Programs / Youth Leadership
Youth Leadership
Empowering The Next Generation.
Chicago’s next mayors, organizers, founders, and pastors are sitting in our classrooms right now. We give them the platform, the training, and the belief to lead before the world tells them they can’t.
About the Program
Leaders aren't born. They're invested in.
Our Youth Leadership Academy is a year-round program for 14-21 year-olds across Chicago — combining public speaking, civic engagement, and project leadership.
Graduates don't just leave with a certificate. They leave with a network, a platform, and a track record of leading real community initiatives.
Program Focus
What this work looks like on the ground.
01
Leadership Workshops
Monthly intensives on identity, ethics, and the practical mechanics of leading people.
02
Public Speaking
From open-mic nights to City Hall testimony — building the courage to use their voice.
03
Team Building
Project-based learning where teens lead real community campaigns end-to-end.
04
Youth Mentorship
Older participants mentor middle schoolers, building a chain of leadership.
05
Future Leaders Program
A two-year track for emerging leaders headed to college, the trades, or entrepreneurship.
Our Impact
Numbers told the story Chicago refused to ignore.
Voices
From the community
How It Works
A clear path from first contact to lasting change.
Apply Or Get Nominated
Open applications every fall, plus nominations from CPS, churches, and community partners.
Foundations Quarter
Eight weeks of leadership theory, identity work, and team formation.
Lead A Real Project
Each cohort designs and executes a community project — voting drives, block parties, podcasts.
Graduate & Mentor
Alumni return as paid junior facilitators in the next cohort.
Join the Movement