Youth Celebrate Diversity

Black teachers pour so much into their students—now it’s time to pour into you. Our Black Teacher Wellness Grant is here to support your healing and well-being with $500 grants for Black teachers of record pursuing #wellness opportunities. Your thriving is essential to the reimagining of schools and the liberation of learning spaces. Apply now and invest in your well-being—because you deserve it! Applications due April 7: bit.ly/btp-grants #teachers #teachers #mentalhealth

YCD is thrilled to welcome Amy Kopkin Atkins as our new Program Manager for YCD Colorado! Amy is an educator with over twenty years of experience. She has served on the faculty and administration of summer camps, boarding schools in the US and abroad, supplementary schools, a Buddhist-inspired university, and a public school specializing in equity and inclusion. In addition to developing curriculum for these organizations, she also has led backpacking trips for teens; inspired middle school students to create custom coming-of-age journeys; and has guided students through their college transition as a college admissions professional. Amy has deep experience in and a passion for forming intentional communities with youth and adults helping to create safe and brave spaces to explore identity. Her master’s thesis at Colorado State University explored how identity plays a factor in building an environmental ethic. As the Program Manager for YCD Colorado, Amy will be working with youth leaders and adult mentors across the state to build strong, youth-led chapters exploring identity, building community, and taking action for inclusion and justice.

Stand up for LGBTQIA+ Rights and join One Colorado, Denver Public Schools, Greater Education Colorado and Fortaleza Familiar at our joint Town Hall! Across the country, harmful anti-LGBTQIA+ policies are threatening the safety and well-being of queer and trans individuals, especially our youth. Join us for a hybrid town hall event that brings together youth, community members, educators, and youth-serving professionals to address the latest attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights. This event will provide an opportunity to learn about the impact of these policies on schools and youth programs, ask questions to advocacy experts, and take meaningful action to protect LGBTQIA+ youth while fighting back against harmful policies. Register NOW as onsite registration is NOT permitted. Sign up below: https://bit.ly/4kq9D8A Let’s come together and make a difference! #WeAreOneCO #OneColorado #DenverPublicSchools #GreaterEducationColorado #FortalezaFamiliar #TownHall #LGBTQIA #QueerColorado

On February 1, YCD was honored to be joined by over 1,000 youth and supportive adults for the 32nd annual Colorado Youth Diversity Conference! High school youth from across the state gathered to hear an inspiring keynote speech on authenticity from Meta Sarmiento, join youth-led discussion groups, attend two of 44 workshops on a variety of topics, and experience a thrilling performance from Lokana. Young Aspiring Americans for Social and Political Activism (YAASPA) was presented with the Human Rights Award for their work to build a future where all youth are seen, empowered, and valued. Thank you to RBC Wealth Management, Colorado State University and Cherry Creek School District for their support in making this program and event possible! Using the momentum of this day, youth from YCD chapters across the state are beginning work on their action projects to advance inclusion and justice, to be completed before the end of the school year. To learn more about YCD or to get involved, visit ycdiversity.org.

YCD is urgently seeking 20 additional adults to volunteer at the upcoming Colorado Youth Diversity Conference on February 1, hosted by Cherry Creek High School. Help us energize and empower over 1,000 teens and educators from across the state working for inclusion and justice! Adult volunteers must go through a background check before they can volunteer with the organization. Learn more and click to apply to volunteer today!

The Student Board planning the annual Colorado Youth Diversity Conference is currently seeking workshop proposals on a wide variety of topics, and we invite anyone interested to submit a proposal! Make sure to have ideas submitted by Friday, December 6. More details at the link below.

We’re #hiring a new Adult Mentor to work with youth in Boulder, Colorado! Part-time, stipended role. Apply today or share with your network!

One month away! Get your tickets or make a donation to help YCD fund the next generation of youth leaders working for inclusion and justice.

We are thrilled to announce Lily Joy Winder as the keynote speaker for the 2024 YCD Changemakers Gala on September 14! Winder is a Diné and Southern Ute activist and actor attending Stanford University. She currently has a following of 300,000 on TikTok (@sheshortnbrown) where she has gained traction because of her advocacy for Indigenous communities, specifically concerning issues that intersect with tribal sovereignty, environmentalism, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People epidemic. Winder is the founder of #PeopleNotMascots which is a movement that strives to retire offensive Native mascots in United States public schools. The People Not Mascots movement has amassed attention from Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Indian Country Today, The Harvard Institute of Politics, and Newsweek. Winder works to expand the #PeopleNotMascots movement toward a national conversation and continues to work on policy that would help Native Americans across the country. Only 21, Winder plans on dedicating the rest of her life to shedding light on Native experiences, cultures, and people. Tickets purchased for this unique event include a reception, catered dinner, silent auction, and cultural performances at a beautiful venue. A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available for companies, organizations, and families to show their support of youth-led inclusion and justice initiatives. Can't make it to the Denver Art Museum to hear from Lily Joy and celebrate with us on September 14? Make a donation to show your support. #ycdchangemakers #diversity #inclusion #socialjustice #racialjustice #genderjustice #peoplenotmascots #youthactivism

How do you navigate uncomfortable conversations? Have you ever stumbled over your words trying to connect with someone new or discuss a topic you know nothing about? Does bridging the gap between diverse perspectives always have to be difficult? Welcome, everyone, I'm Leila, your host for this season of Teens Talk, and I'm on a quest to explore differences through conversation. Throughout this season, you'll hear from a diverse array of voices – friends, strangers, young and old, people I admire and people who challenge me. Together, we'll engage in meaningful dialogues, aiming to learn, grow, and build connections through our conversations. I've sought out people who can speak to a series of topics very important to me and the work of Youth Celebrate Diversity, bringing you conversations that will make a real impact. Welcome to Teens Talk: Season Three, Dynamic Dialogues. Join me for the first episode, where I will be talking to some “experts” about the art of creating space for these dynamic conversations. Then, get ready for episode two, where I'll take those lessons and have a heart-to-heart with some college-bound seniors about their big decision. And in episode three, I'll be sitting down with a faith leader who's doing amazing work bringing people of different beliefs together to tackle climate change. Season 3 of the Teens Talk podcast will be released in three clusters. Catch episodes 1, 2 and 3 now on YouTube, iTunes or the Google Play store, and subscribe to be notified of future episodes! #teenstalk #teenstalkpodcast #podcast #diversity #inclusion #socialjustice #conflictresolution #dialogue