History
The Young Men's Ultimate Weekend was founded by Dr. Mark
Schillinger in 2000. Mark was inspired by Brad Leslie
who started a weekend mentoring program for young men
in Vancouver, Canada in 1990. Mark took his son to this
program and when he returned he knew he needed help raising
his son as a single-parent. He put out a call for help
in the Bay Area and with the commitment and cooperation
of dozens of caring mothers, fathers, and mentors, the
YMUW 501(c)3 Public Benefit Corporation was established.
At our first Young Men's Ultimate Weekend in Fairfax California,
over 200 young men showed up to receive their initiation.
Expecting possibly a few dozen young men, that experience
turned out to be an initiation for the board members and
their volunteer mentors as well! Since that event, YMUW
initiations have been held in Seattle, Portland, Sacramento,
Sonoma, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Since we first began, we have expanded our programs to help parents, mentors, teachers and therapists be more effective in their relationships with young men. By presenting in-house workshops to other family service agences, producing public workshops or providing private family coaching, we are fulfilling our mission of helping young men and adults have more respectful and cooperative relationships. We would like to give a special thanks to the Adizes Institute for their expert guidance in organizational development.
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Board Members
The board members of the South Bay and North Bay meet regularly
to oversee the quality control of its programs and make
policies regarding fundraising efforts, volunteer recruitment,
legal issues, and strategic planning.
Women
and men of all racial, ethnic and social classes are welcome
to serve on our Board of Directors. We ask that all prospective
Board members be willing to make a commitment to provide
leadership within our committees and contribute to an environment
of mutual trust and respect to achieve our Mission.
North Bay Board Members
Dave Bohegian - President of YMUW North Bay
Co-owner and founder of Martorana Bohegian & Company,
a commercial real estate consulting firm. Extensive involvement
in Marin youth sports including coaching Girls Soccer, Boys
Soccer, Little League Baseball, and assistant coach for
Tamalpais High School Tennis (Girls and Boys). Past member,
San Rafael School District Facilities Advisory Committee.
Brendan Byrd, Member of YMUW North Bay
Entrepreneur and small business owner, Brendan has extensive
experience working with youth including tutoring with WITSChicago.org
(Working in the Schools), mentoring with ROCKSF.org (Real
Options for City Kids) and coaching YMCA basketball and
football. He is dedicated to helping young people realize
they posses the keys to their own futures.
David Downey, Secretary of YMUW North Bay
President of David Downey Construction, a residential remodeling and green building construction company, David is a co-instructor at Redwood High School teaching students and adults the basics of construction technology. David has two adult children, four grandchildren, and lives in Santa Rosa.
Alan Cooney, Member of YMUW North Bay
Certified as a YMUW Mentor through YMUW's Ultiate Mentor Training, Alan has been a mentor and has served in various production roles at many YMUW events. He has been involved with men's teams for more than a decade. He is an Advanced SCUBA diver, private pilot and Director of Electrical Engineering at Ekso Bionics, building exoskeletons that augment human mobility and capability.
Peter Gradjansky, Member of YMUW North Bay
Peter Gradjansky is a landscape architect and contractor, who designs and builds gardens. He lives in Berkeley with his architect wife, Laura, his twenty-year-old daughter, Hannah, and his sixteen-year-old son, Ivan. Ivan is a two-time graduate of teh young men's weekend, and now, since the age of 14, a valued member of our weekend production team. So how could Peter not want to help bring this work to more young men?
Dr. Mark Schillinger, Executive Director and Co-founder of YMUW
Original board member of the non-profit, Performing Stars
of Marin, creator of the Give Thanks Dance Party (benefit
for the Marin Community Food Bank) and founder of the YMUW.
Mark has 2 grown children and has been a chiropractic physician
for 27 years in San Rafael, Ca
Greg
Schweider, Treasurer of YMUW North Bay
Volunteers as Treasurer at Resolve of Northern California
and participated in the YMCA Mentor Program. Greg is married
and is a consultant and CPA of 13 years, and was CFO of
two successful hedge funds.
Steven
Smulewitz, Cofounder of YMUW
Involved with men's teams, mentoring young men and volunteering at various community service projects since 1999. Steven is married, has a daughter and twin sons, and is a staff accountant at the Boy Scouts of America.
South
Bay Board Members
Greg
Benton, Secretary and cofounder of YMUW of the South Bay
Involved with men's teams, mentoring young men and volunteering
at various community service projects since 1992. Greg
is married with an adult daughter and is a licensed architect
practicing in the Bay Area since 1983.
Bill
Dameron, President and cofounder of YMUW of the South
Bay
Volunteer for Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project and
Men's Divisions International. Bill is married with a
daughter and is a Senior Process Development Associate
with the Genitope Corporation, a Biotech firm dedicated
to producing innovative therapies for cancers of the immune
system.
Jim Herrera, Member of YMUW of the South Bay
Jim is an entrepreneur whose business passion is to develop teams that provide leadership guidance to assist small businesses in realizing their full potential. He is president of the National Hispanic Organization of Real Estate Associates. He also has been a Youth Pastor at Communities of Hope, in San Jose..
Brian
Hunter, cofounder of YMUW of the South Bay
Volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Santa Clara County
Juvenile Probation Restorative Justice Program, Parental/Teen
Stress Hotline and City of Palo Alto - Family Resources
- Mental Health Counseling. Brian is married with two
stepchildren. Brian has 2 degrees: BA in Industrial Organizational
Psychology and a MA in Marriage and Family Counseling.
Michael Putnam, Member of YMUW of the South Bay
Has worked with many local nonprofit organizations including Habitat for Humanity, The Role Model Program, City Team Ministries and United Way. Owner of a promotional marketing and printing company in the Bay Area, Michael has worked extensively with youth camps through CCUSA both in Australia and the US and has been a volunteer with the YMUW since 2005. |
