Our Mission
We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the minds of marginalized youth by nurturing their social and physical environments.
We believe education + engagement = empowerment!
Founder and Executive Director
Bianca M. Joseph, LCSW
Bianca M. Joseph, LCSW is the Founder and Executive Director of YES, Inc. Since leaving her hometown of West Palm Beach, FL, Bianca has earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Columbia University and Master of Social of Work from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to mental health awareness, Bianca is passionate about dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and creating trauma-informed spaces for youth of color within the education system. When she’s not empowering youth or advocating for social justice, she is either running, binge-watching (Marvel) movies, or simply sleeping.
Features: Columbia College Today, VoyageHouston
Director of Culture & Curriculum
Sandy Fonseca-Lopes, LMSW
Sandy Fonseca-Lopes, LMSW is the Director of Culture & Curriculum of YES, Inc. She hails from Boston, MA and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Master's in Social Work. Sandy is also passionate about combating the school-to-prison pipeline and does so by advocating for education equity and demanding juvenile justice. Sandy is the founder of @blktabletalk and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. When she’s not fighting for social justice, you can find her in the kitchen cooking delicious meals or writing and performing spoken word poetry.
Board of Directors
Evonna Moody
Le'Otis Johnson, Esq.
Diamond Walker, LMSW
Spring/Summer 2022 Executive Leadership Interns
Nicole Da Costa
Nicole Da Costa is a Spring/Summer Executive Leadership Intern with YES, Inc. Nicole was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and completed high school in western Massachusetts before returning to Pennsylvania for college. She is currently a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, double majoring in Biology and Anthropology, and minoring in Chemistry. Nicole is interested in racial disparities in healthcare and education, genetics, and generational trauma. On campus at Penn, Nicole serves as the Chief of the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), acts as secretary for the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS), and conducts research studying genetic variation in diverse African ethnic groups. In her free time, Nicole enjoys looking into family genealogy, finding new recipes to cook, and exploring new places.
Lori Ko
Lori Ko is a Spring/Summer Executive Leadership Intern originally from North Carolina and currently a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Political Science, minoring in Survey Research and Data Analytics and East Asian Languages and Civilizations, with a concentration in Korean Studies. In addition to her work with the organization, Lori serves as the Pennsylvania District Secretary and previously served as its District's Editor. In her free time, she performs as a member of Shin-Myung (a Korean Percussion Band) and explores new restaurants in the city.