Meet Our Team

Youth2Lead is an initiative of the Aspirations Network, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization based in St. Louis. Founded in 2022, the Aspirations Network administers programs to encourage community participation and career readiness of youth throughout the St. Louis region.

Hanley Chiang, Ph.D., manages the core activities of Youth2Lead. He is a consultant to the Aspirations Network and serves as the organization’s Director of K-8 Programs. He has over 16 years of experience using data and evidence to improve educational policies and programs. As a Principal Researcher at Mathematica, a leading policy research organization, Hanley has led large-scale projects for the U.S. Department of Education to examine policies that recruit, develop, and evaluate teachers and afterschool staff. He has also worked closely with St. Louis area districts to help them use data more effectively to support their teacher workforce and enhance teacher retention. Hanley earned his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University.

Colby Crowder, MSW, provides oversight and strategic direction for Youth2Lead. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Aspirations Network and the Youth Development Advisor for the Center for Social Development at Washington University. As Executive Director, Colby manages the Aspirations Network’s operations, carries out the mission of the organization, and provides direction for the development of the organization’s programs. His research with the Center investigates the effect of youth-development programming and resources on the education and well-being outcomes of youth participants. In addition to his role at the Center for Social Development, Colby leads the Process Game Company, an education resource company that develops games and resources to enhance the instruction of educators. Colby is a graduate of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and holds a BS from the University of Central Missouri.

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