ABOUT YOU!

Youth Outdoor Unity! is a nonprofit organization providing community and social services in Houston, Texas, Las Vegas, Nevada, and their surrounding counties since 2009. Our founders believed that to prepare for 21st-century careers, underserved youth, especially females, needed availability to non-school-based experiential learning activities. As a result, in 2014, they built a ready-to-use system to advance the mission and effectively respond to youth being innovative thinkers, productive citizens, and career seekers in STREAAM beyond STEM related fields. The innovative initiative was originally designed as a mobile yesteryear AgriScience-Tech Educational Trail project, which attracted youth to our 1864 wood wheel (Old Beck) wagon. ‘Old Beck’ served as our educational toolbox for nutrition and health, mentoring, agriculture, animal science, horse projects and maintenance, outdoor adventures and preserving western heritage. The project evolved into a mobile experiential learning and career exploration project that empowers college and career interest in STREAAM (Science, Technology, Reading and writing, Engineering, Arts, Agriculture, and Maritime) -related fields that are considered uncharacteristic in underserved communities and traditional classroom settings. The ingenuity of the STREAAM beyond STEM project highlights our supplementary community programs, Literacy 3.12, The Art of Living, and COOK&CHEW Jrs. The ultimate goal is to increase knowledge of opportunities, STREAAM beyond STEM literacy, and provide hands-on problem-solving activities aligned to Common Core State Standards for Literacy, Math, and Science. Proportionally, the project diminishes diverse disconnects in college readiness and the workplace, as well as increases the number of students who will consider careers that ‘STREAAM beyond STEM.’ Students who explore our STREAAM beyond STEM initiative through hands-on experiences build confidence, increase critical thinking skills, and have the greatest possibilities for knowledge retention.

Our STREAAM beyond STEM initiative collaborates and provides additional support to:

Teachers and Parents.
Home, Public, Charter, and Private schools,
Universities,
Recruitment
County Extension agents,
Private/Public-nonprofits, and
For-profit organizations

AFFILIATES: YOUTH OF TEXAS 4-H - HARRIS

YOU LV, Green Side Up LLC

Meet The YOU! Team

Board of Directors

Kimberly Nesbit, M.Ed. | Board President

Kimberly (Kim) joined Youth Outdoor Unity with over three decades of experience in Education. Throughout her career, Kim has advocated for students, empowered educators, and inspired all to reach their greatest potential. Through partnerships at the local, state, and federal levels, Kim’s goal is to foster community change to ensure all students, especially students in underserved communities, have equal and equitable access to the curriculum. Within education, Kim has served in many roles in California and Texas including Master Teacher, Mentor, Literacy Specialist, Curriculum Writer, and Categorical Program Advisor. Most recently, Kim has expanded her service nationally, mentoring educators and support staff as an Educational Coach and Professional Development Facilitator.

Currently, Kim holds a dual position with Youth Outdoor Unity. In addition to being a Board Member, she is also the Director of the Literacy 3.12 Program.

Kim has a Master’s Degree in Multicultural Education. She has also been recognized as Teacher of the Year, and is a member of the International Literacy Association.

“ Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives” ~Michelle Obama

Sue Lobo, CTIE | Board Member

Sue is currently the Director of Group Sales at Atlas Cruises & Tours, Sue is a passionate and results-driven sales and marketing professional with extensive worldwide destination, cruise & event management experience. She has planned more than 300 trips & events in 27 countries for over 40,000 passengers. She is also a Certified Travel Industry Executive.

Prior to the travel industry, Sue spent over 5 years with the Associated Marine Institute (AMI) which was a non-profit organization providing treatment programs for adjudicated youth. The program offered academic instruction, experiential education, mentoring, goal setting, vocational training, and strived to increase self-esteem through responsibility and accountability. She was hired as the Operations Secretary and within 2 years promoted to the Director of the Aftercare program that provided complete case management services, as well as job & education placement. Sue was also a Quality Assurance Specialist with the State of Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

Lori Madeo, | Board Member

Lori has been with Royal Caribbean which has a strong presence in extending cruises to families in Texas out of the Port of Galveston. For 18 years, she has served as the Strategic Account Manager for Royal Caribbean. She works to develop travel industry professionals, through the use of industry educational training, development of social media skills as well as assisting in their marketing initiatives. Her efforts have resulted in over 40 million dollars in new revenue annually.

Lori’s creativity and expertise in marketing have been instrumental in assisting local nonprofit organizations in South Florida with fundraising campaigns.

Lori is a graduate of St. John's University and resides with her family in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Executive Team

Toriano Bryant | Founder and Executive Director| Grad Student at Bush School/Texas A&M University...READ MORE

Chef 'MitcheEarl' Bryant

Co-Founder and Program Director, YOU!-LV | CEO GreenSideUp, LLC...

Chef Rey Darthard | Executive Chef Culinary Advisor -COOK&CHEW Jr Culinary Art Program...

AgriScience Trail Robotics NASA_edited_e

OUR

CULTURE

Obligation expresses our purpose.

Culture is how we do it!

It is our obligation and cultural expression to bring curriculum, career aspiration and higher education within the reach of all students and focus on maximizing the footprint of our partners to bolster the capacity of learning initiatives and opportunities that can effectively respond to underserved communities.