Jacalyn Shelton Wallace

Jacalyn Shelton Wallace was recently named vice president of youth programs for the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center.

Located on Thompson Island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area, Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center is a nonprofit educational organization that serves metropolitan youth with outdoor programs to help youth discover their possibilities, providing adventure- and challenge-based programming for approximately 5,000 students per year. The Outward Bound program seeks to empower youth to develop character and leadership skills by putting them in challenging situations that foster self-confidence, compassion and the ability to work with others.

Wallace brings more than two decades of professional experience and volunteer commitment, as well as a real passion for serving young people, to her position at Thompson Island. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in counseling from Michigan State University. During the 1970s, Wallace gained classroom experience with youth teaching in the Detroit Public Schools. Most recently, Wallace served as director of programs for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM). In that role, she revamped ULEM’s parent and youth services, employment resource center and technology programs.

In her 20-plus year career in the telecommunications industry, Wallace managed human resource operations for a multi-state corporation and acquired substantial experience in corporate planning, operations management and community relations, as well as recruiting, staffing, training and diversity initiatives. As a volunteer, she has created programs to provide networking and mentoring to professionals of color and to raise scholarship funds for disadvantaged youth.