BIOGRAPHY

JANICE ZABALLERO

Education Program Advisor & Consultant

Janice Zaballero is a New York education director with decades of experience improving communities and helping others. She is known for mentoring youth and aiding non-profit organizations in an executive capacity. Janice worked as the Education Director and Early Childhood Director of Children’s Aid, a mixed-income child welfare organization in New York known for summer camp and after-school programs, as well as a notable nursery school. Janice is an enthusiastic philanthropist and volunteer in addition to her daily responsibilities. She has served on the Avon-Pfizer Metastatic Grants Program board, awarded more than $1.5 million in funding. She has also worked on the Ascena awards assessment committee, the charity arm of the women’s apparel company. Janice is a skilled event designer who contributes her talents to charitable causes like galas for Brooklyn Heights Montessori School and P.S. 38, The Pacific School in Brooklyn.

Previous Work

Janice Zaballero & Dr. Julia Smith created Breast Treatment Task Force, using the hotels.com model to allow first-time access for uninsured patients above Medicaid eligibility to 30 top breast facilities (donated/deeply discounted services) in five boroughs.
For fourteen years, all medical services were free of charge to patients. See video below.

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^{A Serendipitous Start:
The Birth of Our Pre-Apprenticeship Program}

My work with high school students began by accident. Seven years ago, a high school sophomore named Olivia emailed me about volunteering at the nonprofit where I was Executive Director. She began coming in two afternoons per week, then two of her friends started doing the same. Before long, our “internships” became more like a pre-apprenticeship program, with eight students at the office 3pm-6pm Tuesdays & Fridays for three years (sophomore-junior-senior years), allowing them to progress into larger roles, essentially performing as junior associates.

They managed fundraising, community events, all social media, as well as fashion, beauty, media and talent partnerships. Our setting allowed for greatly increased job skill development (task, time, people and project management, problem solving, communications) compared to typical internships. The students’ contributions each week were nothing short of fantastic. Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect was seeing board member perceptions transform from…Do we have time to baby-sit high school students? into...How many more hours could they work each week?
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All participants from low to mid income families obtained significant scholarships to top colleges, but gaining workplace proficiency that would lead to better internships or fellowships, then better jobs - this held the most value. Students completing high school without developing some usable skills…is like taking a classroom lecture on surfing without getting into the water. We all know that job experience is not just preferred, it is required.

I greatly encourage the like-minded to give high school students a chance to work with you!
Janice Zaballero
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Get in touch

JANICE ZABALLERO

Previous Work

A Serendipitous Start:The Birth of Our Pre-Apprenticeship Program

^{A Serendipitous Start:
The Birth of Our Pre-Apprenticeship Program}