Our nationally-recognized experts have worked with almost every type of youth population. We also assist career-based mentoring efforts, including within the private sector, social workers, teachers, federal employees, US military, and the formerly-incarcerated.

Jerry Sherk, MMS President

Jerry Sherk, M.A. has a degree in psychology with an emphasis in counseling, and has spent the last 25 years as a mentoring consultant and trainer. With extensive experience in supporting group and one-to-one mentoring models, Jerry has worked with organizations that serve an array of youth and adult populations. Mr. Sherk has conducted hundreds of in-person and virtual mentoring workshops over the years, and has authored or co-authored approximately 15 mentoring publications. Jerry is currently a consultant for the National Mentoring Resource Center, and he is on the Leadership Teams of both The California Mentoring Partnership and The San Diego Mentorship Network, two youth mentoring advocacy groups. Jerry began honing his mentoring and leadership skills during a 12-year career as a defensive lineman for the Cleveland Browns.

Judy Strother Taylor, MMS Executive Vice President

Judy Strother Taylor has over 30 years of experience in adult and youth mentoring, human development, and juvenile justice. Judy has worked at the White House Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention and she served for five years as the Project Director for the US Department of Education national mentoring initiative She also provided training for the federally sponsored Children of Prisoners mentoring effort. Judy's publication, "Training New Mentees," was originally written for the National Mentoring Center, and has been used by thousands of mentoring programs since. She recently teamed with MMS President Jerry Sherk to bring an employee-to-employee mentoring program to the US Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles, Albuquerque, and Colorado Springs.

Dustianne North, MMS Vice President

Dustianne North, PhD. works with all types of youth mentoring efforts, and she is a national leader in developing strategies for foster youth mentoring. Dustianne completed her Ph.D. in social welfare at UCLA. As a trainer and consultant, she draws upon her experiences in prevention and mentoring, her clinical training as a social worker and community organizer, her administrative expertise including designing curricula, arts and culture background, and experience as a trainer. This diverse scope of knowledge allows her to work with direct practice issues such as communicating with mentees, as well as macro-level issues, program design, and interagency partnerships.

William Figueroa, MMS Training Consultant

William Figueroa is a leading expert at creating in-person and virtual group mentoring efforts. As Program Director of Los Angeles Team Mentoring (LATM) for the past 15 years, he has successfully led an initiative that serves over 1,300 students per year. William’s dedication to helping young people is born of overcoming his own hardships: He grew up in a tough Miami neighborhood, where he persevered through an environment of bullying, gangs, and peer pressure. William’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for youth mentoring makes him a much sought-after consultant, speaker, and trainer. Reflecting on his work with LATM, William recently remarked, “My ultimate goal in life is to help students to get on a path to college starting in middle school. This way, they can live a life full of infinite possibilities and opportunities.”