MPYD Board Members

Tecumseh Shackelford is the co-founder and Vice President of the Windsor Arroyo Neighborhood Association (WANA) representing Pasadena/Altadena communities. In April 2002, he co-founded Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development. Mr. Shackelford is currently a member of the Altadena Town Council Land Use Committee, and the former Treasurer of the Altadena Town Council. He is an active member of the Altadena NAACP. He was the recipient of the 2005 Altadena Citizen of the Year award. In 2007, he was Community Grand Marshall of the Pasadena Black History Parade. Mr. Shackelford was also honored by the Archdiocesan Youth Employment Services with the 2011 Mentor-of-the-Year award.

Rosalina Rodriguez has been a long time resident of the Altadena/Pasadena communities. Born in Durango, Mexico where she attended the Escuela Normal of Durango, Rosalina Rodriguez immigrated to America in 1973. She then enrolled at East Los Angeles College and continued her education through the UCLA Extension where she began a successful career of 18 years in commercial banking. She has been a member of the classified staff at John Muir High School for several years and a  member of the John Muir Reinvention Team. Rosalina is a parent and a community advocate exercising her passion for the youth in Altadena and Northwest area of Pasadena, specifically the area surrounding John Muir High School.

Johnie Driver resides in Altadena and is currently retired from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked for 33 years as a Mission Analysis Engineer for space shuttle mission development and spacecraft missions to planets, asteroids, and comets. He earned a M.S. Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne. He is active in his local church as a Deacon,  and tutor for the church tutorial program. He has served as Co-Chair for the committee to select the Principle for John Muir High School and currently serves as the Auditorfor Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development. 

Javier Gil is a Mexican American first-generation college graduate from Baldwin Park, CA. Javier graduated from Citrus College in 2014 with an Associate of Arts degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Cal Poly Pomona in 2017. He started his journey with Mentoring and Partnership for Youth Development in 2016 as a Program Coordinator, then served as Managing Director of the program from 2017-2019.  Javier has a passion for assisting students in meeting their full potential and helping them grow academically, personally, and professionally. In his free time, Javier enjoys outings with family, cooking, and playing music alongside friends.

My name is Jennifer Tokaji. I first came to MPYD in 2019 as the office manager and after the pandemic took me away from that position, I was nominated to join the Board. I am a mother of two boys, Ted is 9 years old and Michael 7 years old. I also serve on the PTA Board for my children’s school. Currently, I am enrolled at Cal State San Bernardino working on my master’s in social work. I believe in the work that MPYD does for the young men at John Muir High School and I am honored to serve on the Board.

LeJoun Wilkerson graduated in 2004 from John Muir High School and earned his BS Degree in Business Management from San Francisco State University. In 2006-2007 he competed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Team. He began his career working as an assistant branch manager serving clients in the vehicle industry, then after being promoted to a sales executive at Enterprise Car Sales. LeJoun found a new passion for Talent Acquisition recruiting top talent in the greater San Francisco bay area. Currently he serves as an Assistant Director for Just Hoop Inc. and coaches traveling basketball teams in the Under Armour Future circuit league. In addition, he is a Sales Manager that serves consumers and delivers consistent and sustainable revenue gains, profit growth, and market-strategic sales leadership. 

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