About Us
Who We Are
FFY is a sustainable, independent organization that provides unique mentoring services in the Denver metro area.
Friends for Youth has a history of helping people.
Originally formed out from an organization called Friends in Transition that mentored inmates in the adult prison system , Friends for Youth began first mentoring youth in 1998. The success rates that Friends in Transition enjoyed – from seeing inmates turn from an 80% recitivism rate to an 80% success rate, ultimately led the exansion into the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare systems. The mission was simple: Keep as many kids from eventually ending up in the adult prison system as possible. How could such a monumental task be accomplished?
One thing was working: Mentoring.
To this day, Friends for Youth continues to target and serve Colorado’s most vulnerable and disaffected youth in the Division of Youth Corrections, Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare systems in hopes of keeping kids out of the adult prison system, which helps bring new life to each youth and life to the future of our local communities.
Our approach
Our Mission
The mission of Friends for Youth is to support positive development for at-risk youth in the juvenile Justice and child welfare systems by providing caring adult mentors, life enriching experiences, and enhanced community connections resulting in successful life transitions. FFY seeks to serve Colorado’s at risk youth — specifically older teens who are the most difficult to access in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and who attend low-income at-risk schools.
Our Vision
FFY has expanded its programming over the years to include four programs designed to help youth succeed once they leave their support systems. These distinct, but interrelated, components include one-to-one mentoring; site-based mentoring at schools; group mentoring activities; family advocacy; and the Success Journey Program, which combines the different mentoring strategies in a unique mentoring model.
~ Frederick Douglass“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”
2023 Positive Youth Development
We have numbers that push us to give in our best and make sure that we break our own records. We are happy to be growing and helping more day by day.
Our Team
Friends for Youth has a lot of friendly, knowledgeable staff around the office. Mentoring is what we do and we are here to help! Our staff can assist with any inquiries you have about the program, the kids, or mentoring in general. While we stay pretty busy at the office – writing grants, answering phone calls, talking to mentors, creating matches, filing reports and developing the next monthly activity, we’re never too busy to talk with you or have you come down to our office to grab some coffee and talk mentoring. We are professionals who know how to take our work seriously, but also know how to lighten up and have fun. When you join Friends for Youth, you join a family. Here are the people who make all of it happen:
Alana Sheffield
Program Manager
Alana Sheffield functions as Friends for Youth’s central command. She has a heart for helping kids. If you have a question about Friends for Youth, she would love to talk to you!
Sally Ann Warren
Mentor
Resident of Littleton, Colorado. Experience in Business Management, Business Organization, Marketing, Restaurant Development and Commercial/Residential Real Estate Investments. Sally’s dedication and heart for our youth is her lifetime passion.
Donovan Escobar
Mentor
Donovan is a Colorado native who graduated from Colorado Mesa University with a degree in Counseling Psychology. Donovan is a mentor who focuses on building healthy relationships and trust. Donovan began his career as a behavioral therapist managing challenging behaviors and change. He understands the importance of growth and habits for improvement taking time. In his free time, Donovan enjoys going to the gym, running, hiking, and being with friends and family.
Board of Directors
Kent Moe
Chairperson
Kent Moe has worked with Rite of Passage since the organization was founded in 1984. He is also now serving as the Executive Director of Friends for Youth. Kent has been recognized by the State of Colorado with the “Best Practice Award” for developing intense Transition and Aftercare Programming. As the Director of Program Development, Mr. Moe is in charge of Rite of Passage’s non-residential initiatives. Mr. Moe is also the organization’s leader in developing, training and implementing evidence-based practices including the Positive Achievement Change Tool, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Moral Recognition Therapy. Mr. Moe attended Sierra Nevada College where he majored in Psychology with an emphasis on High Risk Youth Studies and completed post graduate certificates at University of Nevada, Reno in Human Resources and Non-Profit Management.
John Greene
Vice Chair
Retired Oil and Gas Geoscientist/Executive
Resident of Silverthorne, Colorado
Over forty years of experience executive leadership, organizational management, and financial management Community Advisory Board of Ridge View Academy; Member of Ridge View Academy Mentoring Committee
Karl Bruce
Member at Large - Prior Chairperson
Owner and President, KLB Consulting
Resident of Lone Tree, Colorado
Over thirty-six years of experience in integrated information systems to help organizations become more successful and competitive in their markets; Community Advisory Board Member for Rite of Passage (ROP)/Ridgeview Academy; Mentor in the Success Journey Program
Charles John
Member at Large
Charles John is a Senior Portfolio Manager for Macquarie Asset Management and part of a team of three Portfolio Managers running a Global Growth, an Asset Strategy, and an International Core Fund. Previously, he was co-portfolio manager of a global growth fund and senior investment analyst with Scout Investments. He has 16 years of experience in the investments field, and prior to investing, he spent four years working at Sprint in its Networking division. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the Bangalore Institute of Technology (B.I.T.) India, graduating with honors. He earned an MBA with an emphasis in finance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Charles lives in Englewood , CO with his wife and two children. He is passionate about mentoring and volunteering, and he enjoys reading extensively, hiking, paddle boarding, kayaking, and learning languages.
Zachary J. D’Argonne
Member at Large
Zachary is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Masters of Science who began his career as a Child and Adolescent Therapist. After additional experience in Psychiatric Social Work and Tele-Psychiatry Operations, Zachary has taken on a Macro-Level of community change as the Associate Vice President of Outreach Services with HealthONE. Zachary’s passion is to impact lives and the way our culture views individuals with behavioral and social needs. Zachary enjoys both individualistic care and higher-level advocacy practice. In addition to his time on the Board of Directors, Zachary is proud to serve as a mentor with Friends for Youth.
Carolyn Jenkins-Bower
Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer Rite of Passage
Ms. Jenkins-Bower holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. Ms. Jenkins-Bower has over twenty years of experience in Finance, including: finance banking, manufacturing and hospitals. As the CFO, Ms. Jenkins-Bower oversees the Finance, MIS, Purchasing and Human Resources Department.
Retired Sgt. Paul Poole
Member at Large
Sergeant Paul Poole is presently a 36 year veteran of the City of Aurora’s Police Department, presently assigned to the “Community Resource Section’s School Resource Officer Unit” (SRO Unit) as a supervisor of SRO Team 1. He has also supervised officers in the department’s “Metro Division,” “Recruiting & Background Investigations Unit,” “Field Training & Evaluation Program.” He has also been a member/officer of the department’s “SRO Unit,” “FTEP Unit,” “Gang Intervention Unit” & “Police Area Representative Unit” all prior to working “Patrol” early in his career. Presently affiliated with the Boettcher Aurora Boys & Girls Club providing life skills instruction. Poole has also worked as a “Private Training Consultant,” “Assistant High School Football Coach,” “Adjunct College Faculty Member,” “KHOW Radio Co-host (Behind The Badge),” “Director-Five Points Eastside Action Center,” “Program Administrator-D.O. Youth Corrections Program,” “Supervisor-Community Group Homes, Inc.” & “Youth Counselor-Community Group Homes, Inc.” Poole is married to his wife, Patty both having reared 3 adult sons.
F. Jerald (Jerry) Adamek
Member Emeritus
FNF Associates, Inc., president/Consultant
Colorado Division of YouthCorrections, Director EmeritusDenver Resident – Colorado NativeB.A. from Regis University
M.C.J. from University of Colorado
Began Juvenile Justice career as Teacher, Counselor, Administrator and Consultant in 1966.