ProjectYM is an organization built for youth ministers BY youth ministers...

Our team has decades of in the trenches experience in a variety of ministry contexts, and we've come together to be part of ProjectYM for three key reasons:

We love Jesus. We believe in His Church and in His power to transform lives, and we want young people to experience that because...
We love TEENAGERS. We believe in their worth, their potential, and their passion. We know that so many of them need good, holy adult leaders in their life, which is why...
We love YOUTH MINISTERS. The work that these leaders do is incredibly important and valuable, but we know they are often overlooked, under resourced, and unsupported. So we decided to step into that gap and do everything we can to help Catholic youth ministers THRIVE!

The ProjectYM Staff

These are the folks working alongside youth ministry leaders everyday here at ProjectYM:

Michael Marchand

President / Cofounder

Michael is a facilitator, strategist, and innovator committed to investing in the adults who make a difference in the lives of young people. For the last 12 years, as cofounder and president of ProjectYM, he has worked to address the number one reason youth ministers leave ministry: feeling alone, isolated, and unsupported. That’s why community is at the heart of everything he does – whether training leaders across the country, fostering intentional mentorship through small groups, or creating spaces marked by radical hospitality that renew and sustain those who serve.

Crystal Marchand

Director of Engagement

Over the last 16 years, Crystal has been an all-star youth ministry volunteer, written and led countless number of retreats and has had the privilege to support and love on several wonderful small groups of teens and youth ministers.

Mandi Whittaker

Master of Details

Mandi served as a parish Youth Minister for 15 years before joining our team in 2020. She and her husband James served the youth group together and continue to have a passion as a family for youth ministry. Together they have 3 girls and live outside of Atlanta, GA. Mandi's awesome attention to detail and ministry is what drew her to her role at ProjectYM as the "Master of Details."

Carol Wiget

Director of Partnerships

Carol is a beloved daughter of God, wife, and boy mom to four (two feral and two domesticated.) She has been in youth ministry for nine years serving elementary, middle, and high schoolers, as well as on the diocesan level, and now serves as Project YM’s Director of Partnerships. Carol lives in Birmingham, Alabama with husband Paul, and sons Ender, Xavier, Hugo, and Linus, two tarantulas (Aragog and Shelob), a bearded dragon (Clay), and a red betta fish (Tony Shark.) Carol is passionate about building up youth ministers, the beach, and fantasizing about the zombie apocalypse. She can’t wait to meet YOU and thank you for the amazing work you are doing to build God’s Kingdom.

The Board of Directors

The ministry of ProjectYM would not be possible without the hard work of our board:

Dylan Browning

STEIER GROUP

Scott Williams

SockReligious

Fr. Christopher Manning

Diocese of Knoxville

We would LOVE to talk with you...

Seriously – we love talking to youth ministry leaders (or other people who love youth ministry). Here's just a handful of reasons why you should send us an email:

Something awesome just happened in your ministry, and you want to celebrate with someone who will make a big deal about it!
You've got a problem in your ministry that you're not sure how to solve.
You need to brainstorm or talk through an idea or program.
You're looking for someone to train the volunteer leaders at your parish.
You're a diocesan leader and you need help training or supporting the youth ministry leaders in your diocese.
You want to talk about the latest season of Survivor.
You're not sure how to best use TikTok in your ministry (or maybe you just don't know what TikTok is).
You've got an event coming up and you're looking for someone awesome to bring in and take it to the next level.
You're frustrated by the unrealistic or inconsistent expectations your parish or pastor is putting on you, and you don't know what to do.
You're tired of the same old fundraisers, and you're ready to do something totally different – but you're not sure where to start.
Your parish is about to launch a small group program, and you're overwhelmed thinking about how to do it.
Or maybe something totally different that's not on this list.

Drop us an email: hello@projectym.com

Helping Catholic Youth Ministers Thrive!