For over 27 years, Robynne Jeisman has dedicated her life to standing beside young people on society’s edges, across Australia, the United States, Thailand, and India, supporting adolescents impacted by homelessness, involvement with the juvenile justice system, exploitation, trafficking, mental health struggles, and addiction. What emerged from that global work was not a story of stark cultural difference, but of striking sameness. As she puts it, “A young person who’s experiencing trafficking or exploitation, regardless of the country, shares a very similar experience.”
That insight fundamentally influenced not just Robynne’s approach to youth work, but also her understanding of the communities surrounding those young people. She observes that many people assume exploitation exists somewhere else “‘doesn’t it happen in Asia?’ or ‘doesn’t it happen in a faraway country, somewhere, not our country?’” As a result, her work has focused as much on awareness and community engagement as on direct intervention, urging people to look more closely at what may be happening in their own neighborhoods.
Now based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Robynne is the backbone of Turntable, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers housing, case management, mentoring, health and wellbeing support, and nature-based programming for youth in transition. The organization is deeply rooted in her own lived experience. “When I was that transitional aged youth of 16 to 25, I certainly did not realize that I had so much in common with the youth that I serve,” she reflects. Although her initial plan after moving to the U.S. was to work within established nonprofits, consistent encouragement from others changed her direction. “People eventually said ‘you should start your own nonprofit,’” she remembers. “So it was really the collective voice and encouragement of people in the US that spoke that positivity and encouraged me to do that.”
Turntable’s comprehensive approach is both deliberate and hard-won. “Holistic, wraparound services and model is essential for the whole person,” Robynne explains, underscoring that “social isolation is one of the biggest contributors to sexual exploitation.” She saw firsthand how fragmented systems fail young people when services operate in isolation. “There’s a lot of moving parts… and the frameworks and the systems are all in silos,” she says. Too often, that leaves youth to advocate for themselves while managing trauma, housing insecurity, legal challenges, or unsafe relationships.
At the core of Robynne’s philosophy is trust. “Trust is very, very important, especially when there’s high levels of trauma.” Turntable’s impact comes from long-term relationships that don’t end once a milestone is reached. “They successfully transition out of what we have helped them achieve, and then they have valued our case management and all the other programs so much that they don’t want to let us go,” she shares. “Often they could be 23 years old and go to college, but they still want the emotional and the psychosocial support.”
A significant part of Robynne’s work also involves challenging damaging stereotypes. “That they’re lazy and they don’t want help,” she says, describing a common misconception about vulnerable youth. Others believe “they could just get themselves out of that if they wanted to.” She calls this mindset “another version of othering,” stressing that storytelling matters because “everyone being so busy, they’re not hearing the stories that happen.”
Building Turntable as an immigrant founder came with immense personal challenges. “I had culture shock to a greater degree than I was aware of at the time,” Robynne recalls, pointing to political intensity, public anger, and deep isolation. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s yet the most rewarding thing at the same time.” Despite moments when giving up felt tempting, she says, “there is a higher purpose than me that keeps me going… something bigger than me.”
That purpose continues to guide her vision for the future. Robynne imagines Turntable hubs throughout the Bay Area, spanning urban, suburban, and rural settings, with the possibility of expanding beyond the U.S. Still, her motivation remains profoundly personal. “I am continually motivated one story at a time,” she says, referencing the starfish parable, saving them one by one. Her message to young people facing crisis is steady and clear: “Help is out there, and to not give up… Kindness is still out there and trust that good will win the day – always. Keep your head up and be brave.”
