from Harvard University in 1963. The following year she moved to New York City and joined the civil rights movement through the Harlem Action Group. Stoneman lived and worked in Harlem for the next 24 years, receiving her M.A. in early childhood education from Bank Street College of Education in 1972.

Early career Stoneman began her work in Harlem in 1964 by organizing summer preschool programs for children who were entering first grade with no early education. She began her teaching career at PS 92 in Harlem, as a second-grade teacher. In 1965, Stoneman became a Head Start teacher at the East Harlem Block Schools and, in 1969, was promoted by parents who made up the board of directors, to executive director.

In 1984, she led the city-wide expansion of the housing construction program, and in 1988 she began a national replication of the program model that had by then been named YouthBuild. In 1990, she established YouthBuild USA as an independent nonprofit to continue to spread the YouthBuild program nationwide. By 1992, Stoneman was overseeing 20 YouthBuild programs across 11 states.

Stoneman worked with then-Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to develop legislation which would authorize YouthBuild as a federal program. The bill was passed in 1992, signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, and funded within the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2001, Stoneman oversaw the beginning of YouthBuild's international expansion in South Africa, which spread to 21 counties by 2016.

YouthBuild programs enable young low-income people to “rebuild their communities and their lives, breaking the cycle of poverty with a commitment to work, education, family and community." The program, provides both housing for low-income residents and gives students the opportunity to gain experience utilizing marketable job skills, while completing their high school education and preparing for college. It addresses in one intervention the key issues facing low-income communities: Education, employment, violence, leadership development, and affordable housing. YouthBuild programs are now funded by the US Department of Labor, When Stoneman retired from her role as CEO of YouthBuild USA in 2017 she was succeeded by John Valverde. Stoneman directed her full-time attention to her role as assistant to the director of Opportunity Youth United until Feb. 2023. In 2023 she began a project called YouthCreate under the sponsorship of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It is designed to create a national network of non-profits supporting low-income teenagers to create community improvement projects of their own design.

Honors and awards 1996, awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship 2000, awarded the Independent Sector's John Gardner Leadership Award 2007, awarded the international Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship 2008, selected by Ashoka as a senior fellow 2008, identified by Nonprofit Times as one of the 50 most influential nonprofit leaders 2012, received Harvard Call to Service award 2012, named a Champion of Change by the White House 2013, invited to speak at the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom 2017, received the America's Promise award from America's Promise 2017, received the US Green Building Council's Leadership Award

the Youth Action Action Programs and Homes, Inc.; a member of Harvard University's National Advisory Board for Public Service; member of the advisory boards for Opportunity Youth United, and for New Politics; and facilitator of the Beyond Ferguson group in Belmont MA, Bridging Racial and Class Divides.