Youth Advisory Council (YAC)

Meetings

5:30 p.m.
4th Tuesday of every month

Members

Twenty appointed positions, and an unlimited number of alternate positions.

Name	Race & Gender	Term	EXPIRATION	School Represented
Aidan McCarthy-Chair	White Male	3	Annually	Reagan High
Porsche Smith-Vice-Chair	Bi-Racial Female	2	Annually	Winston-Salem Preparatory
James Taylor-Secretary	Black Male	1	Annually	Early College of Forsyth
Tamara Smith-Historian	Black Female	1	Annually	Reynolds High School
Natalia Adamah	Black Female	1	Annually	Middle College
Sunita Agarwala	White Female	1	Annually	Bishop McGuiness
Cameron Allen	Black Male	1	Annually	Paisley High School
Ashley Bondurant	White Female	1	Annually	Carver High School
Daniel Cancro	White Male	1	Annually	Bishop McGuiness
Celeste Colato	Hispanic Female	3	Annually	North Forsyth High
Jajhayra Fonceca-Roque	Hispanic Female	1	Annually	Glenn High
Samuel Gray	Black Male	1	Annually	Kennedy High School
Melody Jackson	Black Female	1	Annually	Walkertown High
Vera Kamm	Hispanic Female	1	Annually	Reagan High School
Catherine King	Black Female	1	Annually	East Forsyth High
Caitlin Kinnamon	White Female	2	Annually	Middle College
Sean Kirby	White Male	1	Annually	Middle College
Brooke Lackey	White Female	2	Annually	Paisley High
Easton Matthews	White Male	1	Annually	East Forsyth High
Yvette Yoandra Munoz-Sandoval	Hispanic Female	1	Annually	Kennedy High School
Skylar Peddle	White Female	1	Annually	Glenn High
Sasha Sagar	Black Female	1	Annually	Atkins High
Jacob Taylor	Black Male	1	Annually	Early College of Forsyth
Addison Truzy	Black Female	1	Annually	Reynolds High School
Simran Vadgama	Black Female	1	Annually	Atkins High School

Mission

Serve as a conduit between city government and younger constituents. The Youth Advisory Council's core focus is youth civic engagement by way of community programming and youth-oriented activities; a contribution of at least 40 volunteer hours per school year to government-related initiatives, projects, and programs; the dissemination of information to the community regarding topics that are important and relevant to the youth in our community; and to advise the City Council and the Human Relations Department on matters that relate to the community's youth population.

Purpose

To provide a venue for youth between the ages of 14 to 18 to have an active means of civic engagement in local government, and become involved in the community by participating in community activities a minimum of 40 hours each year. General duties will include, but will not necessarily be limited to:

Actively promoting the participation of the youth in city government programs and activities;
Promoting positive human relations among all youth;
Providing channels of communication among all populations;
Encouraging youth to become better trained and qualified for employment opportunities;
Performing duties consistent with general law as may be assigned it from time to time by the City Council; and
Performing such other duties as necessary to enforce the powers assigned to it.

Annual Project

Each year, the Youth Advisory Council selects a project to complete by year end. This year the council is working on Public Service Announcements for youth in Winston-Salem about positive image and positive choices.

Past Annual Projects:

Baskets for Habitat for Humanity Families
Community Garden
Everyone Matters Day Celebration
Gift Bags for children at Brenner Children's Hospital
YAC PACKS, bags for Homeless Youth
Youth Expression Wall

Authority for Creation

The City Council unanimously approved establishing the Youth Council at its meeting on March 6, 1989.

Method of Appointment

The City Council, upon the recommendation of the Mayor, will appoint one student from each of the fourteen high schools in the system, and one student from six of the private schools, with membership open to all interested high school students.

Additional Information

Contact chief staff person Wanda Allen-Abraha, Human Relations Director, at 336-734-1226.

Newsletters

Access Youth Advisory Council (YAC) newsletters.