Mission

Our mission is to empower teens from economically disadvantaged circumstances to lead successful lives and build strong communities.

We envision a day when all young people in America will thrive in learning, work, and life.

At Wyman, we believe that every young person

  • Has the talent and potential to succeed and lead, regardless of life circumstances.
  • Needs healthy connections with caring adults who empower them to share their voice and engage within their communities.
  • Deserves equitable opportunities and access to quality education, work, and life experiences – ensuring a better future and a better world.

Values

Youth-Centered  |  Relationships  |  Equity  |  Learning  |  Results

Youth-Centered. Teens own their success and create their futures – we are here to empower, support, guide, advocate, and celebrate. The world is ever-changing, and we adapt to remain reliable and relevant allies for teens. We stand with teens to break down barriers and inequities so they can build successful lives and know themselves as change agents in their lives and in the world.

Relationships. All our work gets done through relationships. Youth learn to develop and maintain healthy relationships. Through relationships, staff collaborate to actualize the mission. Healthy and constructive relationships with our partners and stakeholders contribute to the success of the youth and communities we serve. Our relationships are authentic, respectful, transparent, benefit from healthy conflict and diversity of thought, and foster trust and inclusion.

Equity. We commit to creating an environment that recognizes the different needs, experiences, and talents of each individual and ensuring that every teen and staff member has the opportunities and supports to feel confident bringing their whole self to Wyman and to achieve their very best. We commit to working with youth and community partners to dismantle the inequities that prevent our vision for youth from becoming a reality – a day when society will value and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion for all young people, allowing them to thrive in learning, work, and life.

Learning. As a learning organization, we measure what we do and use data to inform decisions, innovations, and improvement. We employ a continuous improvement process where we look to plan, do, learn, and adjust and lead by sharing knowledge with our peers and in the field. We demonstrate this value as an organization and as individuals.

Results. We exist to produce meaningful and lasting results. We measure and quantify our work in a way that we can track and report progress within and across teams and with stakeholders. As an organization, and as individuals, we calibrate and align our work to produce the desired results.

Strategy

Through research and 125 years of experience, we know that educational success, life and leadership skills, and healthy behaviors and relationships help teens thrive and contribute positively to their communities. To ensure that teens have equitable opportunities to achieve these outcomes, Wyman:

  • Empowers teens through strong, high-quality programs that help teens gain the tools and skills needed to succeed;
  • Equips adults through training designed to help adults build relationships with teens by creating engaging and empowering learning environments; and
  • Strengthens systems through deep, collaborative partnerships meant to create more equitable and transformational opportunities for youth.

In addition, we work to increase the effectiveness of the field by capturing and analyzing data, then sharing practices that can ignite innovation across the nation.