Doug Young, the communications director of Lower Merion School District (LMSD) in suburban Philadelphia, grew up in Lower Merion Township. Doug attended Lower Merion High School where he was a member on the basketball team and went on to attend Dartmouth College. Upon graduation, Doug worked for Senator Alan Cranston in California and then relocated to New York to work within the marketing division of the National Basketball Association league office.
As the communications director of LMSD, Doug serves as spokesperson for the school district and manages strategic communications and community relations. He also oversees the District’s Innovation Center, which serves as a center of social entrepreneurship and ideas exchange for students, and produces events like TEDxLMSD and an annual girls leadership conference. Doug is a member of the board of the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of youth and families in need and encouraging young people to stay active through sports. Doug also finds time to incorporate his love for basketball into his life by serving as assistant coach of the Lower Merion Aces boy’s basketball team.
As co-founder of PYB, Doug has been a consistent and instrumental advocate of Philadelphia Youth Basketball and its transformative mission for youth development. He has observed the progression of the organization’s early ideas to its present, tangible programming and impact on current PYB student-athletes. Doug is motivated by the power of basketball; “it’s our game and helps define the city of Philadelphia,” Doug states. He believes the game has the potential to serve as a powerful vehicle for change in the lives of young people, when complimented with quality academic enrichment opportunities, positive mentoring from caring and dedicated adults and health and wellness programs. Doug feel strongly that Philadelphia’s young people deserve these opportunities and that PYB has the ability and influence to truly change lives.
Fun Facts about Doug: During Doug’s time on the Lower Merion men’s basketball team he was a teammate of Kobe Bryant and was named captain his senior year. Doug also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa three years ago.