Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Youth Development Programs

Rethinking Youth Development as a Leadership Challenge

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By Dr. Tekemia Dorsey

Youth Poverty Is Not a Skills Problem.

It’s a Leadership Problem.

Across the world, youth are doing what we’ve asked of them.

They stay in school.
They complete training.
They earn certificates.

Yet unemployment remains high. Income insecurity persists. Poverty cycles continue.

Governments expand programs. Participation increases. Funding grows.

But outcomes don’t move.

Why?

Because youth development has been treated as a programmatic challenge — when it is fundamentally a leadership and systems challenge.

This Book Changes the Conversation.

In Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Youth Development Programs, Dr. Tekemia Dorsey reframes youth empowerment through a bold and disciplined lens:

Programs do not fail in isolation.
They fail when systems are misdiagnosed, misaligned, and misgoverned.

Drawing on qualitative research, global case evidence, and an in-depth examination of the Youth Empowerment Program (YEP), this book reveals why many well-intentioned initiatives struggle to produce lasting impact — and what leadership must do differently.

Introducing the DORSEY™ Youth-Centered Adaptive Leadership Model

At the heart of this book is an original six-pillar framework designed for complex development environments.

The DORSEY™ Model calls leaders to:

• Diagnose the system, not the youth

• Optimize skills for economic reality

• Redistribute leadership and ownership

• Synchronize institutions and stakeholders

• Evaluate for long-term impact

• Center youth agency as the catalyst for change

This is not another training manual.
It is a leadership blueprint for redesigning opportunity itself.

Who This Book Is For

This book is written for leaders who influence youth development outcomes, including:

• Policymakers and public-sector leaders

• Educators and workforce development professionals

• Development partners and foundations

• Community-based and youth leaders

• Scholars and practitioners committed to inclusive growth

If you are responsible for designing, funding, governing, or evaluating youth initiatives — this book is for you.

What You’ll Gain

• A systems-level understanding of why youth programs underperform

• A practical framework for governing complexity

• Tools to align education, labor, and institutional policy

• Insight into scaling responsibly — and knowing when not to

• A disciplined roadmap for sustainable, youth-centered reform

This Is Not About Charity.

It Is About Leadership.

Youth empowerment is not an act of benevolence.
It is an act of institutional courage.

It requires sharing authority.
Realigning incentives.
Measuring outcomes honestly.
And redesigning systems that young people are forced to navigate.

When youth are treated as decision-makers rather than beneficiaries, development becomes durable.

Available February 3, 2026

Be among the first to read the book redefining youth development as a leadership responsibility.

👉 Order on Amazon
👉 Request Bulk Copies for Institutions
👉 Invite Dr. Dorsey to Speak

The Future of Youth Development Depends on How We Choose to Lead.

Are we willing to rethink the system?