Terry Grobe is a Program Director for
JFF’s efforts to create successful transitions for youth. She works on
city and state initiatives directed at improving outcomes and options
for low-income and out-of-school youth. She has extensive professional
experience in school reform, alternative education, and youth systems
development.
Before coming to JFF, Ms. Grobe worked for Commonwealth Corporation for
nine years. There she was Project Director for Diploma Plus, a national
alternative school model, and she helped create and manage the Reaching
All Youth (RAY) Coalition, a statewide network of alternative schools
and youth programs. RAY disseminated best practices and worked with the
state legislature to create access for out-of-school youth to
mainstream educational services. She also co-convened a multi-sector
partnership focused on improving outcomes and options for Boston youth
who are not on track to graduate from high school.
A former teacher, Ms. Grobe has served as senior staff for the Center
for Youth and Communities at Brandeis University, director of
alternative high schools, staff to the internationally recognized
Boston Compact, and project manager in the Governor’s Education Office
in Massachusetts. She was principle investigator for the national
evaluation of KAPOW (Kids and the Power of Work). She has authored
papers for the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of
Labor and worked on national evaluations of the Summer Youth Employment
Program and Community Service (Corporation for National Service).
Ms. Grobe holds a B.S. in education from the University of Nebraska and
an M.Ed. in secondary school administration from Northeastern
University.