Growing up in DC, Mbachur Mbenga was involved in many youth programs that aided in character building, peer support, and professional development such as Diamond Girl Leadership and The Urban Alliance Foundation. She is a proud McKinley Technology Senior High School graduate and received her BA in Children and Youth Studies from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2016. In May of 2022, Mbachur received her MA in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of the District of Columbia after completing over 700 clinical hours and being inducted into Chi Sigma Iota International Honor Society.

Mbachur’s contributions to the mental health field during her graduate residency have included using therapeutic modalities and techniques to provide supervised counseling services to school-aged children, adolescents, returning citizens, LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals, and adults in a variety of community and private agencies.

Mbachur has always been passionate about youth advocacy and education, especially for young girls, and has spoken in front of dignitaries and international representatives at the United Nations on Education and Equality for Women and Girls, and numerous events, and roundtables regarding the School-to-Prison-Pipeline and how it affects Black children in the education system. Mbachur brings experience evaluating the educational, social, and emotional development of youth and adolescents mostly from marginalized communities, all while displaying cultural competency, and community engagement.

For the past 10 years, Mbachur has used her advanced training in early childhood educational support, evaluations, and youth advocacy in New York and Washington DC. Mbachur has also mentored and advocated for youth in the District where she served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for two years to LGBTQIA youth, and created and led a multi-disciplinary youth violence prevention education program that served 15 DCPS schools and over 300 underserved youth in the District including incarcerated youth housed at the DC Jail and Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.

Mbachur’s inspiration for creating the Jewels of Youth Foundation began while she was still in high school. She was so passionate about mentorship and girl empowerment that she promised to create a program where young girls, specifically young Black girls can thrive in a safe space while navigating the complexities of life.

Because community is so important to Mbachur, being able to contribute to the development of young girls and their esteem, confidence, and leadership abilities through hands-on learning as she was given in her youth continues the healthy cycle of community engagement toward youth development and enrichment. After all, “It takes a village!”