Press Release: February 2010
SAVE THE DATE!
Reap What You Sow: Harvesting Support Systems
July 29 – 31, 2010
Raleigh, North Carolina

The National Youth Leadership Network is excited to announce the dates for a new hands-on training opportunity.  The training focuses on ways to work with young people to help create their own support systems.  Support systems are teams of people that help make your goals realities.  This event is created for young people, parents, siblings, friends, allies, teachers, community support providers, and more.

Reap What You Sow: Harvesting Support Systems is the name of the training.  It will be held July 29 – 31, 2010 in Raleigh, North Carolina.  For more information, visit our web site www.nyln.org.  There will be a link at the bottom of the page for more information and registration.

This training program is possible thanks to a grant.  This grant is through the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD).

The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) is a youth-driven, youth-led organization.  We are a formal non-profit.  NYLN is made up of young leaders with disabilities.  We live throughout the United States and its territories.

NYLN promotes youth leadership and education.  We teach young people how to advocate.  Our goal is to make sure that young people with disabilities know how to set and reach their own goals.

For more information, visit the National Youth Leadership Network at www.nyln.org.  You can also contact Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director, at 1-866-480-6565 or bvalnes@tie.net.

More Information on Reap What You Sow Here

Looking for Speakers for Your Youth Leadership Forum or other state youth events?

NYLN has a pool of young activists with disabilities who have experience organizing and leading their own YLFs. Below are just a few of our featured resource consultants.

Alan Chase has a passion for disability rights, advocacy, and education. He uses a variety of teaching techniques that appeal to the unique learning styles of each person. Through roleplay, discussion, real world examples, and group activities he can teach about disability law, emergency management, education, and advocacy. Participants will enjoy his excitment, knowledge, and dedication to teaching and presenting. Alan also has experience co-organizing the YLF in NC.

Aaron Baier brings with him an open and interactive opportunity for youth and young adults to become more self-determined. Aaron uses multi-media and a positive attitude to get his audience involved in a variety of subjects, including (but not limited to) leadership, self-advocacy, goal-setting, independent living, and disability awareness. Teamed with his guide dog, Maxie, Aaron brings awareness and understanding to a whole new level. Aaron has worked with Youth Power! to organize Youth Leadership Forums in NY.

Betsy served as a team leader for South Dakota’s YLF for one year, the Master of Ceremonies for four consecutive years thereafter, and a YLF staff person, speaker, or coordinator for five years after that. Betsy has served as a guest speaker for YLFs in North Dakota, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, and Missouri. Betsy also served for three consecutive years as an officer on the Association of Youth Leadership Forums. She specializes in team-building activities, goal-setting, self-determination, disability pride, and career development/professional preparedness.

Chelsea Tobin Paulson is from South Dakota. She loves to get her hands on with different issues pertaining the disability community, is an excellent pusher for the youth with disabilities to tap into their inner potential, mostly because they CAN, opposed to others in society thinking they can’t. Chelsea has experienced four years at South Dakota Youth Leadership Forum, and currently works with National Youth Leadership Network since October of 2007. She has served as National Association for the Deaf Miss Deaf America from 2006 to 2008. She also is a graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with bachelor of arts degree in Deaf Education and Elementary Education.

Stacey “cripchick” Milbern is NYLN’s Community Outreach Director. She loves being a part of the youth arm of the Disability Rights Movement because she gets to be a potluck-hostin’ rabble-rousin’ youth organizer, digital-age media maker, and poet all at the same time. Stacey hails from North Carolina and calls the South home. If you are looking for someone who knows how to use hip hop, pop culture and storytelling to talk about power, advocacy, and activism in an accessible, people-power way— she’s your girl. Stacey is a member of the Disabled Young People’s Collective and co-organized the first ever Youth Leadership Forum in NC.

Read All About It: Information By Youth, For Youth!

Do you want to read the NYLN Newsletter, otherwise known as the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS? Click here to download it!

If you have suggestions for future stories in the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS, please e-mail Chelsea Paulson, NYLN Public Information Committee chair, at chelsea.paulson@gmail.com .

If you have general questions about NYLN or want to get more involved, please call Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director, at 1-866-480-6565, ext. 1 or e-mail her at bvalnes@tie.net .

Read All About It: Information By Youth, For Youth!

Do you want to read the NYLN Newsletter, otherwise known as the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS? Click here to download it!

If you have suggestions for future stories in the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS, please e-mail Chelsea Paulson, NYLN Public Information Committee chair, at chelsea.paulson@gmail.com .

If you have general questions about NYLN or want to get more involved, please call Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director, at 1-866-480-6565, ext. 1 or e-mail her at bvalnes@tie.net .

Press Release: October 2009
Topic: NYLN Governing Board and Committee Application

The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) is looking for new leaders to lead our organization. Everything NYLN does is done by young people. We have openings on our Governing Board (GB) and our committees. This year GB applications and Committee applications can be done at the same time!

The GB makes decisions for NYLN. People serving on the GB participate in at least two phone meetings a month and serve approximately 15 hours per month total.

People who serve on our three committees help carry out NYLN’s goals. Committee members attend one phone meeting, and they contribute about 5 hours, per month.

People who want to be on the Governing Board or a committee must:
1) Be between the ages of 16 and 28,
2) Have a disability, and
3) Have leadership and advocacy skills.

“NYLN is a way for new leaders to be heard, to be respected, and to become self-empowered,” said Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director. “We look forward to including new leadership to our team. New leaders are not only important to NYLN but to the whole disability rights movement.”

The application can be found via this link: GBapplication. It can also be found at www.nyln.org .

The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) is a youth-driven, youth-led organization. We are a formal non-profit. NYLN is made up of young leaders with disabilities. We are from throughout the United States and its territories.

NYLN promotes youth leadership and education. We teach young people how to advocate. Our goal is to make sure that young people with disabilities know how to set and reach their own goals.

For more information, visit the National Youth Leadership Network at www.nyln.org. You can also contact Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director, at 1-866-480-6565 or bvalnes@tie.net.

Read All About It: Information By Youth, For Youth!

Do you want to read the NYLN Newsletter, otherwise known as the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS? You can download a Word Document of the newsletter by clicking here. Or by visiting our web site at www.nyln.org

If you have suggestions for future stories in the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS, please e-mail Chelsea Tobin, NYLN Public Information Committee chair, at deafchick125@yahoo.com .

If you have general questions about NYLN or want to get more involved, please call Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director, at 1-866-480-6565, ext. 1 or e-mail her at bvalnes@tie.net

The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) is a youth-driven, youth-led organization.  We are a formal non-profit.  NYLN is made up of young leaders with disabilities.  We are from throughout the United States and its territories.

NYLN promotes youth leadership and education.  We teach young people how to advocate.  Our goal is to make sure that young people with disabilities know how to set and reach their own goals.

We are proud to announce our new web site.  We still have the same web address: www.nyln.org, but it has a whole new look.  NYLN has been working with Joe Hall, an NYLN member and a past NYLN conference participant.  Joe has his own company called JOZSOFT.  You can learn more about his company by visiting www.jozsoft.com.

On our new site, you will have access to previous newsletters, press releases, FYI opportunities for emerging leaders, and more.  You will also notice different titles, labels, and links.  If you have difficulty finding anything, please feel free to contact us for assistance.

“The Internet has always played a huge part in the way we come together,” said Stacey Milbern, NYLN President. “We hope that the website will help to continue to build community, and are excited to share it with you.”

For more information, visit the National Youth Leadership Network at www.nyln.org.  You can also contact Betsy Valnes, NYLN Executive Director, at 1-866-480-6565 or bvalnes@tie.net.

Independent Media 2.0

Using free, easily accessible media tools (blogs! video! podcasts! twitter!) to revolutionize & remix a powerful disability rights message

Monday September 21 at 8 pm est

To sign up for this one-time only teleconference/webcast, visit nyln.org

Speakers Include:

Moya Bailey, Quirky Black Girls founder
Anita Cameron, ADAPT media maker
Cripchick, feminist blogger
Ari Ne’eman and Melanie Yergeau, organizers with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network

Captioning will be provided via the web! Keep an eye out for the link in your email box after you register.