JESSICA BYNOE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jessica Bynoe is the Executive Director of Variety the Children’s Charity of New York. She brings over a decade of experience in the fields of youth development, civic engagement, and strategic philanthropy.

Most recently, Ms. Bynoe was with Usher’s New Look Foundation where she ensured the implementation of the strategic plan, designed a multi-year leadership curriculum, served as the principal investigator in the evaluation of program outcomes and impact, and developed the parameters for partnerships and program expansion to align with New Look’s core vision of supporting young people as global leaders. Prior to her work at New Look, Ms. Bynoe was a program officer for youth engagement at the Academy for Educational Development (AED). At AED, she led national initiatives including the W.K. Kellogg Youth Innovation Fund, the Youth Media Reporter, and, in collaboration with America’s Promise Alliance, $aving Our Futures. These programs and her other work as part of the youth engagement team were all designed to increase the voice, value and visibility of young people. Before AED, she was employed at Community Resource Exchange––a nonprofit capacity building and consulting firm.

Ms. Bynoe is the author of Confronting the Glass Ceiling of Youth Engagement, a white paper exploring the challenges and opportunities for authentic youth engagement. She has also authored multiple curriculua including the New Look Foundation’s Leadership Academy curriculum, $aving Our Futures: A financial responsibility program for young people, and, as co-author, the revised Young Citizens curriculum designed to foster youth-led service-learning in and out of school.

Ms. Bynoe holds a BA in Psychology and Metropolitan Studies from New York University and a Master of Public Administration for policy and nonprofit management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Additionally, Ms. Bynoe has served as the chair of the Young Professionals Network for the college preparatory organization Let’s Get Ready and she is currently vice president of the NYU College Alumni Association Board

VALENTINE LYSIKATOS, OPERATIONS & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Valentine Lysikatos graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2008 with a B.A. in Public Relations and a minor in Theater Studies. Originally from Rhode Island she held internships in the areas of production and publicity at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, 95.5 FM WBRU, and Unigo.com. Upon arriving to NYC she began working for Women's Project & Productions, a non-profit organization and the nation's oldest and largest women's theater production company. She enjoys writing and film and has combined her two passions in her now yearlong blog Because I can't always talk on the radio; a spinoff of her three year stint as a DJ at 98.1 FM WQAQ , Quinnipiac University's student run radio station (www.valsyummyblog.blogspot.com). In her free time she also enjoys watching and assisting in Off-Broadway theater productions in New York and served as the Associate Producer in the 2009 undergroundzero festival at PS122. She is a member of the NY Chapter of Quinnipiac University Young Alumni where she serves as the Philanthropy Chair.