About

Neighborhood Center for Youth Development

The mission of the Neighborhood Center for Youth Development (NCYD) is to empower, educate, and elevate youth in West Philadelphia by providing safe spaces, holistic programming, and intergenerational mentorship that fosters academic success, physical wellness, and resilient community leadership.

The partnership

The Karate-do & Character Development Initiative is a program of the Neighborhood Center for Youth Development, delivered in partnership with the Ju-Jitsu Shotokan Karate Association, whose certified instructors lead every dojo session.

Accountability

Status:: 501(c)(3) nonprofit
EIN:: 23-2303864
Reporting:: An end-of-year impact report to funders, with anonymized student data

Board of Directors

Bruce Crawley

Chairman

Bruce Crawley is president and principal owner of Millennium 3 Management, Inc. (M3M), a full-service marketing and communications firm, and a consultant to corporate and institutional clients. Prior to establishing M3M in 2006, Crawley served as president of Crawley Haskins Sloan PR & Advertising, which he founded in 1989. Prior to that, Crawley was employed at First Pennsylvania Bank, where he was senior vice president and director of public and investor relations. He also served for three years as the Bank’s vice president and advertising director. An accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Crawley is also a past president of the National Association of Urban Bankers (Urban Financial Services Coalition). Mr. Crawley has also served as an advisor for community empowerment initiatives. He will be an invaluable advisor for corporate fundraising and strategic advocacy to secure essential resource commitments for the Neighborhood Center for Youth Development.

Ben Welsh

Vice Chairman

Dr. Welsh joined the faculty of Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy in the spring of 2009. He previously served as associate professor of teacher education at Alfred University and Keuka College, and assistant professor of educational foundations at Ball State University. His foundational experience includes teaching roles at the Community College of Philadelphia, Bartram High School, and serving as ACT Coordinator at the Philadelphia Job Corps Center. An expert in multicultural education, the history of education, and school policy analysis, Dr. Welsh is the primary designer and researcher for the NCYD development program. In this role, he leads strategic professional development initiatives that directly enhance instructional capacity and leadership pipelines across all substitute and partner charter schools.

Nyles A. Gray

President & Founder

Nyles A. Gray is the Founder and President of the Neighborhood Center for Youth Development (NCYD). An experienced educator and organizational leader, he incorporated NCYD as a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation and successfully advanced its mission through strategic grant proposals, budget management, and executive presentations. Before re-establishing NCYD, he dedicated his teaching expertise in higher education as an adjunct professor at Neumann College, Rowan University, and Delaware County Community College. Mr. Gray possesses an extensive academic background rooted in education and administration. He completed doctoral coursework and comprehensive examinations in the Higher Education Division of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. He also holds an M.S. in Adult & Continuing Education and an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Cheyney University, a B.S. in Liberal Studies from Neumann College, and an A.A.S. in Business Management from Delaware County Community College. Mr. Gray dedicated over a decade to classroom education, serving as a substitute teacher in the Chester Upland School District and Philadelphia School District from 2010 to 2026.

Charles Marine

Secretary — Operations & Technology

Charles Marine is the owner of Warley Digital LLC. This Philadelphia digital agency builds modern web applications. It provides digital strategy, SEO, advertising, and lead generation for small businesses, which he has run since 2021, alongside approximately 5 years of ongoing substitute teaching in Philadelphia schools. Marine entered the classroom as a long-term substitute at Imhotep Charter High School, teaching 12th grade physics in a placement that ended a run of transient instruction for a full cohort of students — and which led to a full-time appointment at One Bright Ray Charter High School, where he taught mathematics for four years to over-aged and under-credited students from across the city. Earlier, he served for six years as Health, Safety, and Environment Coordinator at Gemalto Inc., managing regulatory compliance and reporting, hazard identification, incident reporting and investigation, and a state-certified health and safety committee, and serving as the ISO 14001 management representative. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Drexel University and an OSHA 30 certification. Marine was selected as a Wells Fargo Open-For-Business service provider for the North Kensington Community Development Center, delivering cost-free services to neighborhood businesses. At NCYD, Marine serves as Secretary and leads Operations and Technology, overseeing service delivery, compliance systems, and the organization’s scheduling and training platforms.