Our Team

When she’s not giving her heart and soul to Youth Construct, Alexis serves as the Founding CEO of Bottom Line Construction & Development, LLC (BLDC). Alexis’s Harlem-based, 100% minority woman-owned construction and development firm recently completed Harlem’s Victoria Theater and the newly-developed, Harlem Boutique Condominium, Baldwin Park. Since 2008, BLCD has thrived on multi-faceted projects, involving a myriad of stakeholders. BLCD has maintained the compliance, relationships, and technical skills necessary to see a project from inception, design phase to end-user transfer. BLCD has made a commitment to hire and develop talent locally. Growing up with limited resources, Alexis’s path to building a construction firm was unusual.  She was a Registered Nurse and an EMT for the NYC Fire Department before entering  real estate development and later the construction industry.  

Eva Chan brings 20+ years of banking, governance, and project management experience to Youth Construct.   She is also a community leader in Harlem who focuses her talent on connecting young people to job training opportunities. She works closely with government agencies and elected officials to advocate for Harlem residents and businesses. Prior to her retirement, Eva worked in the banking sector for 20+ years. She last worked as an Executive Director at JP Morgan Chase Bank managing large-scale transformational projects for the firm, heavily involved in development of financial and risk management processes, analytics, technology systems, and associated control and governance.  Prior to this, she worked at Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Bloomberg and PwC in a range of areas including developing structured financial products and building financial technology systems.  She has extensive experience developing policy and governance frameworks for financial institutions, as well as working with regulators and auditors on risk and compliance issues. Eva has earned a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Art in Economics from Columbia University. 

Nancy Carin is the Executive Director  of Business Outreach Center (BOC) which she founded in 1990. BOC provides a new model for community-based support for entrepreneurs in New York City and Newark, New Jersey.  In 2001, Nancy successfully launched BOC Capital Corp., a small business loan fund certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides financial assistance to low income and underrepresented communities. BOC Capital has substantially expanded in capital base through grants and loans from the U.S. Department of the Treasury CDFI Fund, U.S. Economic Development Administration, U.S. Small Business Administration, Empire State Development Corporation and major banking institutions, and is a renowned contract financing lender, supporting minority- and woman-owned businesses with cash flow and hands-on technical assistance. Ms Carin continues in the role of Executive Director today, supervising a staff of over fifty.  Prior to founding BOC, Nancy worked in the not-for-profit sector, providing leadership strategies in program development, housing development and community needs assessment.  Ms. Carin is a Certified Economic Development Finance Professional, a licensed Real Estate Broker, and graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University. 

MaeOla Bolton is the Director of Leadership and Development at Bottomline Construction, the company through which Youth Construct has come to be.  She played an integral role working alongside Founder Alexis McSween and the Board to uplift the organization, lead marketing efforts and facilitate increased donor support. MaeOla is a former WNBA professional athlete and seasoned physical trainer, teacher, coach and mentor, with a heart for helping people embark on lifestyle changes through education and example. The nonprofit she founded, Heal Forward Now, helps people heal from sexual abuse trauma through dance, sports and the arts. Outside of work, MaeOla is a singer. Her band MaeOla and the MisFits performs around NYC.  

Hyojin Jina Yi began her career working in a small local construction company as a project coordinator. Her determination has helped propel her career and today, she is working as a Project Manager at AECOM.  Currently, she is one of project managers on the Borough-Based Jails Program, an $8.7B project, which aims to create smaller and more humane detention facilities that promote a safe and healthy environment for New York City. Along her career path, she has gained experience at a subcontractor firm and a general contractor firm. Realizing her passion for growth, she went back to school and earned a Master of Science in Construction Management from New York University in 2016. Jina is passionate about sharing her personal growth story and helping young adults achieve their goals in the construction field.  

 Wilhelmena Norman-Hernandez, (Mena), has  a passion for empowering communities with an all-encompassing approach . Mena first worked in a fiscal capacity in city and state-funded child and adolescent psychiatric programs. In 2012, Mena joined The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) where in 2020 she became AVP, Manager of Community Impact for the ACCESS Initiative (Acquiring Capital and Capacity for Economic Stability and Sustainability). ACCESS is a $40 million initiative that provides capital for predevelopment, acquisition, construction and permanent financing, and capacity building programs to BIPOC developers. In this role, Mena seeks to empower BIPOC developers in the real estate industry by pushing boundaries to provide solutions. Mena’s service as a Board Member at Youth Construct is a natural pairing to diversify the industry with BIPOC talent through education. Mena studied at New York University, for Organizational Development and Business Leadership.