A resident of Farmingdale for over 25 years, Yocana Orange has been an active member of the community, as well as a dedicated parent of two. Dynamically involved in their education, Yocana has remained a firm believer in supplementing the academic curriculum provided by the school district with a culturally enhanced common core curriculum at home. Since 2015, Yocana has been welcomed into the Northside Elementary School where she has extended her cultural enhanced common core curriculum, called Culture Core, to the students, faculty and parents with events such as the Black History Month Assembly for the last three years; a first of its kind within the school district.

Establishing entrepreneur status before the age of 16, Yocana has captivated her colleagues, peers and target audiences with innovative businesses and community outreach programs that place focus and support on vital focus areas that are often overlooked such as community activities, financial literacy and fitness programs. As the founder of the first Double Dutch fitness program, the Dutchess of Ropes, Yocana has created a solid foundation that utilizes the forgotten art of Double Dutch to empower, connect and encourage women over 40 to stay fit and healthy while creating lifetime bonds with each other.

Yocana has a passion for opportunity that is unmatched in that she takes just as much pride in creating opportunities for others as passionately as she creates or takes advantage of for herself. Currently, Yocana is focused on establishing programs geared to enhancing the parent, teacher, and administrators experience, with a program she named Culture Core. Yocana is looking to also enhance her involvement and support her college student and fifth grader, as they conquer their online education and virtual learning for the 2020 – 2021 school year.