Amy Ostrander Croll (LMSW, Co-founder and Executive Director)

Amy brings more than fifteen years of experience working directly with youth, ten plus years of experience working with state and local youth development policies and practices, and nine plus years serving as a youth development trainer and facilitator.  Amy currently serves as a field consultant for the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality/Forum for Youth Investment and the Wyman Center’s Teen Outreach Program, as well as for various state and local entities.  Amy’s style is grounded in experience, as she has provided a myriad of services, including working as a youth worker and supervisor in child welfare/juvenile justice settings, developing and coordinating community-based prevention programming, and coordinating a state-level collaborative body that aligned state and local level policies and practices.  She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Luther College and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Iowa.

Julie Cackler (Youth Development Specialist)

Julie brings over 20 years of experience in youth serving organizations to CYC. She coordinated camp-related program for over 15 years and currently conducts accreditation visits for the American Camping Association. She serves as the coordinator of our Quality Counts initiative, assisting in Youth Program Quality Assessments, conducting continuous improvement planning with organizations, and providing and coordinating training for frontline youth workers.

Amelia Colwell Reedy (Youth Program Director)

Amelia brings experience in human services and public policy to CYC. In previous positions, she provided employment support to people with disabilities, coordinated a statewide mental health peer support training program, and engaged constituencies in many public policy systems and issues.  As Youth Program Director, she oversees programs related to service-learning and engaging youth with disabilities. Amelia holds a BA in Psychology and Social Work from the University of Iowa, where she was part of the Iowa Writes Project and was published in The Iowa Review.

Michelle Raymer (Volunteer Coordinator)

Michelle brings experience in human services and volunteer management to CYC. She has served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Guinea, trained and coordinated volunteers helping refugee families adjust to life in the United States, and worked with residents in affordable housing to organize programs and events. In her current position she manages the volunteer program as well as coordinates CYC’s new mentoring program. Michelle holds a BA in Political Science, Spanish, and International Studies from Central College and is currently working on her Master of Public Administration from Drake University.

Erin Gorman (Program Coordinator)

In her role as a Youth Program Coordinator with Community Youth Concepts, Erin Gorman co-facilitates a Chrysalis After-School girls’ program, coordinates CYC’s High School Service Advisory Board, delivers substance abuse diversion programming, and collaborates with the Des Moines Police Department to facilitate the Junior Police Explorers Program. After graduating from Luther College in 2009 with degrees in anthropology and psychology, Erin served as an Iowa Campus Compact AmeriCorps VISTA at the University of Iowa and later as a youth program assistant with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Erin is currently pursuing a M.A. in International Education from SIT Graduate Institute, with concentrations in youth program leadership and training design for experiential learning.