Franklin Peralta, Promotor at Latin American Youth Center, is the Winner of the First Greater Washington Superstar Award and the National Veronica Award

Venture Philanthropy Partners is pleased to announce that Franklin Peralta, a Promotor at the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is the winner of VPP’s first regional Greater Washington Superstar Award, and went on to win the Superstar Foundation’s National Veronica Award.

Co-hosted by The Superstar Foundation, the regional award recognizes and rewards $5,000 to a direct service worker in Greater Washington who uses data in their work to improve the lives of young people. VPP believes that measurably improving the lives of children and youth means using data effectively to understand our young people and their needs and guide them onto a path for success.

Along with the recognition and cash prize, winners of the Greater Washington Superstar Award are submitted for the Veronica Award, a national award hosted by the Superstar Foundation. Like its regional counterpart, the Veronica Award recognizes people who show excellence using data as a direct service worker (though not limited to working directly with young people). Each year, at least three winners will receive this honor as well as another $5,000. Peralta’s work at LAYC earned him the distinction of being named a 2018 Veronica Award winner.

LAYC’s Promotor Pathway program pairs a mentor – or “Promotor” – with a young person who is disconnected from school or work to achieve three goals: increased academic success, transition to work or completion of vocational/technical education, and improvement in practice of healthy behaviors and decreases in risk-taking behaviors.

Franklin Peralta’s track record of meeting and exceeding the outcomes defined by the Promotor Pathway program comes from building strong one-on-one relationships with each young person he works with and rigorously tracking their progress. Using the program’s framework of 19 outcome areas, Peralta reports on a young person’s progress in each area, noting the quality and quantity of time spent on it. This allows him to ensure that he’s giving the different areas – and youth – the attention they deserve. No matter the challenges youth face, Franklin’s approach to creating trusted relationships is the same: he listens; he supports; he remains forever calm and patient; he never judges, and he never gives up on a single young person.

Because of Peralta’s dedication to collecting data and using up-to-date methods, his peers see him as a leader and a resource. Other Promotors ask Peralta for guidance with creating their own evaluation processes. And when it comes time to find new tools that will improve the organization’s data collection, Peralta steps up to test these tools and provides feedback that strengthens LAYC so it can better serve young people.

Peralta has a long history with the LAYC, having spent time there when he was a young person growing up in this community. “I’m thrilled to receive this recognition,” Peralta says. “Being recognized for the Greater Washington Superstar Award is a great accomplishment for me and the work I do with youth at the Latin American Youth Center. This award represents the success of all the hard work I have done over the years: From entering my contacts into our employer touchpoint database to showing my work through data. I’m humbled and grateful for the recognition.”

Please join us in congratulating Franklin Peralta for his great work and thanking him for supporting young people in Greater Washington!