Youth. Creative. agency.

WHAT WE DO.

HOW WE DO IT

Modeled as a creative service agency, our projects teach design thinking, art, multimedia, tech and communication skills to give young people the technical and leadership tools they need to compete in the innovation economy and to be leaders in their community. YDC offers studios and mentorship in printmaking, fine arts, spatial and product design, fabrication, photography, coding, graphic design, video and animation. Design mentors collaborate with youth on projects that add value to their community as well as client commissioned creative projects.

QUARDEAN LEWIS-ALLEN

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

+ Bio

Quardean Lewis-Allen is the Founder and CEO of the nonprofit youth creative agency and innovation hub, Youth Design Center, which provides a gateway for young people in his native Brownsville community and beyond to access mentorship to tackle underrepresentation in STEAM professions, cyclical poverty, and to address the need for place-based community revitalization. He has over a decade of interdisciplinary design experience working across public and private sectors at the intersection of tactical urbanism and social activism through community-led design.

Lewis-Allen was an Adjunct Lecturer at City College of New York and NYU Tisch Interactive Telecommunications Program where he was also a Human-In-Residence Fellow. He serves on the Board of Brownsville Community Development Corporation and the Ocean Hill Brownsville Coalition of Young Professionals. He is an Emerging Leaders Fund recipient of Claneil Foundation, Crain’s Under 40, Forbes Under 30, America’s Promise Alliance’s People of Promise Awardee and an Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellow, amongst other accolades. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from SUNY Buffalo and a Masters in Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Muhammad Floyd

DIGITAL MEDIA MENTOR

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A creative with a passion for igniting the creative sparks within young minds, guiding them to chase their dreams against all odds. With a keen eye for capturing moments through photography and filmmaking, Muhammad intertwines his expertise with the art of mentoring, empowering youth to harness their creative potential amidst life's challenges.