Yvette Russell, Chief Programs and Partnerships Officer, Read Alliance
As an executive leader at Read Alliance, Yvette demonstrates a high level of diplomacy, ability to assess and evaluate impact, negotiate terms on behalf of the organization and develop relationships that benefit the sustainability of the mission. She works directly with the Executive Director to steer the operations of the organization including staff recruitment and retention, strategic plan design and implementation, budget planning and work with ancillary partners such as the Advisory Council, Associate Board and Strategic Plan Committee. She has secured funding streams in neighborhoods at the Superintendent level within NYC districts and has significant relationships with the Department of Education, United Way New York, United Way Berks County, PA, Pinkerton Foundation, and the FLOM Foundation. She represents READ at annual events including 21st Century Plain Talk about Literacy and Foundations Beyond School Hours conferences. In summer 2019, Yvette created and implemented the Read Alliance Youth Summit which in year 3 garnered $114,000 in donor support. A private foundation has already committed $100,000 as a sponsor of the summer 2022 READ Youth Summit. Yvette also spearheaded the inaugural 2021 READ Rising Leaders Scholarship for graduating seniors who have been accepted to college. The scholarship will increase from $5,000 to $10,000 in 2022. Prior to joining Read Alliance in 2015, Yvette worked in Special Projects and Alumni Relations at Harlem Children's Zone where she also served as Director of the Truce Media Literacy and Arts Program until 2012. In addition to having over 20 years of non-profit management and program experience, Yvette has worked in publishing as the Entertainment Editor at Essence Magazine. Yvette received the "Coming Up Taller" Award from The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in 2005 and has participated on numerous panels including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum National Conference, "Thinking Like an Artist: Creativity and Problem Solving in the Classroom,” and has presented at the annual Everyone Reading Conference on literacy instruction and program best practices. Yvette most recently presented at Community Resource Exchange (CRE) on the Making Meaning Panel & Workshop to discuss transitions during the pandemic and leadership through an equitable lens. Yvette is a member of the New York Equity Coalition, a branch of the national Education Trust. She is a member of the Staten Island Alliance, and serves on the Evaluation Committee for the Reads Initiative Partnership funded by the Pinkerton Foundation. Yvette also serves as a member of the Apollo Theater’s EmpowHer philanthropic civic organization. She is co-president of the Parent Association at West End Secondary School in Manhattan and the Vice President of the Harlem community based organization, Marcus Meets Malcolm. She has also been a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., since 1989. Yvette holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and African American History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has participated in advanced programs at Columbia University’s School of Business and Cornell University, New York Extension. Yvette is an avid reader, a native New Yorker and the mother of 4 children, three in high school and one who is an engineering major at Howard University.
Email: yrussell@readalliance.org
