Tashea Jenkins

Executive Director, One Village Inc.: Age 37

Tashea Jenkins

“Youth is my baby.”

That’s how Tashea Jenkins described her heart for helping young people through her nonprofit, One Village Inc.

In that role, she develops and prepares both teens and young adults for the workforce through programs, activities, and community service.

During the six-week curriculum, participants attend once a week and learn about topics like communication styles, conflict management in the workplace, how to sit for an interview, and what a résumé looks like. She also hosts events, games, speakers, field trips to employers, and more. The idea is to inspire young people to develop career ambitions and give them tools to pursue them.

“The last week, we try to have four or five employers come out, and they can do a mock job fair using the tools and knowledge they learned over those six weeks,” she explained.

Jenkins launched the initiative in 2017 after four Springfield Central High School students were killed in the crash of a stolen SUV on Union Street. She established it as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit five years later.

“I wanted to give back. I tell them, ‘guys, you’ve got so much ahead for your life. Don’t go out and do stupid stuff. Do your life. You’ve got so many years before you.”

Deeply involved in the community, Jenkins has coordinated events for a number of nonprofits, including Black Men of Greater Springfield, Walk in Their Shoes Foundation, Mission Church Ministries, and Pyramid Soccer Group.

Even at work, she always worked for the betterment of society. Her past positions include lead case manager with the New England Farm Workers Council’s Youth Program, outreach counselor with Behavioral Health Network, residential stabilization specialist with the Mental Health Assoc., re-entry employment specialist with MassHire Holyoke, and community sourcing specialist at Baystate Health. A few of those roles, notably, involved connecting people with jobs.

“Young people want to work. They want money. But nobody’s teaching them how to be sustainable,” she explained. “I’ve been helping to develop seniors and juniors in the workforce, getting them matched up with the right placements, the right career path, whether it’s school or training or trade.”

She especially wants to set an example for her 13-year-old son.

“One of the things I want to instill in him is not giving up. If you fall down, don’t stay down. And if you do fail, come up with a different plan so you can get back up.”

—Joseph Bednar