Nicole Yohalem joined the Forum for Youth Investment as Manager of Learning and Research in August 2000. Prior to that she served as youth development specialist at Michigan State University, developing, implementing and evaluating community-based youth programs. Nicole worked in the adolescent division of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, where she directed the Foundation's residential program for teens. Nicole received her Master of Education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, in their multidisciplinary Risk and Prevention program.

As the executive director of the Forum for Youth Investment, Karen Pittman has dedicated much of her professional career to promoting positive youth development. A sociologist, published author, and nationally recognized leader in the youth development field, Pittman's contributions range from her early efforts at the Urban Institute and the Children's Defense Fund, to her 1995 appointment as the director of the short-lived President's Crime Prevention Council.