Alicia Wilson-Ahlstrom is a Program Manager at the Forum for Youth Investment where she oversees national and regional projects related to policy development, strategic alignment and general technical assistance on youth-focused policy and programmatic initiatives.

Alicia joined the Forum in 2002. Alicia works on national and regional projects related to policy development, strategic alignment and general technical assistance on youth policy and program initiatives. Her work focuses specifically on improving out-of-school time systems and after-school policy development; increasing program quality in the allied youth fields; and effective engagement of young people in public policy processes. Most recently she completed projects to document and compare three distinct efforts to improve program quality across a national, state or city system and a national survey of the professional characteristics, realities and supports for frontline youth workers.

Prior to her work at the Forum, Alicia served as a program manager in the Adolescent Division of the High/Scope Foundation where she was responsible for developing curriculum and launching the Trainer Certification Program, an intensive program to prepare community-level trainers in youth development. She also managed four regional youth worker and teacher training initiatives in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska and the city of Newcastle in the United Kingdom.

Alicia is a skilled trainer and has extensive and diverse experience in both the direct youth work and policy arenas. Alicia has contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of Youth Activism, New Directions in Youth Development, the Harvard Family Research Project and the Community Youth Development Journal. Alicia has also served on the boards of Break Away and the Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning.

Alicia has participated in several fellowship and service programs, including the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, the New Leaders Academy of the National Youth Employment Coalition, the Moody Exchange Fellowship for Professional Study in South Africa and the AmeriCorps service program.

Alicia earned a Master of Public Policy degree and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Calvin College.

Committed to increasing the quality and quantity of youth investment and youth involvement in the United States, the Forum supports organizations and communities that invest in young people by promoting a “big picture” approach to planning, research, advocacy and policy development among the broad range of national organizations that help communities invest in children, youth and families. The Forum for Youth Investment is the core operating division of Impact Strategies, Inc. ISI is the legal entity created to house the Forum for Youth Investment, the Cady-Lee Meeting Center and future related endeavors.