Each year 200 students, between the ages of 16 and 21, from over 40 New York City and Newark high schools, are accepted into the Development School for Youth (DSY) on the basis of their desire to be leaders. In New York City, the Joseph A. Forgione Development School for Youth, named after the retired Merrill Lynch Managing Director and All Stars Board member, is under the direction of Pamela A. Lewis.

“ . . . Of all the projects that I have examined throughout this country, and believe me I’ve examined many, none, I repeat, none has had better demonstrable results.” — Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Director, W. E. B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research

The DSY’s leadership training is organized as a series of weekly workshops led by senior executives from some of New York City’s leading corporations and law firms. The executives partner with the program, introducing students to the worlds of finance, culture, communications and other leading industries. Students also learn public speaking, how to dress for success, and how to write a resume. All of the students who graduate from the program are placed in paid summer internships provided by sponsoring companies.

Read the August 20, 2006 Star Ledger article on the DSY.

"I'm grateful to be in the DSY because of the friends I've made, the confidence I've gained, and the DSY's ability to reach out to communities where youth only dream about seeing more than they do," says Jermin Pieters.

The 21-year old from Jamaica, Queens hadn't seen very much "past the neighborhood" before enrolling in the DSY. Jermin graduated from the DSY in 2001, and performed so well at his summer internship at Credit Suisse First Boston that he was invited back there for two more summers. "Being in Manhattan now, I actually know what's inside those buildings. A lot of people I've grown up with never experience that side of the city. They never meet or mingle with corporate people."

The centerpiece of the DSY is a commitment to developmental learning. Young people from inner-city communities have a much narrower life experience than their middle class and affluent counterparts. The DSY uses a performance-based learning approach to help broaden the cultural horizons and experiences of our students.