ABOUT US

The YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT was founded in 1992 by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko as a non-partisan organization to encourage young people to speak up and pursue lasting solutions to problems they care deeply about. This national clearinghouse strives to:

• Promote youth civic engagement — especially in the areas of school policies, city ordinances, state laws, national legislation and international issues;
  
• Provide free advice via email and our toll-free hotline 1-800-KID-POWER to young people to help them transform their ideas into proposals and be taken seriously by the powers-that-be;
  
• Train adults on how to collaborate and co-pilot successfully with young people;
  
• Convince community, educational and government leaders to engage young people in meaningful roles and the decision-making process;
  
• Share best practices and resources through our free e-newsletter, books and training manuals which highlight trends and promising practices;
• Serve as a network, connecting like-minded individuals who are tackling similar youth empowerment and public policy issues in the United States and internationally.

The YOUTH ACTIVISM PROJECT became a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 2004 because of its new global action campaign called School Girls Unite. This ambitious youth-driven leadership development program with our sister chapter in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, seeks tax-deductible donations and grants to support its efforts to improve leadership and educational opportunities for the millions of girls in developing countries who do not go to school. Please click on GLOBAL ACTION and also visit www.SchoolGirlsUnite.org where you can download free our bilingual action guide, "Girls Gone Activist! How to Change the World through Education," written by young activists in Mali and the U.S..

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Germaine Bekada

Boubacar Cisse

Dawne Deppe

Mira Fleming*

Hannah Lieberman

Anika Manzoor*

Kellye McIntosh

Mark Nilles

Molara Obe*

Laura Retzler 

Natasha Sakolsky

* Full-voting Youth Board Members

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: WENDY SCHAETZEL LESKO

The vision of the Youth Activism Project and School Girls Unite draws on Wendy’s long-term commitment of encouraging ordinary people, especially the powerless – from migrants harvesting grapes to those too young to vote – to be influential advocates with the powers-that-be.

Wendy worked for three years as a community organizer for Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers immediately after graduating from Rollins College. During her last two years of college, she created a recreational program for 100 children of Florida orange pickers about 45 minutes from campus.

In 1975, Wendy returned to her hometown of Washington, D.C. and became managing editor of the Congressional Monitor and also started “Today on the Hill,” a live daily broadcast on WTOP radio predicting legislative skirmishes.

After six years of daily deadlines, she co-authored The Maternity Sourcebook (Warner Books) and The People Rising (Thunder’s Mouth Press).

In 1992, Wendy wrote No Kidding Around! America's Young Activists Are Changing Our World & You Can Too and launched the ACTIVISM 2000 PROJECT. Her other books and resources include:

• Youth! The 26% Solution with Emanuel Tsourounis
• Maximum Youth Involvement: The Complete Gameplan for Community Action
• Knock-Your-Socks-Off Training Teens To Be Successful Activists!The Complete Guide For Facilitating A 1-2 Hour Workshop
• Youth Advocacy Module for U.S. Health & Human Service
• Student Activist Training Action Guide for MADD & U.S. DOT NHTSA
• Youth Empowerment Question Why for North Carolina Department of Health
• Youth As Equal Partners for United Way of America

Wendy has presented over 1,000 keynote speeches and workshops in more than 30 states to audiences of all ages to such organizations as American Cancer Society, American Library Association, California Wellness Foundation, Earth Force, Humane Society of U.S, Missouri Governor's Youth Cabinet, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, United Way of America, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Together with a multicultural group of students and African women, in 2004 Wendy launched SCHOOL GIRLS UNITE where young people in Africa and America collaborate and advocate for access to education for the 60 million girls in developing countries who do not go to elementary school and 600 million older girls who are at risk of not going to high school or college. This program won the 2007 Innovations in Civic Participation's Youth Global Volunteering international prize.

Wendy is the recipient of WETA’s “Hometown Heroes” 2004 Award, the PBS television station for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, with her co-founder of Students Practicing And Respecting Knowledge [SPARK]. She started this volunteer-run nonprofit program in 1996 that continues to provide free one-on-one tutoring throughout the school year to about 50 students who attend neighborhood public schools.

She lives in Maryland and her two sons have long histories as young activists, starting when they were in elementary school. Wendy Lesko embraces the idea that young people should be seen and heard and says “the adult world must be persuaded to value young people's perspectives and proposals to challenge the status quo and advocate for systemic change."

The Washington Post: “Wendy Schaetzel Lesko believes adults need kids to think about solving problems.”

Houston Chronicle:
“Kid power is something to take seriously: Wendy Lesko says it is time for adults to pay attention and listen to what today's kids have to say because their opinions need to be heard.”

Youth Today:
“The Activism 2000 Project [Youth Activism Project] works throughout the nation on a modest budget to assist teens in becoming powerful voices and real decision makers in institutions that shape, even dictate, young lives. Wendy Schaetzel Lesko is a mentor to many of the nation's most accomplished young leaders.”

American Library Association Booklist:
“YOUTH! THE 26% SOLUTION is a lively pep talk full of instructions on everything from organizing a small meeting, wording a petition, and setting goals to relating to press and government officials and maintaining public relations...Activist teens and the adults who work with them will find the book most helpful and motivational.”

Voice of Youth Advocates:
“Lesko’s expert guidance in “effective intergeneration advocacy” will help young adult librarians to re-evaluate our convictions about working with teens and about where libraries stand on youth involvement.”

National PTA Our Children:
“YOUTH! THE 26% SOLUTION shows how idealistic environmentalists, angry skateboarders, students demanding representation on school boards, and other young activists have persuaded decision makers to listen to their innovative ideas.“

Points of Light Foundation:
“Lesko explains how young people can form their own community service efforts, equipping themselves to take on serious social problems and work toward solutions.”

Amber Thornton, VP Technical Assistance & Training,
American Legacy Foundation
“If you are looking to engage an energetic, passionate and credible expert on youth activism issues – Wendy Lesko is ‘top shelf’! The Youth Activism Project is the ‘go to’ source for facilitating and galvanizing adults and youth groups.”

Mark Nilles, International Youth Foundation& former Peace Corps Volunteer & "Wendy Lesko is a very dynamic and dedicated woman with a sincere desire to help empower girls both here and in Mali.”

Kellogg Foundation's “Youth In Community – Youth in Citizenship”
“The Innovation Center, Do Something, Youth Action and ACTIVISM 2000 PROJECT are solid organizations who have learned – and can teach others - what works in youth-adult partnerships.”