A national leader in education, Kathleen leads EVOLVE, Youth Guidance’s first systemic, school-wide intervention designed to cultivate a culture of support and healing in schools.

When the Obama Foundation announced its 2025–2026 cohort of U.S.A Leaders, one name stood out to us at Youth Guidance: Kathleen A. Leynes, DSW, LCSW, our Director of Professional Development and Curriculum Design.

A national leader in education, Kathleen leads EVOLVE, Youth Guidance’s first systemic, school-wide intervention designed to cultivate a culture of support and healing in schools. Under her guidance, EVOLVE equips educators with tools and training to create emotionally safe environments where both students and adults can thrive.

Before joining Youth Guidance, Kathleen spent 15 years as a high school social worker, where she co-led her district’s professional development strategy and built a pioneering advisory model that strengthened relationships between staff and students. She recently earned her Doctor of Social Work from Aurora University, completing a dissertation on how school social workers influence social-emotional school climate — a fitting reflection of her lifelong mission to build systems that honor both the humanity of students and the well-being of educators.

Now, as part of the Obama Foundation’s Leaders program — a six-month long initiative that brings together changemakers committed to values-based leadership — Kathleen is poised to expand the reach and impact of her work.

We sat down with her to talk about what this honor means, how EVOLVE is transforming schools, and why she believes joy and connection belong at the center of education.

Q: How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the Obama Foundation Leaders Program?

Kathleen: Once the shock wore off, the first thing I felt was humility. To be connected to a program that celebrates the legacy of President and Mrs. Obama — what they stand for, what they’ve done for this country — is incredibly humbling. Many of their values, like leading with empathy, are things I deeply align with.

At the same time, it felt like a gift. For the past decade, I’ve poured so much energy into building programs, and in the last three years, I’ve focused exclusively on EVOLVE. I hadn’t spent much time thinking about how I wanted to grow as a leader. At this moment, in this country, it’s critical for leaders like me to find a community of peers who are facing similar challenges — to connect, lean on one another, and figure out solutions together.

Q: Tell us about EVOLVE. What makes this work so urgent right now?

Kathleen: EVOLVE equips educators with tools to build safe, healing-centered school environments. Right now, schools are grappling with rising youth mental-health needs.

For me, EVOLVE is about the parallel process. We can’t expect students to build resilience and empathy if adults in schools aren’t supported to do the same. When educators experience healing and belonging, they can pass that along to students. That ripple effect transforms entire school communities.

Q: You’ve said your proudest accomplishment was building a district-wide advisory program earlier in your career. How did that shape the work you do now?

Kathleen: That experience taught me that relationships drive everything. We hand-scheduled every student into groups that matched their academic, social, and emotional needs. We matched staff to students based on their unique strengths and lived experiences.

Over time, advisory became the heartbeat of the school. Students who once felt invisible started showing up — not just physically, but emotionally. Teachers realized they had more to offer than their instructional skills. That was the foundation for EVOLVE: proof that when you design with intention and humanity, you can transform outcomes and experiences.

Q: Growing up Filipina American, you’ve described food as a first language of culture and connection. How does that upbringing influence your leadership today?

Kathleen: Food was where my family gathered, laughed, and preserved our heritage. We didn’t always have time for long conversations about life in the Philippines, but we always had time to eat together. Those meals were acts of care and culture.

That’s why I use food as a relational tool in my work. One of my favorite EVOLVE check-in questions is: “What dish would you bring to an EVOLVE barbecue?” It opens the door to stories, identity, and joy. For me, food is about belonging — and creating spaces where people feel fully human with one another.

Q: Who has inspired you most as a leader?

Kathleen: Corazon Aquino, the first female president of the Philippines. Her leadership emerged from personal tragedy, but she led a peaceful revolution that restored democracy. What struck me was her quiet confidence — she led with conviction, compassion, and resilience, not dominance.

She showed me that empathy isn’t a weakness; it’s a force for change. That’s the model I try to follow: leading with humility, listening deeply, and standing up for what’s right, even in difficult moments.

Q: Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for EVOLVE and for your work as a changemaker?

Kathleen: Our vision is bold: to reach 400,000 middle- and high-school youth of color in high-poverty, high-violence communities across the U.S. by creating school ecosystems with emotionally attuned, culturally competent adults.

It’s about more than numbers. It’s about creating schools where students feel seen, educators feel supported, and joy is part of the daily experience.

Postscript

Kathleen’s selection as an Obama Leader is more than a personal achievement — it’s a testament to the transformative work happening at Youth Guidance. Through EVOLVE, she is helping redefine what schools can be: not just places of academic instruction, but places of healing, connection, and joy.

As she embarks on this new chapter, the entire Youth Guidance community celebrates alongside her — proud, inspired, and eager to see how her journey will continue to ripple outward to educators, students, and communities nationwide.