Board & Staff

Erica (she/her) is an Arizona native with a deep passion for racial and social equity. Erica has a strong background in program and workforce development that supports the community she serves. Her 28-year career in public health focused on eliminating health disparities by addressing community health needs and social determinants of health through the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative, sustainable, and replicable programs, policies, and systems.

In her previous role, she was responsible for the oversight and direction of a large, multidisciplinary Division focused on community outreach, prevention, and education. Under her oversight she increased the Divisions budget more than 14 million dollars, increased personnel by 40% and added 8 programs focused on health equity and social determinants of health. Erica also successfully advocated for the creation of the first Office of Health Equity in Pima County.

A few achievements Erica is especially proud of are: advocating for legislation that provided breast and cervical cancer treatment for un/underinsured women, being part of a team that wrote the Pima County proclamation declaring racism as a public health threat, designing and securing funding for the award winning Mitigating Covid in Communities of Color Program, developing and implementing programming to provide family planning and STI testing on high school campuses with an emphasis on young men and securing the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health grant in Pima County. Additionally, she consistently demonstrates her leadership ability by keeping people first, creating a culture of inclusiveness and employing situational leadership practices.

Erica has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Health Education and a Master of Arts in Organizational Management. Erica serves on various committees across the community including the Tucson Juneteenth Committee and the African American Health and Wellness Coalition.

Tayamni Goodshield (he/him) is an Oglala Lakota & Ojibwe community organizer and activist born in Humboldt County, CA and raised on the South-West side of Tucson AZ. Tayamni has been an active member in the community since he was young where he worked with in his family's nonprofit, Sustainable Nations to build and hold workshops on sustainable infrastructure using indigenous teachings and building methods. Since then he has continued to work and collaborate in his career with many different nonprofits and organizations, all with the shared vision of working to create a world free from the traumas of colonization and reconnecting to our relationships with the land, our peoples and ourselves. Tayamni is passionate about seeing this vision become a reality.

As Program Manager, Tayamni builds tender and honest relationships with our youth program participants, as well as our community and school-based partners. He is responsible for program planning and facilitation, and supports community informed networks of care and empowerment.

Mark is a 5th generation Tucsonan who has a deep rooted reverence for his desert home. His love and connection to the land developed early on while being raised on the west side of Tucson, next to the Tucson Mountains. Having the access in childhood to play, explore, connect, and learn from the natural teachings of his home, he quickly developed a passion for sharing and learning from the healing gifts nature freely offers.

After many years of working across behavioral health, restaurant, and service industries, he is now thrilled to bring his experience to positively impact the youth in our community. In his role at Boys to Men, Mark is overjoyed at the opportunity to provide mentorship to youth in school talking circles, community organized events, and within the beauty of nature on Adventure Weekends. Outside of work, you’ll find Mark teaching Yoga classes, cycling along The Loop, cooking creatively for himself and the community, and spending as much time as he can in nature.

Precious Craig's journey began in Lagos, Nigeria, and brought her to the welcoming community of Peoria, Arizona. At the University of Arizona (UA), she pursued her education, graduating Magna Cum Laude with Honors in 2021. Precious received the Robie Gold Medal Award, an honor bestowed upon only seven exceptional seniors across the entire university. During her time at UA, Precious felt a strong calling to give back to the Tucson community that had become her home. This drive led her to dedicate over 1,200 hours to community service as a youth academic specialist with the METRO Goodwill Youth Program. In this role, she had the privilege of positively influencing the academic journeys of young individuals.

In 2022, Precious co-founded her school's Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) chapter and assumed the role of President. Her goal was to lay the foundation for positive change, both locally and nationally, by championing SNPhA's mission.

A highlight of Precious's journey was the initiation of a Black Health Fair in Tucson, a significant step toward supporting underserved communities and underrepresented students on campus through her involvement with SNPhA. Precious's passion for community well-being was evident in her efforts to bridge SNPhA and MexZona, a program sending pharmacy students to Mexico monthly for participation in health clinics. In recognition of her exceptional leadership, Precious received the Gen Ronald L. Kurth Award after successfully completing the Greater Tucson Leadership Lead Tucson Program.

In 2021, Precious was honored as a recipient of Tucson's 40 under 40, a recognition of her achievements at just 21 years old. Her journey continues with her role as the HIMI coordinator with Boys to Men Tucson, where she eagerly looks forward to promoting healthy masculinity and making a positive impact on the lives of young adults in the community.

My name is Vida Rodriguez. I’m born and raised in Tucson, Arizona. I am currently a senior at Nosotros Academy and an intern with Boys to Men Tucson. Despite my young age and experience, I have done some community engagement in the past 2 years. I’ve volunteered with Living Streets Alliance, and a part of the Budget De La Gente Youth Participatory Budgeting team, where I helped collect proposals for projects around the westside and downtown Tucson. In the summer of 2022, I raised 1,000 dollars for a Nation Youth Leadership Forum trip to Washington D.C for Nation Security-Diplomacy, Intelligence & Defense.

I am Mexican American and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I have always been passionate about progressive change and helping our community heal from a young age. I am transgender FTM and I have been medically transitioning since February 26th, 2021. As a trans youth growing up, I never really had a space that I felt I could be accepted, safe, open, and myself. When I was first introduced to Boys to Men, in my sophomore year of high school, it was a welcoming and warming experience to be able to be surrounded by kind-hearted supportive men. Boys to Men has helped me grow into being the loud, energetic, loveable person I thought I would never be.

Born and raised in Tucson, Kasey is a graduate of both Sahuaro High School and the School of Social & Behavioral Sciences at The University of Arizona. Unsatisfied by the unequitable performance of large sociopolitical structures, Kasey refocused his energies towards promoting healing and growth at the level of the individual. This new focus motivated him to expand his own horizons through self-education and world travel. He has lived and laughed with traditional families in India, Bolivia, Portugal, and South Korea. Kasey has studied eastern philosophy in Bhutan, Nepal, and at various monasteries around the world. Through witnessing the subtle and uplifting benefits that safe and supportive talking circles can provide to youth participants, Kasey draws inspiration from the mission and success of Boys to Men Tucson. He is honored
to participate and support Boys to Men Tucson and is grateful for the impact their work has on his beloved desert community. Outside of his AmeriCorps service, Kasey is a professional hiking guide, yoga teacher, and a student of Pandit Shivnath Mishra at the Academy of Indian Classical Music in Varanasi, India.