CURRENT POSITION Teen Center Site Coordinator, Queens Public Library, NY DEGREE BS, Business, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Professional Studies, 2022 FAST FACT Allen is a MS.Ed.-HEA–candidate at the Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs in NYC. FOLLOW linkedin.com/in/ashleyta Photo courtesy of Ashley Allen

Youth Career Mentor

While working part-time at the Queens Public Library (QPL) as she studied for her New York State teaching certificate, Ashley Allen realized that a classroom was not the environment for her—but serving the local urban youth community in the library setting proved a natural fit. Her first full-time position at QPL was as teen customer service specialist. Now she orchestrates all the operations of the teen space. For the last seven years, she has also served as program director of a New York City Department of Youth and Community development grant. 

Allen guides YA patrons along multimedia-related job paths by organizing industry networking opportunities and educational presentations, facilitating their access to scholarships, and overseeing the “Voices of Queens” podcast program. More than 165 students have created 100 episodes of this strictly for-teens, by-teens published program. Combined, they’ve completed at least 900 after-school hours of career training. Past participants—some of them straight out of high school—have gone on to work at Viacom Media–Paramount, NBCUniversal, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the IBM Accelerate Talent Identification Program. “She never takes no for a final answer when it comes to her students,” observes nominator Abraham Rivera, youth counselor at QPL. Colleagues benefit from her persistence as well: Allen mentors and coaches her coworkers, writes letters of recommendation, and encourages them to aim high.

As to how Allen stays motivated to be so single-minded and determined over such a length of time, her answer is simple. “No young person should be labeled by their current circumstances, but rather, they need to be empowered by their opportunities.”