Youth Action alumni member, Ginene Lewis, is less interested in spotlighting herself and more interested in spotlighting others. “Individuals should not work in recognition of self,” she says with passion, “but they should work to help others be recognized.”
Her strong service background proves this. Ginene is Youth Action’s past president and co-founder. During her time with YA, she played a leading role in helping to coordinate extensive service programs that sought to keep her peers aware of issues in the Philadelphia community and challenged them to make a difference in their communities. Most notably, she worked alongside team members in coordinating a video documentary and seminars to youth about poverty and homelessness. In addition, she aided in the development of a youth awareness project on how domestic violence is the root to violence in Philadelphia.
Strange enough, the spotlight is now being turned on Ginene. Upon her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in May 2012, Ginene will clerk for federal judge Honorable Patrice Tucker (U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of PA). Thereafter, she will work for the prestigious Drinker Biddle & Reath Law Firm in Philadelphia.
Aside from this accomplishment, Ginene is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Spelman College. In her senior of year of college, Ginene received the Arthur Liman Public Interest Law Fellowship Program in partnership with Yale Law School. She has taken legal internships with law offices such McGuire Woods (Atlanta, GA), Vanguard (Malvern, PA), and Drinker Biddle & Reath (Philadelphia, PA). Lewis is an executive board member of the University of Pennsylvania’s Black Law School Students Association. She is also a member of the West Philadelphia YMCA Board of Directors.
What makes Ginene Lewis special is her humble leadership. She does not desire publicity for her work, instead she spends more time recognizing others. Ginene represents all of what current Youth Action members stand for and that is: self-less leadership.