Jessica Bynone
Program Officer, Youth Engagement
National Coordinator, Youth Innovation Fund
Academy for Educational Development
100 Fifth Avenue, 8th Floor
New York NY 10011
212-367-4608/jbynoe@aed.org
Jessica Bynoe, an AED Program Officer for Youth Engagement, is also the national coordinator of the Youth Innovation Fund at AED, with which she has worked since its inception in 2003. The Youth Fund is a youth-led investment strategy aimed at changing how communities operate. Through the Youth Fund, young people are positioned as investors of financial, social and intellectual capital as well as conveners, advocates and evaluators of community change agendas.
As national coordinator, Ms. Bynoe provides technical assistance and training to youth and adults leading local work, brokers partnerships to support and sustain the impact of the Youth Fund, and manages the growth and expansion of the model to new communities. Additionally, at AED, Ms. Bynoe contributes to business development plans and goals of the Youth Engagement Team, leads leadership and career development training and processes for the service-learning Emerging Leaders Initiative, and offers strategic direction for the professional journal Youth Media Reporter. Prior to her work with the Youth Fund she was an Everett Public Service intern at Community Resource Exchange––a nonprofit capacity building and consulting firm.
Ms. Bynoe holds a BA in Psychology and Metropolitan Studies from New York University (NYU) and a Master’s of Public Administration for policy and nonprofit management from New York University’s Wagner School for Public Service. At NYU, she helped transform the service-learning program at the College of Arts and Sciences, conducted research in community psychology exploring relationships between youth leadership and educational aspirations, and completed a consultancy for the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence.
Additionally, Ms. Bynoe has volunteered as a tutor and leadership advisor at The Door, a New York City youth development organization. She also served on the board of a New York City start-up organization––YouthLead––supporting peer learning and civic engagement. She sits on the NYU College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board and co-chairs the Young Professionals Network for the college preparatory organization Let’s Get Ready.