Our Story

Learn about our mission and history.

Building a Stronger Community

YLDSF, Inc. was established to address profound disparities faced by young African-American males. Our story began with a commitment to build a stronger, more equitable future for our community’s youth.

The Urgency of Our Mission

The compelling statistics we aim to change are:

Graduation hat with stars and ribbon icon.

Graduation Rates

Only 54% of African-American students graduate from high school, compared to over 75% of white and Asian students.

Suspension Disparities

African-American male students in grades K-12 are nearly 2.5 times more likely to be suspended than white students.

Academic Proficiency

Just 14% of African-American eighth graders meet or exceed the national proficiency level.

Vision

Established in 2015, the Youth Leadership and Development Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering African-American males. We provide scholarships, mentorship, education, and leadership development to support their academic and personal growth.

Smiling young man carrying books and backpack outdoors.

A group of six young men posing outdoors with smiles and casual attire.

Mission

Our mission is to expand our reach and impact by developing additional programs and collaborating with a network of dedicated volunteers and partners. We believe that there is more work to be done, and we are committed to providing a greater number of African-American males with the tools they need to succeed.

Board of Directors

José Allen | Chair and Secretary

Jose Allen is a founding board member and an officer of the Youth and Leadership Development Foundation of San Francisco, Inc. He currently serves as the chairman and secretary for YLDSF. Jose is a lawyer who spent the bulk of his almost 50-year legal career as a partner in the international law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, where he represented corporate clients in a wide range of litigation matters. He has been the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his legal work, including being named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year for his pro bono work on a groundbreaking disability rights case. He is a member of the California bar and the Massachusetts bar. He was awarded his B.A. degree from Yale University and his J.D. from Boston College Law School. Jose has extensive experience in the non-profit sector, including serving as the board chair for Meals on Wheels of San Francisco, board chair of the San Francisco Food Bank, vice chair of the board of the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center, and as an advisor for the Skadden Fellowship Foundation.

Richard A Sullivan | Treasurer

Richard A Sullivan retired as the City and County of San Francisco Tax Collector after 42 years of service. A native of Finchburg, Alabama has lived in San Francisco over 60 years.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from San Francisco State University, a Masters degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University, and numerous Certificates in Budgeting, Action Planning, Administration, Organization, and Public Treasury Management.

After retirement, Richard passed a special examination and became an Enrolled Agent authorized to professionally prepare income tax returns and represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. He currently runs a tax consulting business, Anderson and Associates, in San Francisco's Bay View District.

Richard always has been involved in public service. He currently serves as Director of Curry Senior Center in the Tenderloin District. Previously a director of the Hunters Point Boys and Girls Club and as a committee member of the City and County of San Francisco Treasury Oversight Committee.

Richard is a lifetime member of the NAACP, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

Edward Collins, M.D.

Board Certified Urologist: February 1978

Fellow, American College of Surgeons: October 1981
Assistant Clinical Professor: Department of Urology, University of California, San Francisco
Member, Medical Advisory Board: Laserscope/AMS, 2001-Present
Member, International Green-light User Group: July 2007
Expertise: Green-light Laser user since 2001
Proctor/Preceptor: Green-light Laser in the Western United States, Western Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guatemala.
Accomplishments: Member of the pre-market team for U.S. FDA approval of 120 and 180-watt lasers.
Pioneering Achievement: Performed the world’s first HPS 120-watt laser procedure.
Experience: Performed and/or proctored over 1,500 Green-light Laser cases in the U.S. and internationally.
Founder: California Urological Services, a mobile service provider for 60 urologist partners in Northern California, performing over 1,200 Green-light laser procedures annually.
Committee Member: American Urological Society's select committee on Male Circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa.
Founding Partner: Golden Gate Urology, a single-specialty urology partnership in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Personal Life: Married to Sylvia Mestayer-Collins, with 3 children and 1 granddaughter. Resides in San Francisco, California.

Marty Jones

Marty Jones is a seasoned Human Resources executive with more than 30 years of experience across global technology companies including Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Netflix, Yelp, and Block. He began his career in recruiting before expanding into broader HR leadership roles, partnering closely with CXOs and senior teams to drive organizational performance. Marty has held global leadership roles with experience in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United Kingdom where he guided organizations through growth, transformation, and innovation. His expertise spans executive coaching, leadership development, organizational design, compensation, change management, and talent strategy—always with an emphasis on building high-performing leaders and teams.

Beyond his corporate career, Marty is deeply engaged in community leadership and governance. He has held positions on multiple nonprofit boards that includes Bay Area Community Development Corporation (BAYDC) and Youth and Leadership Development of San Francisco (YLDSF). He is the founder of Above Par Partners, a youth-based golf organization dedicated to expanding access to the game while teaching life lessons to diverse communities. In addition, he has served as director of the YLDSF Golf Tournament, raising scholarship funds to support underrepresented students in pursuing higher education, and has been a dedicated coach to youth sports, mentoring the next generation both on and off the field.

Marty holds a B.S. in Business from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from the Eli Broad School of Management at Michigan State University.

James Mayo

James Haskell Mayo II, former Vice President of the Western Region for the United Negro College Fund, was responsible for supervising the campaigns of the Western Region's Area Offices. Mr. Mayo provided the executive management and leadership of all activities and programs in the Western states.

Prior to assuming the position of Vice President, Mr. Mayo served as Regional Director of the Northern California Area Office of UNCF. In that capacity, he was responsible for all fundraising activities in Northern California, Colorado, Utah, and Northern Nevada. Mr. Mayo is a former member and Vice President of the San Francisco Community College District Board of Trustees. During his tenure on the Board, Mr. Mayo authored numerous pieces of legislation to enhance the educational opportunities for District students, such as the joint articulation agreement between the district and several historically Black colleges and universities. In addition, Mr. Mayo co-sponsored legislation establishing the Minority Business Enterprise and the Women Business Enterprise programs.

Mr. Mayo served on two additional San Francisco governmental boards. He is a former member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and served as President of the San Francisco Delinquency Prevention Commission.

Mr. Mayo has been the recipient of numerous business and community awards and citations and is an accomplished public speaker. Mr. Mayo received his B. A., M. A., and J. D. degrees from Howard University in Washington, D. C. During his leisure time, he enjoys reading philosophy and biographical books. He is also a model train collector.

Colonel James Moore

William Nash

Proven business leader with extensive experience in the areas of Finance, Marketing, and Operations. Hands-on, results-oriented executive who consistently provides sound financial advice and strategic direction. Experienced manager with a clear communication style, a passion for building strong teams, and a proven ability to lead organizations through substantial change while achieving desired financial goals.

Curtis Brown| Emeritus Board Member

Curtis Brown is an accomplished executive, leadership coach, and author dedicated to helping individuals and organizations reach their full potential. Over his 30-year career in financial services, he rose through eight promotions at Merrill Lynch to serve as Chief of Staff to the Chairman and President, where he guided strategy for one of the world’s leading financial institutions. Today, Curtis is President and CEO of Tier 1 Level Consulting, a firm he founded to advance leadership development, multicultural team building, and personal growth.

He is the author of *Supernova Advisor Teams: A Pathway to Excellence* and *Confessions of a Wall Street Warrior*, where he shares insights on leadership, resilience, and vision. Beyond his corporate career, Curtis has been a dedicated community leader, serving on the boards of the Bay Area Y, All Children’s Hospital of St. Petersburg, and the Ann Arbor Symphony. His commitment to empowering youth and creating pathways to opportunity inspires his work with the Youth and Leadership Development Foundation of San Francisco.

Marc Loupé | Emeritus Board Member

Marc Loupé brings more than 25 years of comprehensive global financial and operational management experience to our agricultural-based clients. He helps companies to integrate innovative methods and technologies, so they function effectively. He brings to clients the value of his technical expertise and functional experience in senior financial management roles in a broad spectrum of industries — including agriculture, technology, aviation, real estate, and professional services. His past corporate roles include CFO for AAA (Northern California, Nevada and Utah) and Sage Software-North America and Chief Audit Executive for three publicly-held companies (Ampex, Sun Microsystems and CA Technologies). His accounting, finance and operational experiences include strategy development and implementation, company transformations, acquisitions and divestitures, financial and operational systems implementations, profitability and cash flow improvement programs, improved financial governance and accounting processes, treasury operations, international business, legal operations, human resources, sales development, product line general management and Co-CEO.

At the board level, he is a director of Ramsell Corporation (Strategy Committee Chair), Alzheimer’s Association (Co-Vice Chair), International Wine and Food Society-Napa Valley/Sonoma Branch (Treasurer). His professional affiliations include the Naturally North (formerly known as North Bay Food Industry Group), Association of African American Vintners, Financial Executive International and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Our Commitment Shines

From our first conversation to ongoing support, we use our experience and insight to deliver personalized mentoring and resources—explore our programs now.

Discover Our Pathways