MEET GWAYO's STAFF

Philip Herman, Executive Director

Philip Herman's Biography 

Philip Herman is the founder and executive director of GWAYO. For the last twenty-three years he has worked with at risk poverty youth. Almost the entire first decade of this time was working with suburban gang youth and local community agencies on how to change their future for the better. After piloting some after-school programming for the Wheeling and River Trails Park Districts in the later 1990's, this lead to the development of the "Dream Maker's Program" and eventually the current version of "Summer Adventure Camp".

Mr. Herman has written and administered many federal, county and private grants over his entire career. He has a passion to see poverty youth have a place to call their own that is both challenging and exciting. In a tribute to his ability as a supervisor, many former staff have gone on to run like-minded youth empowerment programs themselves. 

His undergraduate degree from Taylor University is a Bachelor of Science with a social work major and a minor in psychology. His graduate degree is from Trinity International University and is a Master of Divinity with an urban emphasis.

Josie

Josie Ruiz's Biography

Josie Ruiz graduated from Roosevelt University with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Psychology and has volunteered for Hyde Park Academy High School working with at risk students, and The Midwest Brain Injury Center working with individuals with brain injuries. Josie is currently pursuing her dream of becoming a Clinical Psychologist with a concentration in Marriage and Family.

Her passion for helping is so deeply seeded that she is currently taking her talents to the Greater Wheeling Area Youth Outreach (GWAYO) to help younger and less fortunate children to not only realize their dreams, but live their dreams and hopefully surpass even their wildest imaginations. Josie loves to work with middle and High school students because she sees the great potential in the student’s future.

She follows what once Psychologist Jean Piaget said “The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done-men who are creative, inventive and discovers”. She believes that working with the students and their community will help her develop the necessary skills to be able to be a successful therapist one day.

Julio

Julio Mayorga's Biography

Julio has over 16 years of experience working with youth; he worked as a Parent Involvement Specialist with the Milwaukee Public Schools, South Division High School, and has also coordinated different summer camps for children in the ages of 12 to 20. Julio was also the director of four Senior trips for students from high school with groups up to 67 participants, these trips were taken to Florida and the Bahamas.

More recently Julio was providing enrichment classes for students and parents in the areas of Round Lake, Waukegan, Zion and Highland Park before returning to work for Greater Wheeling Area Youth Outreach, (GWAYO). Julio has a Masters in Theology with a major in Counseling from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. He is actively involved with his church on weekends as a preacher and teacher and has lots of experience as a marriage counselor, something he has done for the last 21 years.