History
In the late 1980s, while founder Maureen Sedonaen was working for the California Health Research Foundation, she realized major programs addressing youth-related social issues did not engage young people in determining goals, creating strategies, or carrying out solutions. Instead, many were focused on preventing young people from making “bad choices”. It became evident that youth programs focused on cultivating leaders by building skills and abilities of young people, and by fostering connections between youth and adult community leaders would more effectively engage young people in the process of change. Out of this idea, the Youth Leadership Institute was born.
In 1991 the Youth Leadership Institute opened its doors in Marin County. Early projects included expanding the Marin Friday Night Live program, reinvigorating the Marin County Youth Commission, and developing the commission’s youth philanthropy programs. In the early 1990s the Youth Leadership Institute continued to develop its community-based program in Marin and began new programs in San Francisco and California’s Central Valley.
In 1992 the Youth Leadership Institute was given the Congressional Award for Leadership. That same year the Youth Leadership Institute relocated headquarters to San Francisco and expanded its scope of work to include research, program evaluation, training, and technical assistance. The Institute's leadership recognized one of the organization’s greatest strengths was its ability to build the capacity of others in the youth engagement sphere by creating program models, offering trainings on how to implements those models, and assessing effectiveness of youth programs.
In the late 1990s the Youth Leadership Institute continued to grow into two distinct, yet interrelated parts. The institute expanded its community-based programs, moving into San Mateo in 1998, and simultaneously developed its social enterprise arm, The Center for Training, Research, and Evaluation.
Over the last ten years, The institute’s community based programs have engaged young people in increasing healthy food access, decreasing alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, and creating opportunities for youth civic engagement, advocacy, and philanthropy. Between the year 2000 and 2009 youth leaders in the Youth Leadership Institute programs collectively organized and successfully advocated for the passage of more than 20 ordinances to reduce social and retail access to tobacco and alcohol, increase parent accountability, and increase highway and pedestrian safety.
The Youth Leadership Institute Center has increased the number of trainings offered and currently facilitates over 360 days trainings annually for organizations based both nationally and internationally. The Institute is now the designated training and technical assistance partner for the California Friday Night Live Partnership, and also offers technical assistance to a range of other organizations.
In 2011 the Youth Leadership Institute celebrates its 20th anniversary. As it moves forward into the third decade, the Institute plans to continue leading the way in the field of youth engagement by training young leaders to create positive change and by teaching communities to invest in their youth.