Presenters: 

• Quiana Lewis Wallace, PhD, MPH, Child Trends
• Sam Beckwith, PhD, Child Trends

Guest Presenters/Panelists:

• 2–3 youth leaders from Safety 7 youth participatory action research project
• Kelley Luckett and 1–2 youth leaders, YMCA of Greater Louisville, GD-SRAE grantee

This webinar will provide SRAE grantees with fundamental knowledge related to youth leadership and practical examples for supporting youth leaders in both peer-to-peer contexts and youth–adult partnerships. Information shared will help attendees recognize opportunities to foster youth leadership in their own SRAE programming and to anticipate and address common challenges. Two panel discussions will further enhance attendees’ understanding of youth leadership. The first panel will feature young leaders from the Safety 7 youth participatory action research project, who will share their leadership journeys and demonstrate how authentic youth voices can lead to a stronger understanding of the issues that affect young people in one’s community. The second panel with presenters from the YMCA of Greater Louisville will describe their experiences integrating youth leadership within SRAE programming. The webinar will conclude with a time for audience questions and a reflection on the session’s content.

By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the importance of fostering youth leadership with their colleagues,
• Identify the ways youth leadership can help SRAE programs achieve their goals, and
• Employ at least one new strategy for fostering youth leadership based on the experiences of youth and adult panelists.