Meet the 2025 PAYA Youth Council!

The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) is thrilled to announce the 2025 PAYA Youth Council cohort. The PAYA Youth Council is a youth leadership development initiative PAYA launched in 2023 to convene current and former youth apprentices from around the country. Council members build connections with one another, contribute feedback and ideas that inform PAYA’s work, and design and lead projects to strengthen and expand youth apprenticeship.

The 2025 cohort brings an impressive array of experiences and perspectives to the Youth Council. Representing nine PAYA Network programs and eight states, Youth Council members hail from major cities, rural communities, and suburban towns. They apprenticed in a range of fields, including health care, government affairs, culinary arts, HVAC, finance, graphic design, and business operations. Some Council members are active youth apprentices, while others have graduated from their program and are now pursuing college, full-time or part-time work, another apprenticeship, or some combination of these. The 15-member cohort includes 13 returners who served on the 2023–24 inaugural Council and two new apprentices.

Though they come from different backgrounds and apprenticeship programs, PAYA Youth Council members share a common goal: To ensure other young people are able to participate in high-quality youth apprenticeship programs.

Though they come from different backgrounds and apprenticeship programs, PAYA Youth Council members share a common goal: To ensure other young people are able to participate in high-quality youth apprenticeship programs. In members’ profiles below, they note that apprenticeship provided them with invaluable academic and career opportunities — in many cases, opportunities that would not have been possible without apprenticeship. They hope to use the Youth Council platform to expand apprenticeship so that others can have that same experience.

The 2025 PAYA Youth Council will meet virtually through December 2025, with an in-person convening in Washington, DC in the fall, where the Council will share their work with national leaders. Please stay tuned for updates on the Council’s work as it unfolds, and read on to learn more about the members of the 2025 PAYA Youth Council!

Thomas Adao

Hometown: Laurel, MD
PAYA Network Affiliation: Apprenticeship MD
About Thomas: Thomas is a former pre-nursing youth apprentice for Lorien Nursing and Rehab Center Elkridge. Thomas wanted to join the PAYA Youth Council to advocate for the crucial need for hands-on career experience for teens. He believes that apprenticeships are a valuable way for young people to help understand what career fields are a good fit for them.

Yumna Ali

Hometown: Denver, CO
PAYA Network Affiliation: CareerWise Colorado
About Yumna: Yumna is a former business operations youth apprentice for the City and County of Denver at Denver International Airport. She is currently an undergraduate student at Colorado College pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business, economics, and society with an Arabic, Islamic, and Middle Eastern studies minor. As a second-year member of the PAYA Youth Council, Yumna aims to actively further the mission of advancing youth apprenticeships nationwide, advocate for educational equity through impactful projects, and set an example for her peers within her local communities.

Jubei Brown-Weaver

Hometown: Washington, DC
PAYA Network Affiliation: CityWorks DC/CareerWise DC
About Jubei: Jubei is a former software development youth apprentice for Accenture. Upon graduating from his youth apprenticeship, he transitioned into a one-year adult apprenticeship program with Accenture where he serves as a packaged application developer. Jubei joined the PAYA Youth Council to make apprenticeships more accessible for future generations.

Anijah Foster

Hometown: Washington, DC
PAYA Network Affiliation: CityWorks DC/CareerWise DC
About Anijah: Anijah is a former government relations youth apprentice at Accenture. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Delaware State University where she majors in psychology with a minor in entrepreneurship. Anijah joined the Youth Council because she believes it is important to spread awareness on apprenticeships. She wants other youth to have the apprenticeship experience because the transferable skills they teach is key to future career success.

Maegan Godoy

Hometown: Washington, DC
PAYA Network Affiliation: CityWorks DC/CareerWise DC
About Maegan: Maegan is a high school senior and currently serves as a project coordinator youth apprentice for New America, where she primarily supports the PAYA team. After high school graduation, she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in political science. Maegan joined the Youth Council to gain insight on youth apprenticeship, and work with other young adults that are interested in the program to foster more ideas.

Christopher Grant

Hometown: New York, NY
PAYA Network Affiliation: CareerWise New York
About Chris: Chris is a former product design youth apprentice for Mastercard. He is currently enrolled as a full-time student at Baruch College studying business with a specialization in graphic design and minor in psychology. Since graduating from his apprenticeship, he has stayed on at Mastercard where he works full-time as an Associate Product Designer. Chris joined the Youth Council to advocate for youth apprenticeship, share my experience, and contribute to shaping a more inclusive and accessible future of work.

Zee Johnson

Hometown: Buffalo, NY
PAYA Network Affiliation: Say Yes Buffalo/CareerWise Greater Buffalo
About Zee: Zee is a former finance youth apprentice at M&T Bank. Through her apprenticeship, Zee learned that her strengths lie in customer service and helping people. She now works as a supervisor at JD Sports where she uses and hones her customer service skills daily. Zee joined the PAYA Youth Council because she wanted to meet new people and help spread awareness about youth apprenticeship programs and opportunities.

Gesner Jones III

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
PAYA Network Affiliation: CareerWise New York
About Gesner: Gesner is a former technology youth apprentice for Accenture. He is now completing a second apprenticeship at Accenture and will transition to a full-time employee upon completing the program. He is majoring in communication design at New York City College of Technology. Gesner joined the PAYA Youth Council to inspire other young people from his community who wish to follow in his footsteps by pursuing apprenticeship.

Rolando Lopez

Hometown: Elkhart, IN
PAYA Network Affiliation: Horizon Education Alliance/CareerWise Elkhart County
About Rolando: Rolando is a former IT youth apprentice. He currently works full-time as a GIS specialist at Surf Internet — the same company that employed him as a youth apprentice. He is also a full-time college student at Goshen College, graduating in May 2025 with a degree in business. Rolando joined the PAYA Youth Council so he could help those from low-income communities like his to succeed in apprenticeship. Youth apprenticeship changed Rolando’s life, and he wants to make sure other young people like him can “defeat the odds stacked against them through apprenticeship.”

Isabella Mariscal

Hometown: Chicago, IL
PAYA Network Affiliation: Career Launch Chicago
About Isabella: Isabella is a current high school senior and pharmacy technician youth apprentice for Advocate Christ Medical Center. After graduating from high school, she plans to go to pharmacy school to become a pharmacist. Isabella joined the PAYA Youth Council because her youth apprentice has helped her grow as an individual and she would like for other students to have the same chance.

Braden McAlpine

Hometown: Pembroke, NH
PAYA Network Affiliation: ApprenticeshipNH
About Braden: Braden is a current HVAC youth apprentice for MSI Mechanical Systems Inc. He is a high school graduate and part-time college student, in addition to his apprenticeship. Braden joined the PAYA Youth Council because he wants to make a positive change that leaves an impact on youth apprenticeship in the US.

Shannon Rooney

Hometown: Windsor, CO
PAYA Network Affiliation: CareerWise Colorado
About Shannon: Shannon is a former quality assurance youth apprentice for Tolmar. She is a college student majoring in business administration with a concentration in human resources management. After earning her bachelor’s degree, Shannon plans on pursuing her SHRM certification and enrolling in an MBA program. Shannon joined the PAYA Youth Council because her apprenticeship experience opened up endless opportunities and she wants to help others to expand their career through apprenticeships.

Gabby Smith

Hometown: Charleston, SC
PAYA Network Affiliation: Charleston Regional Youth Apprenticeships
About Gabby: Gabby is a former culinary arts youth apprentice for Halls Signature Events. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in food and beverage entrepreneurship at Johnson and Wales University. She founded Plate it Forward, a food and beverage mentorship program, and runs her own catering business, Grits and Gabs. Gabby joined the PAYA Youth Council to advocate for apprenticeships and continued education in the food and beverage industry. Gabby’s own apprenticeship was a stepping stone to new opportunities for success and personal and professional growth and she wants other young people to have that same opportunity.

Saarah Thangalvadi

Hometown: New Market, MD
PAYA Network Affiliation: Apprenticeship MD
About Saarah: Saarah is a former patient registrar youth apprentice for Frederick Health Hospital. Saarah attends the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology. Saarah joined the PAYA Youth Council because she wanted to share the incredible, eye-opening opportunity of youth apprenticeship with other young people, as it helped shape her career path and gain real-world experience while still in high school.

Ev Zaruba

Hometown: Eagle, CO
PAYA Network Affiliation: CareerWise Colorado
About Ev: Ev is a former human resources/business administration youth apprentice for The Gallegos Corporation. They are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in human services at Colorado Mountain College. Ev joined the PAYA Youth Council to make change and represent what youth apprenticeship can do for people with disabilities and those in rural areas.