BALTIMORE, MD. – Urban Alliance, a national youth development nonprofit, today announced the appointment of Monique Cox as Executive Director for the Baltimore region.
Cox comes to Urban Alliance from an extensive background increasing opportunity for under-resourced youth in Maryland, most recently as Program Director for Young Audiences/Arts for Learning, a Maryland arts in education nonprofit where she directed the preparation, coordination, reporting, and budgeting for all in-school core programming throughout the state. With over 14 years of experience in program management and youth development, Cox will lead regional strategy, development, and operations, working with leaders and businesses across the city to support and build Baltimore’s next generation of talent.
“Monique has dedicated her career to ensuring that Maryland youth have the opportunity to become successful adults,” said Eshauna Smith, CEO of Urban Alliance. “We are thrilled that she is bringing her passion and experience to Urban Alliance to help provide more Baltimore youth with the training and work experience needed to connect to lifelong self-sufficiency.”
A lifelong Marylander, Cox is a graduate of Towson University, and also holds master’s degrees from the University of Baltimore and Walden University, the latter in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Cox has firsthand experience working with Urban Alliance in her former role as Enrichment Director at Baltimore Talent Development High School where she helped enroll students in the organization’s flagship High School Internship Program.
“My lifelong mission has always been to increase access to opportunity for the youth who need it most,” Cox said. “Leading Urban Alliance’s work in Baltimore will allow me to not only continue that mission, but also have an incredible impact on students in my community – and I can’t wait to get started.”
In 2008, Urban Alliance brought its flagship High School Internship Program – which provides paid, professional internships, job skills training, and mentoring to economically-disadvantaged youth – to Baltimore at the invitation of Baltimore City Public Schools. The program’s goal is to open the door to new possibilities for students and ensure that every intern is on a pathway to self-sufficiency – whether that be college, living-wage employment or vocational training – after graduating high school. Urban Alliance’s work in Baltimore has since expanded to include specific internship pathways for students interested in careers in construction, land surveying, and hospitality. Over the past decade, Urban Alliance Baltimore has provided over 750 youth with internships, and another 1,421 with professional skills training.
With more than 20 years of experience providing workforce opportunities to thousands of economically-disadvantaged students in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Northern Virginia, and Detroit, Urban Alliance has improved post-high school outcomes for underserved youth. A recent six-year study found that completing UA’s High School Internship Program had a measurable impact on young men attending college, mid-GPA students enrolling in four-year colleges, and students’ retention of professional soft skills. 100 percent of UA students graduate from high school; over 90 percent are accepted to college, and 80 percent enroll in college. A further 80 percent of enrolled alumni persist to a second year in college, and 80 percent of all alumni are connected to a college, career, or career training pathway one year post-program.
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