OUR MISSION
The Foundry’s mission is to build character and confidence in Lincoln’s youth.

OUR TEAM
The Foundry consists of staff and volunteers, all who have been background checked, fingerprinted, and screened for awesomeness. We have a variety of professional backgrounds, but we all have a common passion for Lincoln’s youth to thrive in Middle School, High School, and beyond! 

OUR STAFF

Natasha Butler | Director of The Foundry: as a mom of 3 school-aged children, Natasha has a heartfelt passion for working with and for the development of children and young people. She has 20+ years of experience serving youth in multiple facets including inner city London tutoring and mentoring, anti-sex trafficking rehabilitation support for 45 house moms and over 40 staff in Cambodia, and experience in tutoring children with dyslexia.

Rob Fiock | High School Site Manager: Rob lives in Lincoln with his wife and four kids. He manages the LHS Foundry site, where he enjoys being around students, hearing their stories, and offering encouragement. He brings a mix of practical experience from 12+ years in a variety of youth work and a decade on Google’s mapping operations team. He likes pickup soccer, spreadsheet formulas, and pretty much anything with hot sauce.

Jerry Yu | Middle School Site Manager: Jerry is a professional eater (lol) and loves all types of food! He’s a graduate from Jessup University, majored in Psychology, is married, loves playing basketball and having good conversations. He is driven to become a clinical psychologist in the near future.

Emily Rask | Middle School Youth Worker: Emily works at the GEMS site and has been working vocationally with middle and high school students full time for 5 years. She grew up in Lincoln, attended LHS, and graduated from William Jessup University. Emily loves having meaningful conversations with students, empowering them to live their highest best life, and just bringing some fun! In her free time Emily loves to bake, sing, and play games with her family and friends. She is married and has a dog named Willie. 

PROGRAM SERVICES
What a young person gets at The Foundry is a place to belong and to grow alongside their peers. Our leaders are dedicated to ensuring the individual success of each student and building up the next generation through service and mentorship. The Foundry is locally run and proud to call Lincoln, CA its hometown!

The Foundry offers all of the following services for FREE:

• Chill Afterschool Space

• Games & Fun Activities

• Food Cooking Sessions

• Enrichment / Skill-Building Opportunities

• Student Leadership Opportunities

• Mentorship

• Tutoring

• Food/Drinks

HISTORY
The Foundry started serving youth in 2015 and was originally located in a downtown brick building along Lincoln Avenue where students from 6th-12th grade found a safe place to belong, participated in many different program activities, and enjoyed many additional amenities for free. The Foundry Youth Center was established as a DBA of Emmaus Church Community, which continues to provide essential support services like payroll, HR, and administration. This partnership has enabled The Foundry staff to fully focus on the goal: to build character and confidence into Lincoln’s young people.

Beginning in 2023 and going into the 2024/25 school year, The Foundry began partnering with Western Placer Unified School District to set up two on-campus sites at GEMS and LHS. This move enabled The Foundry to offer more age-specific programing to both middle and high school students. The on-campus locations also dramatically increased student access to the mentoring, tutoring, recreation, and general relational support provided by The Foundry’s strong volunteer and staff teams.