Park West Celebrates a Visionary
Since its establishment nearly two decades ago, the Park West Foundation’s mission has been fundamentally uncomplicated. The main focus has been and still is art awareness and art education, set in museums and schools, supporting at-risk youth, and preserving the environment. The Park West Foundation, its founder, executive director, and director act as a helping hand in communities both in and around Detroit, as well as around the country, serve as a facilitator for awareness and education, and a critical source of essential funding to start programs and keep them running for the benefit of others. The foundation is a behind-the-scenes catalyst allowing remarkable things to happen for a diverse array of young people. Recently Saba Gebrai, the leader of the Park West Foundation program, was awarded a 2025 Skillman Visionary Award. This award honors and celebrates ten changemakers each year, individuals who work alongside students, community members, and policymakers to create a fairer and more robust education system that meets the needs and aspirations of all students.
These Visionaries span multiple generations and represent the mix of people needed to work across the education system in increasingly community-informed and collaborative ways. Award winners are ground builders! They are leaders working in schools and afterschool programs, and in the community as education advocates and organizers.
Needless to say, Saba Gebrai is a powerful force for good in her community. She empowers southeast Michigan kids as they age out of the foster care system, helping them become advocates for themselves. With over 20 years of experience, Gebrai has led efforts to increase high school graduation rates, prepare young adults for postsecondary opportunities, and provide support for Michigan college students with foster care backgrounds. She works alongside youth leaders with lived expertise of the foster care system to ensure children are heard and seen when policy decisions are being made. Gebrai’s goal is to ensure that these vulnerable kids are supported throughout their educational journey.
Gebrai is a 2025 Visionary Award winner because she is relentless in her dedication to students, involving them at every step, from program planning and policy strategy development to press conferences and legislative hearings, including helping to see a crucial law passed in 2024 that will provide children in foster care with “an education that prioritizes meeting the graduation requirements” to earn a diploma. In partnership with youth who have firsthand experience with foster care, she co-founded the advocacy group, Empowering Foster Youth Through TECHnology (EFyTECH), and serves as an advisor. Gebrai helps young people form policy recommendations that ensure their access to education through high school graduation. This work has led to state legislative wins and national attention, but through all the successes and awards, Gebrai never deviates from what she says is the most important thing you can do for a young person: listen to them!
As part of the prize for winning the award, Saba Gebrai is appearing on her own billboard in downtown Detroit—a massive, public celebration of her successful work!
