Torine Creppy brings nonprofit, child safety expertise, passion to YMG’s board

April 21, 2025

By Hermes Falcon

Youthcast Media Group®

Torine Creppy, a nationally recognized child safety expert and nonprofit president with early journalism experience, joined Youthcast Media Group’s board in December.  

Creppy’s background as president of Safe Kids Worldwide is invaluable as YMG continues its expansion, including into coverage of road and child safety, said YMG founder and CEO Jayne O’Donnell. The two met about 25 years ago when O’Donnell was covering auto safety for USA Today and Creppy was starting out at Safe Kids. Creppy worked her way up to chief programs officer and chief of staff before becoming president in 2017. 

Torine Creppy (courtesy of Creppy).

“We’re already learning so much from Torine, who understands nonprofit operations and fundraising as well as she does the importance of community health and safety journalism training,” said O’Donnell. “She’s a great role model for our young people - and me!”

Creppy is a proud graduate of Morgan State University where she majored in journalism and was an intern for the Baltimore Sun. She also worked for organization formerly known as the Radio-Television News Directors Association. She’s regularly on the road, travelling to speaking engagements at safety conferences and events with Safe Kids’ partner schools and hospitals. She is also a member of the boards of organizations, including the Lifesavers National Conference on Highway Safety Priorities, the YWCA National Capital Area and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association foundation, JPMA Cares. 

Torine Creppy sat down with YMG intern Aabri Spear to talk about her roots in journalism, her work in safety education and what attracted her to YMG.

Q: For someone who isn't familiar with what Safe Kids Worldwide is and what it does, could you explain what the organization's goals and programs are?

A: The mission of Safe Kids Worldwide is to protect and prevent unintentional injuries to children. Our goal is to reach families and children at home, at school, at play and on the way. The vision for Safe Kids is to help parents understand the one question they ask: how could I have prevented this from happening? 

We always say, especially in an under-resourced or unhoused community, we don't want to walk in your community and give you advice, we want to give you the device. If we want you to be safe, we’ve got to help you be safe, and we know that sometimes the resources are not there to provide the need for a family.

Q: How did you get involved in such a serious issue like child safety? What motivated you to pursue it?

A: Prior to working at Safe Kids, I was a journalist. Very young, I recognized that the media did not always tell the story the way it should be told in some of our communities. That was a driving force for me. I was always curious, too. I stumbled into Safe Kids on the business front. Within 12 months, I moved into programs. I went back, took classes at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and then landed here. My first job within Safe Kids (programs) was in transportation. I was able to be a leader in our Child Passenger Safety Program. The goal was how do we turn all of our programs into this award-winning leader in the field of child injury prevention. I'm living my best dream right now. It's been 25 years, and I still approach every day as if it's my first day.

Torine Creppy is shown with police and Clifford the Big Red Dog at the launch of the Safe Kids' and State Farm Good Neighbor Car Seat Program.

Q: Are there any stories that have really stuck with you about the power of youth to get the message out?

A: One story that resonates so well for me is Love like Jace. Jace was a 21-month-old who was left unattended in a vehicle by a caregiver. His two sisters and mom have come together to mobilize the community in Florida. It doesn't take a hot day for a child who's left unattended in a vehicle to not survive. What really continues to contribute to the mission of our organization is to see the youth in communities become ambassadors of our messaging. We spend quite a bit of our time working with elementary and middle school kids. We tell them heads up, phones down. We know that that's really important for them: to want to play their video games, use their phone. We have shared messaging that resonates. Taking action against distraction allows them to teach their friends how to do the same thing that we taught them.

Q: How do you plan to use your skills and connections to help in your role as a board member with YMG? What unique perspectives and skills do you feel you bring to the table?

A: I have a saying that I like to reach back and pull up with me. Every step I take, I want to be able to bring someone with me. To me, it's not just about who I work with and stand by daily, but it's also who I'm networking with outside of my work. My goal is to be an asset as I've joined this board and contribute, not just the skills that I have that you all are using to grow in Youthcast Media, but more so, being able to help you understand the importance of networking. A lot of times when you're on a board or you're mentoring youth, it's getting them out of their comfort zone to help them understand how to be able to network and how to also learn from them. My goal is also to learn from the youth that's part of Youthcast Media. Be a sponge, learn from each of them how I can contribute and invest in their growth.