COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP ACROSS GENERATIONS
BRIDGES unites and inspires diverse young people to become confident and courageous leaders committed to community transformation.
When I joined BRIDGES USA as President and CEO in late 2024, I knew I was stepping into an organization with a powerful legacy. For decades, BRIDGES has been a cornerstone of youth leadership in Memphis and Shelby County. We’re creating spaces where young people connect across lines of difference, develop leadership skills, and challenge the systems that shape their lives.
Sam O'Bryant PRESIDENT & CEO, BRIDGES USA
It wasn’t until I sat in listening circles with our youth, hearing their bold and unfiltered visions for this city, that I fully understood how urgently Memphis needs what BRIDGES offers.
Throughout my career in education and nonprofit leadership, I’ve seen how often systems underestimate the brilliance and capacity of young people, especially those from communities historically excluded from power. But I’ve also seen what’s possible when we invest in their leadership. At BRIDGES, we don’t just give young people a seat at the table. We help them build new ones.
This year’s Impact Report highlights that transformative power. From seventh and eighth graders leading environmental justice projects to high school students advocating for education equity, our youth are not waiting for the future; they are shaping it now. I’ve even watched my own son find his voice through our Bridge Builders programs, becoming more grounded in his role as a changemaker.
Memphis is rich in culture, creativity, and community strength, but we also face deep and persistent inequities. Our youth are meeting those challenges
head-on with courage, compassion, and conviction. And BRIDGES is here to ensure they have the support, mentorship, and resources to keep leading the way.
As we look ahead, my vision for BRIDGES is rooted in shared leadership between youth and adults, the celebration of our incredible alumni, expanding access by meeting youth where they are, and strengthening our career-readiness pathways to prepare them not just for jobs, but for purpose-driven lives. These commitments will guide us as we continue to invest in the next generation of leaders who are already making a difference in our city.
The truth is simple: Memphis’ young people are ready. Ready to lead. Ready to serve. Ready to transform our city. Our role as adults, as institutions, and as a community is to partner with them on that journey.
Thank you for being part of this work. Your support makes every success in these pages possible. Together, we’re not just investing in youth. We’re investing in the future of Memphis.
With gratitude,
YOUTH AT BRIDGES BELIEVE THEY HAVE A VOICE IN THE DECISIONS MADE IN THEIR TOWN OR CITY. 3 OUT OF 5
6,321
PEOPLE SERVED IN BOTH FISCAL YEARS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Melanie Burroughs-Cole RS LEWIS AND SONS FUNERAL HOME
Jared Boyd WYXR RADIO
Nicole Cody
INTERNATIONAL PAPER BOARD CHAIR
Frankie Dakin CITY OF MILLINGTON
Erica Evans
JUVENILE COURT OF MEMPHIS AND SHELBY COUNTY
Kevin Fienup DOBBS MANAGEMENT SERVICES, LLC
Kyle Hatler BANK OF AMERICA
Caroline May FEDEX
Geoffrey Morris BUTLER SNOW LLP
Dana Pointer PRESERVER PARTNERS
Ollie Rencher GRACE-ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL
Pooja Shah COMMUNITY MEMBER
Danish Siddiqui HILTON WORLDWIDE
Edward Stephens STATE OF TENNESSEE
Kimmie McNeil Vaulx
BAPTIST MEMORIAL
HEALTH CARE CORPORATION VICE CHAIR
Russ Wiggington
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
Amy Wright MACRO SOLUTIONS
YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD
Shanaya Pokharna
Christian Love
Sierra Koont
Carson Alexander YAB CHAIR
Harper Behnke
Ethan Zhao YAB CHAIR
Taliyah Irving
Jordan Maclin
Advait Mahale
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Garyn Richardson
PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR
Brayley Henry
RECRUITMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR
PEOPLE TRAINED BY THE YAC IN BOTH FISCAL YEARS
ELEVATING LEADERSHIP IN MEMPHIS
JASMINE BERNARD
is a Youth Action Center (YAC) Social Change Fellow, an InterCORE Youth Member, and a junior at University High School. A passionate advocate for social justice, she has led multiple protests across Memphis, championing equity, environmental justice, and systemic change.
Jasmine helped launch the YAC Social Change Fellowship, co-developing its curriculum and leading youth-led campaigns,
including founding a local environmental justice coalition. Nationally, she’s advanced youth-adult equity by collaborating with major nonprofits, facilitating trainings, and representing youth voices before community leaders and government officials.
Through her leadership and activism, Jasmine continues to champion justice, equity, and empowerment for young people across Memphis and beyond.
BRIDGES Youth Action Center
recognizes young people as the experts of their own lived experiences and centers them in intergenerationally designing and implementing solutions that strengthen our communities. For partners seeking to enhance youth engagement strategies or build intergenerational capacity, the BRIDGES Youth Action Center provides three tiers of engagement: workshops and trainings, customized capacity-building projects, and youth council development.
ORGANIZATIONS & SCHOOLS SERVED
Team BRIDGES
is the Mid-South’s premier team-building program. This program designs and facilitates customized experiences that strengthen communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, and professional growth.
From energizing icebreakers to high ropes challenges and our signature climbing wall, Team BRIDGES helps groups work better together while having fun along the way. With extensive experience serving nonprofits, corporations, schools, colleges, and faith-based organizations, our team knows how to bring people together to achieve shared success. We’re proud to have worked with public, charter, private, and homeschools, and organizations such as FedEx, Service Master, and Leadership Memphis.
Any organization or school can build a stronger team with BRIDGES.
CHRISTIAN LOVE
is a BRIDGES Youth Action Center (YAC) fellow and a junior at Lausanne Collegiate School. He was honored as the 2025 Keeper of the Dream Award recipient by the National Civil Rights Museum. As the founder of Opportunity Bridge 901 (OB901), a youth-led digital platform, Christian helps connect Memphis students to leadership, enrichment, and college-prep opportunities. Through OB901’s Opportunity Ambassador Program, he equips students across Shelby County to share resources and expand access to opportunities for all.
Christian’s work focuses on removing barriers and creating a more level playing field so that every student, regardless of their school, neighborhood, or network, can reach their full potential.
Inspired by President Barack Obama, he hopes to pursue a career in politics —aiming one day for the presidency.
(Vote C. Love 2042!)
BREAKING BARRIERS
Bridge Builders
unites students from across Memphis to develop leadership, celebrate diversity, and engage in community action through experiential, service-centered programming. Through skill building, meaningful relationships, and plenty of fun, we help youth strengthen their abilities and the confidence to use them to transform their lives and positively impact their communities. We offer both yearlong programming, beginning with a weeklong summer conference, and flexible external programming delivered through schools, nonprofits, and other youth-serving partners via tailored single-session or multi-session experiences.
40 Bridge builders workshops were facilitated last fiscal year. Year-round, we worked with 49 community partners, including A Step Ahead Foundation, Bellevue Baptist Church, Cloud 901, Craigmont High School, PRIZM Connect, Stax Music Academy, Hutchison Academy, and more.
35+ YEARS
17,641
YOUTH SERVED BY BRIDGE BUILDERS
FRANKIE DAKIN
is the City Manager of Millington, Tennessee, and a lifelong resident dedicated to public service. He’s also a proud BRIDGES alumnus. Elected at age 20 as the youngest alderman in Millington’s history, he served two terms from 2012 to 2019 before spending nearly six years in Shelby County Government, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Lee Harris. With a strong track record in coalitionbuilding, policy implementation, and regional collaboration, Dakin returns to his hometown focused on guiding Millington’s growth, strengthening community partnerships, and ensuring residents benefit from the opportunities emerging across the region.
SHELBY COUNTY AREAS SERVED BY BRIDGES DURING THE SUMMER CONFERENCE (LAST
ERICA EVANS
is a native Memphian and accomplished public servant currently serving as the Chief Judicial Officer for the Juvenile Court of Memphis & Shelby County. She is also a proud BRIDGES alumna. A graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal School, the University of Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt Law School, she has earned numerous honors, including membership in the Sphinx and Onyx Honor Societies, the David R. Goddard Ivy Day Award, and the Black Alumni Society Student Leadership Award.
Evans began her legal career clerking for the Honorable John T. Fowlkes, Jr., and later served as a Pro Se Law Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Before assuming her current role, she worked as Associate General Counsel for Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
BRIDGES is proud to have served hundreds of youth across Shelby County last fiscal year. Our goal is to reach even more young people. With your support, we can expand our programs and empower youth to grow as confident, compassionate leaders who will shape our community’s future.
FISCAL YEAR) 86%
GROWTH RATES
Bridge Builders participants with household incomes between $50,000 and $69,999 report the highest rates of growth in both leadership (86%) and diversity appreciation (90%), as of fiscal year 2024.
