Jondalyn has organized Root the Power since 2018, guiding the program through a successful expansion in size and impact. Her experience as an entrepreneur business owner, coaching individuals and groups in pursuit of their wellness goals, has equipped her to be a skilled mentor and facilitator with the young people involved in Root the Power and a connector with other community partners. Jondalyn has a Master’s degree in Business Administration and experience working in both business and nonprofit administration, which makes her invaluable to our internal operations and sustainability as an organization.

Marquetta Atkins is a community educator who brings her passion for working with youth and her creative energy to the table as a facilitator. For years she has dedicated herself to ensuring that young people are equipped with the tools for a better future. She was born and raised in Wichita, KS and graduated with a degree in Communications from Wichita State University. Her persistence in reaching her educational goals equipped her to be a mentor for high school youth in Wichita, including her own children Devon a senior at WSU and Aimani an sophomore at Prairie View A & M University. 

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Marquetta’s passion for youth development is rooted in her conviction that youth are the change-makers we need for the transformation of our communities, both today and in the future.
In 2015, she founded Camp Destination Innovation to expose young people to a variety of career options; encouraging them to create their own future. The camp also helps youth explore strategies for entrepreneurship and civic engagement, grounding their professional development in a larger vision for whole and healthy communities.

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Striving to eliminate the barriers facing young people and women as entrepreneurs, Marquetta created Women Entrepreneurs of Kansas (WeKan!), an initiative to support the growth and power of women entrepreneurs. Marquetta’s talented facilitation challenges people to question their own assumptions and dig deeper into critical awareness. Marquetta is a member of the Entrepreneurship Task Force, the Evergreen Curriculum Committee, sits on the Juneteenth committee and serves on the Innovation Committee at Wichita State University.

Margi is involved in each of Destination Innovation’s program areas and in the internal operations of Destination Innovation. Her background is in program design and facilitation, as well as in building sustainable organizational cultures. She has a Master of Divinity degree and 10 years of experience in social justice education, particularly in immigrant rights, globalization, and racial justice.  Margi’s vision for social change honors the need for multiple strategies and an ecosystem of efforts. Her hope is for people to see themselves as powerful and beautiful, as change-makers capable of uprooting internalized and external oppression and creating systems of equity and dignity.  She loves working at the level of personal and interpersonal transformation, where people connect themselves to a bigger vision for social change.

Yadira joined our team in 2018, entering the organization during a period of rapid development for both Progeny and Root the Power.  Her work has been essential in the successful growth of these programs, helping them to become well-recognized within the Wichita community and beyond and to gain greater public involvement and support. With a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, she brings to the team her eye for design and her experience in social media, marketing, photography, and video production.