Central Los Angeles : New Director Brings Changes to YMCA
Maurice Horsey III has been executive director of the Weingart Urban Center YMCA in South-Central Los Angeles only a few months, but already he has made an impact.
Not only has morale increased, staff members say, but the 45-year-old former middle school teacher has also launched new youth leadership programs that go beyond the YMCA’s traditional “gym-and-swim” purview.
Horsey has also begun forging ties with municipal and community leaders to broaden participation at the center and bolster its financial resources.
“We are on the cutting edge of doing great things,” Horsey said in a recent interview in his office.
Horsey was recruited in December, after serving at YMCA branches in his native Baltimore and in Birmingham, Ala. At Weingart, he hopes to launch versions of mentor programs he started in Birmingham and expand athletic programs, as well as to increase Latino membership at the center to reflect the area’s changing demographics.
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