Our Beginning

Since 2003, On The Move has been mobilizing emerging leaders to take action on behalf of their communities and in pursuit of social equity. Based in Napa, California, the organization has grown from local to regional to statewide, ultimately impacting 27 California Counties with groundbreaking programming that spans the areas of: 

On The Move was co-founded in 2003 by Leslie Medine and Diana Gordon after serving as Co-Directors of Alternatives in Action, a Bay Area organization they launched together in 1996. After years of providing Bay Area middle and high school youth with vigorous real world experiences to build their capacity for leadership and community action, a longitudinal study found some distressing news: Young people who graduated from Alternatives in Action’s charter high school reported that their leadership and activism reduced dramatically in the years immediately following 12th grade. Despite the fact that these teenagers had testified before elected officials, engaged the homeless community in collaborative projects, and led the design and build of a massive local skate park, they did not have adult mentors to coach them, nor workplaces or centers of learning that offered opportunities to lead boldly. 

Leslie and Diana chose to respond to these findings as a new call to action, by launching On The Move’s founding program, On The Verge.

On The Verge set out to address the critical and largely unmet needs among young leaders in the Bay Area, each of whom were young professionals in their twenties who shared a commitment to excellence in public service and who sought to receive rigorous coaching to guide them to discover what was possible and build the skills to get there. On The Verge serves as an incubator for “Vergers” to collaborate in designing and implementing community-based initiatives. Over the course of a year, a team of six coaches works with 15 young people to build personal qualities, interpersonal abilities and professional skills.  

As On The Move built a dedicated staff team to carry out the groundbreaking work of it’s initiatives in Napa, some of these leaders held their own drive to address particular social justice issues about which they felt most passionate. On The Move was, and continues to be, prepared to support these efforts when needs can be matched with opportunities for funding and a well-devised and innovative plan.

Today, On The Move operates seven community-based initiatives that provide support and services to meet the essential needs of underserved populations. We will always hold a special place in our history to recognize the leadership and contributions of our Founders.

Building upon its years of successful innovation, On The Move is increasingly being called upon as a trainer, convener and distinct purveyor of technical assistance and capacity building. In addition to delivering place-based programming and services in Napa, Sonoma and Solano Counties, On The Move also provides technical support to a growing number of California communities in the areas of parent education and youth development.

If you are interested in learning more about technical assistance and capacity building services that are available, contact Amber Twitchell at (707) 570-7769 or amber@onthemovebayarea.org.