Thursday, September 2, 2010
7:30 PM EST
6:30 PM CST
5:30 PM MST
4:30 PM PST

In July, NYLN hosted a conference about interdependence, support systems, and how people can work together to be self-determined. The conference was called Reap What You Sow: Harvesting Support Systems Institute. We want to share what we learned with our friends! Because of this, we will be hosting a community reportback via teleconference.

A reportback is when people share what they learned at an event. We want to talk more about support systems. We also want to keep building relationships we made at the Institute.

We will meet via teleconference to talk about:
o What we learned from the Institute,
o How we are being active in our communities, and
o Where NYLN is going in for the future!

To register, use the form at the bottom. Anyone can join the call. It will be captioned online.

NYLN is a non-profit organization led by young leaders with disabilities. NYLN promotes youth leadership, education, and advocacy. We make sure that youth with disabilities know how to set
and reach their own goals.

For more information about the teleconference, email Cindy Singletary at csingletary.life@gmail.com.

Do you want to read the NYLN Newsletter, otherwise known as the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS? This Summer’s theme is about the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We are proud to celebrate this milestone with our community.

Download: SUMMER 2010 Newsletter

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 betsy@nyln.org

The National Youth Leadership Network (NYLN) is holding an exciting event!  It is called “Reap What You Sow: Harvesting Support Systems.”  It is a conference that looks at how to support young people in finding power and making their dreams realities.  NYLN is hosting a performance as a part of the conference. It features artists with SINS INVALID.  It is open to the whole community!

Sins Invalid is a performance project led by disabled artists of color. Sins Invalid is based out of San Francisco, California. They focus on sexuality, disability, and beauty. One featured artist performing will be Leroy Moore. He is a co-Founder of Sins Invalid. He is also a lead force behind Krip-Hop Nation.   Maria “Goddess on Wheels” Palacios, a spoken word poet, will also be performing. She is from Houston, Texas. The third performer is Antoine Hunter, international dancer and choreographer. Film and written work by artists Todd Herman, Aurora Levins Morales and Patty Berne will be featured as well.

Please Note: This show will have sexual content.  Sins Invalid is working to  make their show youth-friendly while keeping it honest. To find out more about what might be performed, visit sinsinvalid.org

• Date: 8pm Friday, July 30, 2010           
• Place: Hilton North Raleigh at 3415 Wake Forest Road
• Tickets: $8 – $10 at door
• Details: This show will be wheelchair accessible, sign language interpreted, and audio described.

NYLN is a non-profit organization led by young leaders with disabilities.  NYLN promotes youth leadership, education, and advocacy.  We make sure that youth with disabilities know how to set and reach their own goals.

This show is made possible by the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities. For more information, visit www.nyln.org. To talk to NYLN Executive Director, Betsy Valnes, call us at 1-866-480-6565. You can also e-mail her at betsy@nyln.org.

Do you want to read the NYLN Newsletter, otherwise known as the YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PRESS? Click here to download it! This Spring’s theme is about the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We have a new design for the newsletter and it’s filled with great articles from young people with disabilities.

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 betsy@nyln.org

It is that time of year again! Spring is in the air, and the National Youth Leadership Network is preparing for our next webcast.

This webcast will be titled “Violence and Hate Crimes Against People with Disabilities.” There will be a panel of speakers discussing the issue of violence and and how youth with disabilities often face this issue. Click here to download a flyer for the webcast.

Date: Thursday, April 22 2010

Time: 7:00 pm EST, 6:00 pm CST, 5:00 pm MST, 4:00 PST, 2:00 pm Hawaii

Speakers:
Savannah Logsdon-Breakstone, Director of Advocacy with the Autism Women’s Network
Christine Wilk, Organizer with the Feminist Response in Disability Activism (FRIDA)
Nathan Say, long-time anti-violence disability activist

This webcast is offered for free through the National Youth Leadership Network. To register, please use the form below. We will send out the call-in information and captioned weblink to registrants via email.

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

Comunicado de Prensa: Febrero 2010

GUARDE LA FECHA!

Cosecha lo que Siembras: Cosechando Sistemas de Apoyo

Julio 29 – 31, 2010

Raleigh, Carolina del Norte
La Red Nacional del Liderazgo de la Juventud es emocionada a anunciar las fechas para una nueva oportunidad de entrenamiento práctico. El entrenamiento se enfoca en crear sus propios sistemas de apoyo. Los sistemas de apoyo son un equipo de personas que ayudan a que sus objetivos se hagan realidad. Este evento es creado para jóvenes, padres, hermanos, amigos, aliados, maestros, proveedores de apoyo de comunidad, y más.

Cosecha lo que Siembras: Cosechando Sistemas de Apoyo es el título del entrenamiento. Se llevara a cabo el 29 de julio al 31, 2010 en Raleigh, Carolina del norte. ¡GUARDE LAS FECHAS y REGISTRESE AHORA! Para más información, visite nuestro sitio web www.nyln.org. Habrá un enlace en el pie de la página para más información y para registrarse. También tendremos una Sesión Paseo de Información el viernes, 30 de julio de 2010. Si está interesado en tener una mesa de información, visite por favor nuestro sitio web y encuentre la forma de Paseo de Información.

Este programa es posible gracias a una beca. Esta beca es por parte del US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD).
La Red Nacional del Liderazgo de la Juventud (NYLN) es una organización manejada y dirigida por jóvenes. Somos una organización formal no lucrativa. NYLN está hecho de jóvenes líderes con discapacidades. Vivimos a través de Estados Unidos y sus territorios.

NYLN promueve liderazgo de juventud y educación. Enseñamos a jóvenes cómo abogar. Nuestro objetivo es de asegurarse de que jóvenes con discapacidades sepan cómo fijar y alcanzar sus propios objetivos.

Para más información, visite la Red Nacional de Liderazgo de la Juventud en www.nyln.org. También puede contactar a Betsy Valnes, Directora ejecutiva del NYLN, en 1-866-480-6565 o bvalnes@tie.net.

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.

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 .

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 .

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.