John has spent the majority of his career in the youth development field, beginning with his AmeriCorps service in 2002, where he served at the National Runaway Switchboard, working through the Public Allies Chicago program.  After his term of service, John was hired as the DC Program Director of Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP), a community-based organization committed to introducing youth to volunteer service through work with hungry and homeless people.  At YSOP, John helped build a sustainable Washington program for this New York-based nonprofit.  John left YSOP to pursue his Masters degree in 2006, when he was chosen as the John Ben Snow Fellow in Nonprofit Management at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.  As a Snow Fellow, John was responsible for coordinating four grant programs at the Central New York Community Foundation alongside his studies.   

Rachel Kohl joined the BEST Kids staff in the spring of 2010 as the Mentor Coordinator.  Rachel graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies.  Growing up in East Lansing, Michigan, Rachel spent her summers working at an overnight camp where a majority of the campers were underserved youth from Mid-Michigan.  She also spent a summer working at Lutheran Social Services of Lansing, Michigan and another summer developing public policy recommendations on how to increase access to fresh, locally grown food for families on food stamps.