UCCP staff
 |
Barbara Ferman, PhD |
I am Executive Director of the UCCP and a Professor of Political Science at Temple University. I began the UCCP in 1997 because I strongly believe that universities and communities can and should work together around issues that effect the larger worlds in which we all work and reside. Although there are competing interests and agendas, I am confident that we can create win-win situations in many cases.
My research and teaching have focused on a variety of areas including: public policy, political leadership, housing and community development, race and class, community organizing, civic education, and youth leadership development. I approach all of my work with an interdisciplinary focus and a strong desire to uncover what is "fair, reasonable, and doable."
Born and raised in Brooklyn (the 4th largest city in the country!), I have lived and worked in Boston, Chicago, and, since 1992, Philadelphia. My passion is education and community issues with a particular eye towards making things work. For mental health, I play racquetball, bond with nautilus machines, and escape into good works of fiction.
 |
Michiko Hunt |
I was born and raised here in Philadelphia in the northwest part of the city. My parents are both activists, and I was raised in a household where issues of race, class, social justice and inequality were regularly discussed. As a young adult I grappled (as many do) with discovering who I was and what was important to me. I was looking for something larger than myself, something that would affirm my beliefs, and open up new possibilities.
I found just that in the City Year program, which began as a one year commitment for me, and eventually became a five year experience that was personally and professionally transforming. In my work with City Year in Boston, San Jose and Philadelphia I worked on teams doing full-time community service with children and young adults in those cities. For the first time in my life I was able to see firsthand the connections between the political and the personal. I did work that was meaningful to me, and also served a greater good. I learned what it meant to work in a truly diverse group of people, and help organize people and communities around a common goal to accomplish big things.
I am so thrilled to be joining the UCCP team! I am so inspired by the work being done here, and by the incredibly committed, passionate, and personable people who make up the organization. In my role as Assistant Director I hope I can continue the legacy of incredible grass roots work being done on behalf of the young people of Philadelphia.
 |
Ieshia Nelson |
I once heard "Titles define what you do; but character defines who you are"; as the Training & Technical Assistance coordinator at the UCCP, fortunately what I do helps further build who I am. It is fulfilling to manage the day-to-day responsibilities and long term initiatives that allow such positive youth-driven work to be cultivated.
A native of SE Washington, DC I was educated mostly by circumstance (living in the shadows of where laws are made however my neighborhood never benefited from those promises). Through my mom's involvement and desire for us to have better I was awarded a scholarship to a private, independent High School (MD). All the while I volunteered and tutored at my neighborhood community center only further exposing that great divide. I was afforded opportunities unimagined by my peers: an educational environment deeply rooted in an Honor Code of honesty, equality, trust and respect, with equal emphasis on arts and humanity, studying abroad in Central America and Africa, actively engaged teachers and real direction with regards to higher education.
As an undergrad at Temple, I was introduced to VOICES in the midst of its Education Campaign. I saw students from a neighborhood reminiscent of mine actively engaged in identifying the problems, demanding answers and offering solutions. I was challenged and embraced... and still am!
 |
Johannah Bennett |
As far back as I can remember I always had a passion for teaching and educating. This stemmed from the fact that I was different than most students and that my teachers had a hard time engaging me. The lack of creativity and the monotonous routine of traditional schooling gave me no creative outlet to express myself or to even learn what was being taught.
In 2006 I took a Political Science course at Temple University that placed me in an internship with the UCCP. I was instantly attracted to the organization’s mission and unique approach to fostering youth empowerment. In VOICES I saw youth speaking about REAL issues and being treated as the experts. Their opinions and ideas, with our support, became social justice projects that exemplify the youth voice.
What I get out is what I put in, and in turn I give out what others have given to me. Throughout my experience at the UCCP my passion and understanding for both the community and young people has grown tremendously. In my position as the VOICES Program Coordinator, I am honored to continue providing opportunities, resources, and support to the communities and youth across the city.
 |
Natalia Smirnov Media Productions & Communications Manager 215-204-6185 |
Natalia Smirnov is an artist, a youth advocate, an educator and a creative strategist. Officially, she is responsible for managing ongoing media projects and initiatives, creating and coordinating UCCP's marketing & communication materials and maintaining this website. Her unofficial responsibilities include counseling others to deal with the grief of digital data loss, internally campaigning against the use of Comic Sans and dispelling various myths about what it means to be a Russian.
Natalia, who has been making cultural propaganda since high school, holds a Bachelors degree in American Culture & Media Arts from Temple University. She is interested in the intersection between culture industries, new media technologies and social change. In her work as an educator, she is committed to provoking young people to question media, culture and authority figures they are taught to obey by arming them with skills in critical thinking, photoshopping, blogging and other forms of participatory media.
When not at the UCCP, Natalia enjoys cooking, dancing, playing music in collective settings and making art about missed connections.
 |
Leana Cabral |
I was born and raised in Rhode Island in a community of storytellers which nurtured my curiosity and imagination. Attending a Quaker school and a Unitarian church largely influenced my commitment to social justice and equality, as well as a profound respect for an individual's search for truth and meaning in life.
My parents sacrificed to make traveling a familiar experience for me and my sister. I have been crossing and questioning borders since I was five years old and it has impacted the scope of my world view as a woman of color and global citizen. My wandering spirit continues to carry me to unfamiliar places and disrupts many of my assumptions before they become misguided beliefs.
As a Women's Studies major at Spelman College, I became further acquainted with feminism, which has graced me with a framework for engaging with and understanding the world. After graduating from college I spent a year in Chile teaching English in a University as a Fulbright Scholar. Before and after Chile I coordinated and co-directed youth programs in New York City, Newark, and Philadelphia.
All of these experiences helped me articulate my interest in how ideas and notions are constructed, learned and exported - particularly through the media - and how we can continue to think critically, challenge oppressive notions and offer what we believe are more holitistc representations of ourselves and our communities.
As the POWER Internship coordinator, I am excited to engage in this kind of thinking and acting with the young people involved with UCCP.
And most importantly, the LEADERS CORPS!