Mayor's Youth Council
The Mayor's Youth Council is a model of youth inclusion in government and civic engagement.
As the first Mayor’s Youth Council in the nation, it has spurred cities across the nation, and even internationally, to examine how they include youth in local government. Please contact youthline@boston.gov if you are interested in the program.
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Have questions? Contact us:
Youth Engagement and Employment -
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
About the council
The Mayor's Youth Council (MYC) connects, engages, and empowers Boston’s diverse youth through government and civic participation. The council is a group of high school students that come from every neighborhood in the City. All Ambassadors are confirmed by Mayor Wu. They are charged with representing their peers, community members, and youth across the City. They work with:
- the Mayor’s Office
- community leaders, and
- City officials.
MYC provides a platform for youth voice to be represented in the City with the goals of:
- Connecting youth to City government
- Building a network with youth leaders from across the City
- Educating youth about the civic process
- Encouraging youth to prioritize social change and justice in their own communities
- Finding and putting in place positive solutions through civic engagement and project management.
Please note: The 2022-2023 application for the Mayor's Youth Council will be open in late spring.
2021-2022 Mayor's Youth Council
Council Structure
Youth Ambassadors are selected to serve on the MYC through an application process. They serve on the council for a one-year term throughout the school year.
Committees
MYC Youth Ambassadors form issue-centric subcommittees based on the Mayor’s cabinet structure. In the past year, members of the MYC have worked on a variety of issues, including:
- public peace
- civic engagement
- education
- arts and culture
- climate justice
- economic and workforce development, and
- public health, as well as Youth Lead the Change participatory budgeting process.
Every year MYC Youth Ambassadors select committees to participate in. They then work together to create projects and initiatives that aim to serve young people in their communities. Committees are facilitated by two co-directors who are elected by their peers.
Neighborhood Working Groups
This year, in addition to serving on committees, Youth Ambassadors are also part of a pilot of three neighborhood working groups. These groups will facilitate an assessment to better understand the needs of young people:
- within the MYC committee impact areas
- within their neighborhoods, and
- across the City.
Youth Ambassadors serve on the neighborhood working group with other youth from their neighborhood and the surrounding area. The groups represent the following areas in the City:
- Fenway, South End, Back Bay, South Boston, Charlestown, East Boston, Allston, Brighton, Beacon Hill, Kenmore, Chinatown, and Financial District
- Roxbury and Dorchester
- Hyde Park, Mattapan, Roslindale, West Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain
Both committees and neighborhood working groups will be supporting the youth needs assessment by crafting a survey of questions. The goal is to understand youth needs as well as hosting youth assemblies to amplify youth voice across the City.
The goal is for the MYC to create spaces to hear directly from young people to better inform the work of the Council moving forward. Neighborhood working groups are facilitated by two co-liaisons elected by their peers.
2021-2022 Council Members
MembersNatalia Sika
PhuongAn Bui
Skye Coakley
Aniah Quesada
Ayden Cardoso
Damon Phan
Kevin Zhong
Megan Li
Caroline Fisher
Christine Maher
David Yao
Emma Mello-Byrne
Esther Ajibola
Gabriel Krause-Grosman
Maggie Olson
Sanjana Singh
Xochitl Tai-Dawson
Iris Zhang
Isaac Omar Hernandez Aquino
Jasmine Thompson
Jenny Chen
Lauren Choy
Luke Joseph
Niamh Mcquaid
Valeria Serna Lopez
Haley Do
Katie Rouse
Mistchnache Prinston
Sean Wells
Teanne Alfama
Temia A Murray
Emilia Saldana
Jessie Wang
Lisa Nguyen
Maya Koreth
Sandy Nguyen
Yolanda Oliveira
Zachary Chen
Ammar Elawad
Oriana Dunker
Emma Lu
Liliana Palencia Garcia
Lily Huang
Maisha Kazi
Michelle Wang
Minh Mai
Neha Modak
Parmis Mokhtari-Dizaji
Phoebe Clark
Sabah Vitale
Sachel Borges Arias
Starling Martinez
Valerie Dam Nguyen
Alaa Al-Ramahi
Alessandra Woo
Caroline Fisher
Christine Maher
Cinly Mo
David Yao
Gabriel Krause-Grosman
Genesis Onuoha
Iris Zhang
Isaac Omar Hernandez Aquino
Jenny Chen
Joanna Lin
Kevin Zhong
Liliana Palencia Garcia
Lily Huang
Mira Yu
Neha Modak
Parmis Mokhtari-Dizaji
Sabah Vitale
Sanjana Singh
Valeria Serna Lopez
Yolanda Oliveira
Co-Liaison: Minh Mai
Ava Sullivan-Thomas
Damon Phan
Esther Ajibola
Haley Do
Jaleel Cardoso
Jasmine Thompson
Lisa Nguyen
Maya Koreth
Minh Mai
Mistchnache Prinston
Nancy Nguyen
Natalia Sika
Oriana Dunker
PhuongAn Bui
Sachel Borges Arias
Sandy Nguyen
Teanne Alfama
Thy Nguyen
Valerie Dam Nguyen
Wahaaj Farah
Wesley Ekes
Xochitl Tai-Dawson
Ammar Elawad
Benjamin Rothman
Blanca Ramirez
Damian Harrison
Deborah Adebanjo
Elizabeth Choi
Emilia Saldana
Emma Lu
Emma Mello-Byrne
Eva St. Clair
Jessie Wang
Kaden Pilgrim
Katie Rouse
Khadija Raza
Lauren Choy
Luke Joseph
Maggie Olson
Maisha Kazi
Michelle Wang
Niamh Mcquaid
Olubunmi Esther Ogungbemi
Phoebe Clark
Skye Coakley
Starling Martinez
Temia A Murray
Zachary Chen
Council Committees
Council CommitteesThe Art and Culture Committee's goal is to:
- improve youth access to Boston’s art community, and
- engage young people in cultural programs, events, and experiences.
The Education Committee's goal is to:
- increase youth access to educational resources, and
- create and support initiatives in education through programming and advocacy.
The Civic Engagement Committee's goal is to:
- create opportunities for Boston youth to engage in local government, and
- encourage youth participation in City government by connecting youth to civic projects and initiatives.
The Climate Action Committee’s goal is to:
- impact Boston’s engagement in climate change
- ensure youth have a voice in the future of Boston’s climate change, and
- address issues of climate change. We want to ensure that future generations can prosper both in the City of Boston and worldwide.
The Public Health and Safety Committee's goal is to:
- advocate for the health of Boston’s residents, and
- create initiatives, programs, and policies around youth violence intervention and prevention.
The Public Peace Committee’s goal is to:
- increase youth voice, and
- increase youth impact in public safety solutions in the City of Boston.
The Workforce and Economic Development Committee goal is to:
- increase access to youth jobs, and
- connect youth to job training, economic opportunities, and financial literacy.
The Youth Lead the Change Committee's goal is to:
- expand youth participation in City government
- include youth voice in the City's budgetary decision-making process, and
- increase voter turnout by exposing young people to voting on City capital projects.
Contact Us
Are you a student interested in civic engagement, a school or community-based organization interested in learning more about the council? Are you someone looking for more information on the Mayor's Youth Council model? Contact us at youthline@boston.gov.
