Newark Opportunity Youth Network

Entrepreneur: Robert Clark

Founded: 2022

Newark Opportunity Youth Network (NOYN) launched in 2016 with a multi-pronged approach to improving outcomes for opportunity youth in their community and across New Jersey. To execute this mission, their network is comprised of four key elements: Education, Workforce Development, Policy Advocacy, and Systems Building. Every city and region is unique, but when this approach is localized to a particular community’s needs, only then, can large-scale, sustainable impact for opportunity youth become possible. NOYN looks to address the underrepresentation of male educators of color and the broader teacher shortage by increasing high school seniors’ and pre-service teachers’ interest in teaching and supporting male educators of color through their My Brother’s Keeper Newark initiative.