YLA

YLA is a non-profit organization that fosters leadership and networking among high school students. Over the past seven years we have been connecting students with civic, business, and community leaders. Some of the notable organizations with which we collaborate include the City of Anaheim, Hilton Anaheim, Cal State Fullerton, Instrumental Savings, 7 Day Dental, Chapman University, Oakley, and the Disneyland Resort.

By bringing young and aspiring leaders into the community, we help the youth to develop and mature into leaders of tomorrow. By allowing the YLA Youth Board to choose their own activities and direction, we create an atmosphere in which the youth can learn to be leaders with real life experience.

Our 14-week program provides high school students with the tools and environment they need to develop into great leaders. Included in the YLA “toolbox” are: necessary finances, access to key community leaders, relationships with area business, mentoring, and a positive environment that motivates young people to help themselves by helping others.

YLA

Youth Leadership America is the outgrowth of Youth Leadership Anaheim, a program that was founded in 2002 by a group of high school students in Anaheim, California. Inspired by the vision of program founder John Nguyen, these youth created a leadership development program that was operated by high school students for high school students.

John approached Leadership Anaheim, an Anaheim-based not-for-profit, with his idea to inspire youth to lead by giving them the opportunity to interact and work with community leaders. Chartered as the youth component of Leadership Anaheim, Youth Leadership Anaheim was born. Each year a youth board of directors comprised of ten to twenty high school students operated and expanded the program. Under the guidance of youth board and holding to the belief that “Leaders are made, not born,” Youth Leadership Anaheim flourished as it molded young people into skilled leaders.

Three years later, John Nguyen, along with some other founding board members, facilitated an intense weekend of goal setting for the 2005-2006 youth board. It was here that the youth board decided that they wanted to share the benefits of their program with young people all across the United States. This goal setting session inspired Alexi Robichaux, one of the co-founders with John Nguyen and others, to envision a new YLA, a Youth Leadership America, that would be its own nonprofit commissioned with spreading the YLA model across America.

In January of 2006, with the support of our youth members, community partners, and Youth Leadership Anaheim, Youth Leadership America was officially founded as its own 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. To this day, we continue to excel as Anaheim’s premier youth leadership program and aggressively pursue our vision of exporting our community-centric leadership development model throughout all of America.

“There is a powerful driving force inside every human being that once unleashed can make any vision, dream, or desire a reality. Youth Leadership America’s comprehensive hands-on curriculum affords us the opportunities to develop today’s young people into tomorrow’s adult leaders.” John Nguyen, Founder

YLA

Youth Leadership America is fortunate to have incredible individuals volunteering their time to form the Corporate Board, Staff Team and Youth Board. Click on the photo to find out more about each valuable contributor.

• Board
• Staff

YLA

YLA would not be able to successfuly survive without our amazing sponsors. It is because of them that the Youth Associates are able to have such a rich program experience without the large price tag.

Any questions? Please email our CFO, James Kwok, at jkwok@ylamerica.org for any inquiries.

Diamond Circle

YLA

If you have the desire to be a leader and be successful in your endeavors, then YLA is for you.

You might be asking yourself, “What’s so special about YLA?” The answer is actually very simple. YLA is different because it gives you the freedom to pursue your dreams as well as the resources necessary to transform them into realities. We have a unique 14 week program filled with important networking and professional development workshops that is rare to find for high school students.

YLA Founder, John Nguyen, and a group student leaders were tired of attending leadership conferences with the same adult speakers, disenchanted with the bureaucracy of high school clubs, and fed up with only wishing they were involved in something more influential, formed an organization dedicated to the proposition that high school students can be a powerful force for positive change in their communities.

We’ve been developing and pursuing our vision and mission over the past few years, and we are very excited about this year’s program. We believe that this year’s program will not only entice and excite high school students about leadership, it will also forge lasting relationships between our members and members of the community.

Become a YLA Associate today by submitting your online application by September 7, 2012. The 14-week program beginning this fall is $75 per Associate. This comes out to less than $5.50 per week!

CLICK TO APPLY

Join us for a YLA information session on Tuesday, August 29, 2012 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Downtown Anaheim Community Center on Anaheim Blvd. and Center St. to learn more about the program.

YLA

We understand the importance of parents knowing what their child is doing in their everyday life. It is our goal to keep our Youth Associates and their parents on the same page with equal access to important information on the program. We are currently preparing information for the 2013 session, and will update this page shortly.

YLA

We will soon be posting on this page information for educators, and how they can take the Youth Leadership America vision and apply it to their classroom. If you are an educator interested in this opportunity, please check back frequently for updates!

YLA

Event Calendar

YLA

YLA

Four years ago, I joined YLA in the same manner a new recruit joins the military: trembling, nervous, and slightly underfed. When I first signed up to be a member, I believed YLA was merely another run-of-the-mill social clubs established by absentee “mentors” and experts but ultimately distant “educators” that would prove to be just another glittering ornament on my college applications.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that YLA cured this fallacious conviction. Though the organization boasts a vast array of leadership training courses, experts, and authorities in almost every conceivable professional field, and a slew of the most inspired, interested, and innovative affiliates and associates I have yet to come across, it one defining feature, its irreplaceable spark of originality and character that distinguishes it from every and any other club, group, or society is simply and beautifully the care and devotion of its members. Every last person involved in YLA from the nascent recruits to the seasoned board members to the council of founders themselves has invested themselves, their effort, and their precious time whole-heartedly into fostering a culture of confidence, development, and encouragement for its students and patrons that has trasnformed me from a timorous coward who thought that they had little to offer into a proud and confident master of his own destiny. So how has YLA impacted my life? Simple, its given me one.

~Josh Thomas (Class of 2007-2008)

Youth Leadership America has transformed me into a more confident and passionate person. The organization introduced me to many influential community leaders and successful entrepreneurs, which provided me with great networking opportunities. YLA continues to serve as a family for me to learn from.

~Maariyah Patel (Class of 2010-2011, Youth Board 2011-2012)

Being in YLA is something that I had not at all expected. Many of the people I met on the first day have become some of my closest friends, and some of the speakers at the events have become my mentors. Joining YLA was definitely the highlight of my senior year, and my only regret was not joining sooner. I had an amazing time learning and experiencing all things related to leadership and I truly connected with so many people. Join the Youth Leadership of America and you will not regret it!

~Esther Kim, (Class of 2012)

Dedication, ambition, and enthusiasm. These are the few of many adjectives that give meaning to those people who we call leaders. Some people assume that a such great leaders, like Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King Jr., were born with the superb poise and integrity that a leader possesses. Wrong. I reject the idea of a “natural-born” leader because I myself was MADE into a leader with the help of a program called YLA, Youth Leadership America. From the start of my scholastic career, I was always known as that shy girl in the back of the classroom. You know, the one that would play by herself during break or would sit there silently and not raise her hand even though she knew the answer. Yes, that was me. However, once I entered my junior year of high school, I decided it was time for a change. I didn’t want to be known as the shy girl. I wanted something more of myself. I wanted to be the girl that would approach everybody and give them a friendly gesture. Or the girl who would not be afraid to stand in front of a crowd and lead a club meeting. Or the girl who could accomplish so many things. YLA was the answer and,after only the first day in the program, I began to change and start acting like a leader. There was meetings where leaders in the community taught me, as well as my peers, about professionalism, confidence, and teamwork. From start to finish, YLA was a joyride! I approached things like a leader, talked like a leader, and even dressed like a leader by the end of it! Thanks to YLA, I have been able to land leadership roles in numerous clubs, two internships, and even a job! All I can say is thank you YLA for bringing out the shy girl persona from behind and making her into a leader.

~Jessica Toledo (Class of 2012)

YLA teaches you more than you would expect. The greatest thing about it is that it’s made of high school students FOR high school students. In the course of 14 weeks the things they teach you are essential not just for school, but also for everyday things that you could improve on, ultimately developing your leadership skills. I can tell you all about this program but my words can’t describe it all. I knew for a fact that I was shy. I let chances pass by. I knew I needed to fix this because later on I wanted to approach people. I decided to join YLA and every week was a major improvement.By the time it was over I helped also helped in the 7DD (Seven Day Dental) Project, which was a huge success. In addition I even ran for the ASB position of Sophomore VP, something I would have never imagined myself doing if it weren’t for this program. Here at YLA, they guide you in a path that truly helps you develop yourself.

~Bill Vill (Class of 2012)

YLA

Sponsor a youth Associate for our Fall 2010 leadership program. ($75/ea.)
Donate to YLA’s general fund and support our programs and operations.

YLA