YPFP in the Classroom

How to Volunteer
The first step to volunteering with YPFP-C is to submit an application. If selected, you will be invited to attend a mandatory training session before you can start volunteering with students.

YPFP in the Classroom's mission is to expose traditionally under-served students to global affairs and current events, with the aim of fostering intellectual curiosity, international awareness, and civic engagement. YPFP-C volunteers engage directly with the students and have a positive direct impact on the DC community.

What we do 

• Model United Nations (MUN): The YPFP-C MUN program partners with the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School and has helped them develop their Model UN program. Our volunteers, many of whom have significant MUN experience themselves, meet weekly with the students, educating them about international affairs and preparing them to succeed at Model UN conferences. We also assist teachers with insight into teaching international issues and organizing attendance at Model UN conference.
• Guest lectures: In the past, volunteers have worked in pairs to develop lessons tailored to the needs of the teacher and school curriculum. Volunteers lead interactive presentations on foreign policy, current events, and modern world history. Examples of discussion topics include:
  • Countries, Regions & the World: (AIDS in Africa, Darfur Crisis)
  • International Security: (What is Al Qaeda?, Homeland Security)
  • Topics in International Affairs: (Globalization, Human Rights, Trade, Global Poverty and International Development)
• Mentoring: YPFP-C will be partnering with the Thurgood Marshall Public Charter High School's mentor program this fall 2010. This highly selective program will be limited to a few volunteers, and no applications for this particular opportunity are being taken until the late summer.

If you are an educator and would like to bring into YPFP-C into your classroom or school, please email us at classroom@ypfp.org.

 Staff

Ariana Markowitz is the Director of YPFP in the Classroom, and has volunteered with the program since 2007. A lifelong flautist, Ariana decided against teaching music in order to pursue a career in global affairs and development, with a focus on the Middle East. Ariana has looked to YPFP-C to allow her to engage her long-standing interest in education while continuing to grow professionally. She welcomes any questions about the program via email at ariana.markowitz@ypfp.org.

Ben Goldsmith heads up YPFP's Model United Nations project with Cesar Chavez Public Policy Charter School.  In his three years in Washingon, he has worked for BAE Systems (previously Detica) as a consultant for the Missile Defense Agency and the Air Force Directorate of Strategic Planning.  He also spent time as a research assistant at the RAND Corporation, studying Air Force, Army, and homeland security issues.  He moved to Washington in 2006, after receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering and a MS in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford.  In his free time, he has volunteered with YPFP since 2007, working with the Programming, Membership, and Public Service teams. He also works with America's Impact, a foreign policy advocacy group, and is slowly attempting to master the arts of cooking, racquetball, and poker. He looks forward to hearing from you at ben.goldsmith@ypfp.org.

Katie Skartvedt is YPFP-C's Recruitment and Training Coordinator. She currently serves as coordinator of country programs at Wellspring Advisors, a private philanthropic consulting firm. Katie has also worked in the division of basic education at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris and at the French Senate. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Mauritius in 2003, where she worked at the Mauritius Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conducted independent research, and taught at a non-formal school. Katie graduated summa cum laude from Washington University in Saint Louis with majors in international studies and French and a minor in business. Please don't hesitate to contact her at katie.skartvedt@ypfp.org.