Native Youth Leadership Alliance Fellow Amy Stiffarm
Today we welcome to the blog Susan Buckles of MCF member Northwest Area Foundation. She shares a glimpse of one of many programs to be featured at this year’s Grassroots & Groundwork conference.
The majority of people in many Native American communities are 18 years old or younger, which presents a prime opportunity to capture the energies and ingenuity of up-and-coming leaders. The Native American Youth Leadership Alliance (NYLA) has designed a dynamic fellowship program to tap this potential and help build a new generation of change agents capable of mobilizing communities for deep and lasting impact.
NYLA Fellows include people like Johnny Buck, a student at Northwest Indian College focusing on Environmental Studies. His vision is to apply what he’s learned in the Fellowship to revitalize tribal language and culture in his home village and ultimately to benefit all Tribal Nations. Similarly, Amy Stiffarm, a student at Salish Kootenai College in Montana, is studying to be a naturopathic physician. Her vision is to improve Native health through prevention.
Founded in 2009, NYLA is building a movement of empowered young leaders capable of inspiring positive development in their communities. The NYLA Fellowship provides inter-generational and collaborative leadership training for young leaders to apply their visions.
This program, one of the very few of its kind serving Native American communities, will be among many presenters at Grassroots & Groundwork: Working Together to Reduce Poverty and Build Prosperity, sponsored by Northwest Area Foundation.
Held June 6 – 8, Grassroots & Groundwork is a national conference designed to showcase both tested and emerging models and tools being used to help low-income populations get out and stay out of poverty. To learn more and register, visit www.grassrootsandgroundwork.org.
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