Charlotte-Mecklenburg teens are invited to join a new youth advisory council called the Youth Leadership Alliance to advise local officials and policymakers on issues impacting K-12 students. The council is a partnership between GenerationNation, a nonprofit focused on civic education, and the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Teens will learn about local government, build leadership skills, and use their voice to highlight important youth issues. City Council member David Howard supported establishing the council to ensure youth perspectives are considered in decision making and to help develop future leaders.

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Contact:
Amy Farrell
704‐343‐6999
amy@generationnation.org
Charlotte‐Mecklenburg teens invited to join new youth advisory council
Teens are invited to join a new youth advisory council where they will work with and advise Charlotte‐
Mecklenburg officials and policymakers on issues and decisions impacting K‐12 students, learn about local
government, build civic leadership, and use student voice to report on and highlight issues and
government actions impacting youth.
The youth council – Youth Leadership Alliance ‐ is a program of Charlotte nonprofit GenerationNation, in
partnership with the City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and Charlotte‐Mecklenburg Schools.
Information about the council can be found at www.generationnation.org/index.php/youthvoice.
Interested teens may also contact info@generationnation.org or 704‐343‐6999.
Charlotte City Council member David Howard played a key role in establishing the youth council. “After
several years of planning, I am excited that Charlotte‐Mecklenburg now has a youth advisory council. The
partnership with GenerationNation ensures that youth ‐ our city's future leaders ‐ will learn how their
government and community works and have opportunities to share their important perspectives with
public officials. Having youth available to advise us on policies and issues impacting young people makes
our decisions better and our community stronger.”
"The youth advisory council allows young people in our community to get involved with the city, county
and CMS so that we can work together to promote opportunities for service in their local government as
well as ways for them to learn about citizen involvement and the governing process," said Dena Diorio,
Mecklenburg County Manager.
“We are very excited about this partnership and the opportunity it represents for our students to have a
voice in the community,” said Dr. Heath E. Morrison, Charlotte‐Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent.
“This is a great way to get our students engaged in local government, policy making and how decisions are
made. We have so many talented and creative young people and this partnership will be good for our
whole community.”
GenerationNation is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that builds K‐12 civic literacy and youth civic
leadership through smart, fun programs that connect classroom education with hands‐on experiences.
Programs include K‐12 civic education, Kids Voting, Youth Civics and Youth Leadership Alliance/Youth
Voice Press Corps. Learn more about GenerationNation at www.generationnation.org.
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