Staff

Helena Esdaile

VOICES Coordinator

helena.esdaile@temple.edu

Role: I run the VOICES program which provides project based learning opportunites for our youth participants.

Sign: Gemini

Hobbies/Interests: World travel, business development and fitness.

Hopes for the future: freedom.

Stormy Kelsey

Media and Communications Coordinator

stormykelsey@temple.edu

Role: As the media and communications coordinator at the UCC, I help maintain and amplify the digital presence of the organization. I also have the exciting responsibility of managing our youth media program, POPPYN. In this role, I am constantly engaging with our youth participants and supporting them in the media making process.

Hobbies/Interests: Nature walks, reading, cooking, and melomania.

Sign: Capricorn

Hopes for the future: I foresee our most marginalized folks being supported and having access to equitable resources. I foresee a world where we are all free.

Kashara White

POWER & Consent Club Coordinator

kashara.white@temple.edu

Role: I am the Program Coordinator for POWER and I also manage the Consent programming for the UCC! At the UCC, I work to build lasting relationships with our participants who work together to develop political education and media literacy skills, as well as, with schools and teachers to bring our consent education workshop to youth all over the city of Philadelphia.

Sign: Aries/ Sidereal Pisces

Hobbies/Interests: I love reading and watching Sci Fi, Fantasy and Folklore!

Hopes for the future: I envision a future where life is valued above all things.

Aliyah Jefferies

POPPYN Assistant Coordinator

Role: Using my background in film and TV production, I help guide the participants through every stage of media production.

Sign: Libra

Hobbies/Interests: Photography, travel and reading.

Hopes for the future: media made by us, for us.

Johannah Bennett, LSW

Assistant Director

johannah@temple.edu

Role: As the assistant director, I oversee the administrative requirements for the UCC and ensure that our programs operate in compliance with city and state guidelines.

Sign: Sagittarius

Hobbies/Interests: cooking, collecting rocks and being out in nature.

Hopes for the future: Justice.

Heather Lewis-Weber

Director, Office of Community Engagement

Role: In addition to the UCC, I oversee the community engagement portfolio in the College of Liberal Arts, including the Community Scholars Program, Community-Engaged Learning courses, and the CLA Translation Institute.

Barbara Ferman

Dr. Barbara Ferman, the UCC's founding Executive Director, retired in 2025 after nearly 30 years of dedicated work. Barbara founded the UCC in 1997 and grew its programming and staff. Over the years the UCC has reached hundreds of young people, and Barbara raised more than $7 million in grant funds and donations to support this work. Learn more about Barbara's incredible work with the UCC.