Here For Youth, Young Adults, and Now All Ages

Our services help interrupt trauma and provide a pathway for people to reach their full potential.

YMCA Social Impact Center focuses on providing the resources young people need to successfully transition into adulthood, which includes earning a diploma, obtaining employment, improving their mental health, and securing stable housing. The Y is the largest provider of housing for homeless young adults in King County, sheltering nearly 500 young people on any given night and is the contracted agency for King County to provide specialized case management for young people who have aged out of foster care. Y Social Impact Center serves 70% young people of color across all programs, many who have lived in the cycle of systemic poverty as a result of institutional racism.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, our communities’ need for mental health support and substance use services has skyrocketed, leading us to adjust by increasing our offerings to provide behavioral health services to all ages, Y members, and non-members of King County. 

Our History

Y Social Impact Center, formerly Accelerator YMCA and Nexus Youth & Families, is the social services division of the YMCA of Greater Seattle.

For over 48 years, the Y Social Impact Center has specialized in serving youth and young adults who have experienced trauma, like homelessness, foster care, and institutional racism. This is done by providing the tools and resources to build young people up and help them reach their goals.

Y Social Impact Center serves the whole person by offering a wide array of services in the following areas: education, employment, housing, mental health, and violence prevention. Y Social Impact Center serves about 5,000 young adults and families each year, helping them to build safe, successful, and happy lives.

Our Leadership

Our Senior Leadership Team and Board Members    

• Mark Putnam, Executive Director
• Kristen Brennan, Deputy Director
• ManChui Leung, Director of Learning and Impact
• Donnie Goodman, Senior Director, Behavioral Health
• Kris Sanborn, Senior Director, Foster Care
• Scott Schubert, Senior Director, Housing and Homeless Services
• Aaron Fox, Senior Director, Young Adult Services
• Sarah Binner, Business Admin Director
• Christina Oakes, Director of Grants and Contract Administration
• Michael Jackson, Director of Philanthropy

Board of Directors 

• Krystal Brun, Amazon (Board co-chair)
• Josh Walker, Embright, LCC (Board co-chair)
• Brian Olin, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
• Chris Wigley, Amazon
• Clara Park, Seattle District Attorney
• JoAnn Bowditch, FareStart
• Mark Fiebig, Self-Employed    
• Scott DePriest, IQVIA
• Sharon Burks, Kaiser Permanente Research Institute   
• Julia Reed, Kinetic West  
• Laura Redden, Spencer Stuart
• Andre Cunningham, Returning Point, LLC    
• Jessie Friedmann, UW Office of Planning & Budgeting    
• Perry Montgomery, Starbucks    
• Denise Buchanan, Cigna    
• Lori Coppenrath, DLR Group    
• Susan Dunn, Elizabeth Foundation