Leaders of today: YLAA’s first Youth Advisory Board

Youth Leadership Academy Australia is committed to enabling all young people to build the successful future of their dreams. We believe that we can only accomplish this goal when young people are empowered to seek opportunity for themselves and their peers, and when they have the genuine capacity to make decisions regarding their futures. 

As our organisation continues to evolve, we want to make sure that we continue to represent and empower the voices of youth in their own affairs. That’s why we have created our first Youth Advisory Board - not only to ensure that our students’ interests are at the core of every aspect of our organisation, but also to give the young people we serve the opportunity to develop themselves personally, whilst contributing to our mission of ensuring a sustainable future for all youth.

Young people have long been far too left out of the conversation surrounding their own futures. We’re aiming to take charge in bringing them to the table and aiding them to make conscious, informed, empowered decisions about their future careers and lives, and giving them the opportunity to affect change in the lives of young people all over the country as well. 

Our Youth Advisors will be co-designing and developing a comprehensive report into education and leadership from a student perspective, offering valuable insights and research into the kind of future that young people want to see from education, and guiding the work of YLAA in alignment with a bold, innovative vision for education in Australia. We’ll also be working with this group of bright, diverse young people, to provide them with comprehensive leadership and business training, covering topics such as goal-setting, personal branding, co-design, and time management, as well as giving them exclusive, first-hand insight into the running of a for-youth, by-youth business. 

Congratulations to our first Youth Advisory Board - we look forward to working with you to showcase the creativity, drive, and potential of young people today:

• Shalini Chowdhury, Year 7, Vic
• Bridie Crag, Year 8, Vic
• Ellissa Hatoum, Year 9, NSW
• Anson Quach, Year 10, NSW
• Dominik Mautner, Year 10, NSW
• Xavier Cardozo, Year 10, NSW
• Louis Janssen, Year 10, Vic
• Tia Fitzpatrick, Year 11, Qld
• Fatima Merchant, Year 12, WA
• James Donnelly, Year 12, Queensland
• Tegan Shirdon, Year 12, WA
• Saniya George, Year 12, WA