BCNY Conference: The Right to Childhood

Friday, September 18, 2026 – New York City, NY

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The BCNY Conference: The Right to Childhood

A one-day, in-person convening celebrating 150 years of youth work, brotherhood, and community impact. Spots are filling fast, secure your seat today!

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Event Details

Date: Friday, September 18, 2026

Time: program, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Cocktails: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Venue

873 Broadway, Second Floor,
New York, NY 10003

Attendees can expect:

  • Keynote conversation
  • Expert panel discussions
  • Networking sessions
  • Lunch and refreshments
  • Partner organization tables highlighting NYC youth development work
  • Art and historical exhibits highlighting BCNY’s legacy

Event Panel Themes:

Defying Stereotypes Through Youth Work:

An intersectional lens on youth work and the boy crisis. How do stereotypes about boys and young men of color constrain their childhoods? And how can spaces built around cultural identity and belonging challenge those limiting narratives for all children?

Centering Youth Voices: Designing Systems that Listen:

An argument for centering youth voices in the systems that shape their lives. How community organizations become spaces of youth empowerment, and why institutions designed to support young people on their journeys often miss what matters.

Play! What Our Systems Forget About Childhood:

Youth development doesn’t stop at academic outcomes. This panel explores what our systems forget: the developmental power of play, athletics, arts, and experiential learning—and the role community organizations play in meeting those needs.

Keynote and Confirmed Panelists

Keynote Speaker, Alaudin Ullah
Actor, Director, Author & Boys’ Club Alumnus

Dr. Vidal Annan
Senior Director, Center for Mental Health Care and Resources, Georgia Tech

Dr. Bianca J. Baldridge
Associate Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Ashanti Branch
Founder & Speaker, Branch Speaks

Tareake Dorill
Founder & Executive Director, Dorill Initiative; BCNY Alumnus

Dr. Fabienne Doucet
Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools; Professor, Early Childhood and Urban Education, NYU Steinhardt

Jasiyah Gilbert
Client & Community Engagement Manager, The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice

Hope Acevedo
Assistant Social Work Supervisor, Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice

Dr. Joseph Derrick Nelson
Associate Professor & Department Chair, Black Studies, Swarthmore College

Dr. Christopher Reigeluth
Associate Professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University

Dr. Adriana Villavicencio
Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, NYU

Dr. Niobe Way
Professor of Applied Psychology, NYU