Layah is the Executive director of City Youth Exposure, a nonprofit that introduces youth to people, places and things that they would not normally or easily experience in their daily lives.
I’ve gained skills in the Nonprofit Management program that I believe are different from what you’d need in a for-profit organization. I’ve learned that you have to be more creative. You have to be more people-oriented. It’s not like you just have this product that you’re selling. You’re [dealing with] emotions, [with] people’s lives. The Nonprofit Management program has really given me clarity in the different aspects of program management and leadership, specifically for nonprofits, and where I should be focusing my energies most… It was great to have the opportunity to apply what I’m learning within class, to my own organization.