Jennifer Newton fell in love with dance at the age of nine. Coming from an at-risk background herself, she was raised by a strong single mother of three.  Jennifer had to relocate and change schools nine times throughout her adolescent years. During her teens,  she found a home at Los Angeles High School, and expanded her dance repertoire to include break dancing, dance performance, krump, lyrical, contemporary, and various hip-hop styles. After high school she attended Westwood College and studied criminal justice and business administration for 2 years. When she was 22 years old Jennifer was signed to Universal Records and started to pursue her singing career. She realized her love and passion for the arts resided in teaching and inspiring the younger generation to embrace their full potential as individuals and artists. Jennifer wanted to create an organization that truly represents what it looks like for no child to get left behind. In 2013 she created a Non-Profit Organization that helps ignite purpose in youth through performing arts. mentoring and tutoring. 

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"We work with kids that nobody else wants to give opportunity to. People always want to give opportunity to those who have the most talent and that "look" the part. Talent can only get you far in the beginning and looks fade but character is what gets you to the finish line. Character is what grounds you for the long haul." -Jennifer Newton

Joyce Kleifield joined The Harrison Trust in August of 2013 after spending six years as the Director of Development / Community Representative at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. In her position at Fairfax, Joyce built strong relationships with all segments of the community which translated into tremendous in-kind and capital support for the school – culminating in a new $6,000,000. state-of-the-art football stadium. Prior to that she served as Administrative Manager for her local neighborhood council, the Mid City WEST Community Council. Shepherding three children through school in LAUSD sparked a passion for helping improve the plight of public education. Joyce has held seats on PTA, Booster Club and numerous governing councils for elementary, middle and high school. Recognizing that public schools can only survive if their communities become re-invested in them, Joyce has dedicated herself to community involvement with that end in mind. She currently sits on the Education Committee for the Mid City WEST Community Council; the Board for the West 3rd Street Parking and Public Improvement Association and is the 5th Council District’s representative on the Regional Volunteer Oversight Committee for Prop K-L.A. for Kids bond funds. In 2010, she was chosen as the California State Legislature, Assembly District 42, Woman of the Year in recognition of her efforts towards building community and improving public education. Joyce has been a part of The Outkast Academy since the budding stages of the organization. Harrison Trust was the one of the very first foundations who believed in The Outkast Academy's mission and vision, which also led them to be one of Outkast's first program funders in 2013. Joyce has been serving on the board since 2018 and continuously helps The Outkast Academy thrive with her passion for education reform and young people. 

Reginald Charles is 25-year veteran Managing the Business and Tax Affairs of corporations and individuals within the Entertainment and Real Estate Industry. Being the CEO of EFS London Financial, he has been blessed to develop Professional teams that understand the magnitude and varied dynamics encompassed with the various projects. Through this team worldwide expertise spans 20+ years in finance, architecture, engineering, design, technology, environmental, entertainment, legal, housing and commercial development; where they've consulted, created corporate structures, developed investment plans and implemented viable equitable solutions that replicate the maximum utilization of the legal threshold limits as outlined within government regulations to stabilize there clients investment interest. Reginald joined The Outkast Academy board in early 2015 and was a huge part of structuring all financial aspects of the company. He has a heart for our future generation to reach their full potential as self-sustaining individuals. 

Melina Vasquez was introduced to dancing at the age of 15 when she joined The Outkast Academy. Dance did not become one of her main foci until the program began to provide her the opportunities to learn and thrive as a dancer and individual. She became an official Outkast graduate in 2016 and since then, has completed her Business Internship to become a Program Instructor. Melina's passion for the youth began to grow along with her love of helping others. After 5 years of being with the organization, Melina's dedication and want to impact and inspire others to reach their full potential led her to become the Program Coordinator. Her dance practices now include House, Hip-Hop, Modern/Post-Modern, and West African. Melina currently attends UCLA and will graduate in 2020 with a major in dance and education studies.

Lilyana graduated from California State University, Northridge with a degree in Urban Studies and Planning. During her studies at CSUN, she ran Cross Country and Track & Field. Lilyana ran on two post collegiate teams after college, one of which was sponsored by Adidas. These days, she no longer competes on any particular running club but she continues to engage in competition as an individual athlete. After graduating from CSUN, Lilyana focused her time learning more about sustainable development, green education, and energy management. She’s always cherished nature, the environment, and cared for society's well-being. Since then, Lilyana has felt that she has a drive and a passion for helping preserve and/or develop healthy sustainable environments for all people. Her interests led her to a position working with an Economic Development Corporation in Ventura County. She was assigned to lead a Green Management program as an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer. Her work there steered the first company-wide green project that helped Cabrillo Economic Development attain the Neighbor-Works America Green Designation Certification in November 2014. Today, she continues her environmental and community work with an emphasis on the reduction of our carbon footprint in governmental or privately-owned industries, as well individual responsibility. Lilyana believes in a healthy sustainable way to live for the good of our mental, physical, and spiritual health. Lilyana chose to work with The Outkast Academy because she believes in its mission and the progressive vision Jennifer and her team have; to form a new generation of talented, intelligent, and responsible leaders that are much needed to change our world for the better. 

HOLLY SILVA

Dream Center Ambassador 

Board of Directors

Laura Anderson

Upward Boundhouse

Director of Donor Relations

Board of Directors