Parc Smith

The mission of American YouthWorks is to provide young people with opportunities to build careers, strengthen communities, and improve the environment through education, on-the-job training, and service to others.

It combined my passion for social justice and creating opportunities for young people with my love for the outdoors and restoring natural landscapes.

What fuels my passion? Seeing the personal and community transformation that occurs when young people are asked to do something significant for others and are given the skills and opportunity to see that through.

I’m fortunate to have had many great mentors and role models. Among them, the most influential have been my father--Dr. G. Pritchy Smith, a warrior for social justice and equity, a passionate teacher, and an extremely hard worker who stood by his convictions and never swayed from his cause—and my grandfather, he had an ethic of always helping others and always doing the right thing to make the world better in small ways throughout each day.

Finding the balance between our roots as a community-based organization and our growing presence on the national scale.

You don’t have to be an expert at everything if you’re good at surrounding yourself with a variety people who are experts in their areas.

1. Join One Voice Central Texas! Build a network of amazing leaders for support and guidance; it’s a surprisingly lonely role. All complaints come to you, and there are no peers to commiserate with in your organization anymore once you take on an executive role. Get strong, smart leaders who support your vision and efforts.
2. Get involved in the associations that effect your line of work, to stay at the front edge of the trends. If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
3. Slow down! This was one of the harsh lessons in my first year--I got so many speeding tickets that first year trying to get to all the meetings, get everything done. I drove too fast that first year.