Empowering Young People To Fulfill Their Promise
On The Road Collaborative
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We are Growing

2/18/2015

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Our team is growing. Take a few to learn about the newest members of our board, their thoughts on what would make the world more awesome, why they joined the On the Road team, and what gifts they plan to share with the organization and community.

Meet Carmen Moreno

Tell us about yourself...
I was born and raised in Las Cruces, NM by Mexican immigrant parents.  After attending and graduating with a degree in dietetics from New Mexico State University, I moved to San Diego, CA and received a Master in Public Health (Health Promotion) from San Diego State University.  I also became a registered dietitian during that time.  I’ve worked for over 20 years in the fields of health, nutrition and education in a variety of setting and locales.  These have included health clinics, hospitals, universities, and schools in Las Cruces, NM, San Diego, CA, Washington, DC, Twenty-nine Palms, CA and now here in Harrisonburg, VA.  My husband Tom Little, a retired Marine Corps officer, is a program director working for a local company.  I have two daughters.  Sydney graduated from Harrisonburg High School last year and is a first year student at UVA.  Samantha is an 8th grade student at Skyline Middle School.  I like staying active by running, walking my dog Canela and doing strength training.  I also like to cook, read, and spend time with friends.  
The world would be a more awesome place if .. We treated each other just a little bit kinder.  I try to live by a kindness quote that Colin Powell related in a news article I read a few years back.  “Always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.”
What is something about yourself that you can’t tell by looking at you?
I like watching sports, in particular March Madness basketball games, professional football playoff games, World Cup soccer matches, U.S. Open tennis.
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What inspires you about the vision and mission of On the Road Collaborative?
I’m most inspired by On The Road’s desire to empower youth to achieve their potential regardless of their socio-economic circumstances (or other challenges) and its utilization of community stakeholders to achieve its goals.  
What is your favorite part of Harrisonburg? 
I love the James Madison University Arboretum.  I’ve taken countless wondrous walks and runs along the trails in snowy, rainy and sunny weather, always admiring the different plants and animal that I encounter.  I love the herb garden, meditation path, pond, suspension bridge, trilliums, art shows, plant sales, Ernst Tree Terrace, plant/tree identifier markers, daffodils, and so many, many other things!

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Tell us about yourself...
I was born in Martinsville, Virginia, and first moved to Harrisonburg to attend JMU, where I met my wife Shannon. In 2005, we moved to the D.C. area, where I attended law school and practiced law. In 2012, we had our first child, John. In 2014, we fulfilled a long-standing dream by moving back to Harrisonburg, where I currently run my own law firm, Wilson Law PLC.
On the Road Collaborative brings together a network of caring adults who believe in every child, advocate for them, and insist they be the best they can possibly be. 
Who has been a champion (aka mentor) for you in your life?  My father. When I am faced with a tough decision, I ask myself what he would do.

Meet Robert Wilson

What inspires you most about the vision and mission of On the Road Collaborative?
The focus on intensive involvement with students over the course of multiple school years. With this approach, students can maintain advances they have made, and build on them to foster even greater success.
What gifts are you excited to bring to the On the Road Collaborative team?
My business experience, legal training, and love of learning.
What is something about yourself that you can’t tell by looking at you?
I am a voracious reader of comic books, science fiction, and fantasy.
What’s your favorite quote?
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.  
-Edmund Burke
The world would be a more awesome place if... 
Chocolate . . the answer is always chocolate.
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The Escalator

2/5/2015

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A majority of U.S. Public School students now live in poverty, and that number is near 70% here locally in Harrisonburg (VA).  Despite the improving economy over the past several years, the number of young people who face the daily struggles of 'not having enough', continues to rise. 

The promise of The American Dream is alive and well, but not for everyone. A child’s socio-economic status is now the strongest predictor of underachievement in school and future career success.  The escalator that once offered a clear way to achievement, mobility and a life of opportunity and middle-class wealth is broken.  Even in those instances when a child from a low-income family “makes it” and graduates college, a recent study shows that a child from a high-income family who drops out of high school is nearly just as likely to earn as much income at the age of 40.   

The point in all this is not to create more division.  Instead, it should serve as a rallying call to bring us together because we recognize that “my humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”  This is not a class issue.  It is an American issue.  It is a humanity issue.   

Darren Walker, the president of The Ford Foundation, who was born to a single mother in a charity hospital, shares, “Even at 8 or 9 years old, I knew that America wanted me to succeed.  What we know is that the mobility escalator has simply stopped for some Americans.  I was able to ride that mobility escalator in part because there were so many people, and parts of our society, cheering me on.”  

Before we can even begin talking specific strategies on how best to fix the escalator, we need to recognize that it is a problem worth fixing and deepen our collective energy and will to invest more in our young people. Because if more of our young people go on to college (and trade-based careers), their ability to attain a middle class life dramatically increases, which in turn increases the odds that their children (if they have them) will be on a similar path.  

And although I believe our government has a role to play in driving this investment, ultimately, our ability to fix the escalator as a nation and keep it running smoothly for generations to come, so that the American Dream once again can be realized by all, rests with you and me.  

Here are just a few ideas for how you and me can help fix the escalator here locally: 
  • Be a cheerleader:  A child is never just a statistic.  They are a real person with a real story,  real needs and real dreams.  Regardless of where a child is born, what languages they speak or how much money their parents make, cheer them on and be an advocate for all young people in your conversations with your friends, colleagues and neighbors.      
  • Teach an On the Road Career Enrichment Project:  Share your career passion and expertise with a group of middle school children, sparking their interests and deepening their aspirations for the future.  
  • Serve as a mentor:  We have outstanding community-based organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters where you can serve as a mentor.  Make a difference in the life of a child today and I suspect you will find that the experience benefits you just as much as the child you serve.  
  • Invest in a local non-profit organization you are passionate about with your time, expertise and money.  Make time to reach out to your favorite organization and find out how you can best share your time, expertise and financial resources with them in a way that advances their mission.  

I believe this is the greatest challenge facing our society today- fixing the escalator.  Our young people who live in poverty need more time, more opportunity and more caring adults and community leaders not only cheering them on, but who are willing to make the investments necessary to ensure every child has a way to fulfill their promise and achieve the American Dream.  


This, right here, is what On the Road Collaborative is about, mobilizing our entire community to get involved, take action and work together to create an escalator that works. 

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Brent Holsinger is the founder and president of On the Road Collaborative and the author of this post.  Brent believes that we have the power as a community to work together to expand opportunities for young people so that every child can fulfill their unlimited promise.  
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