Young Leaders Strong City
Developing young leaders to make our city stronger
Our current public education system faces a growing crisis marked by decreased student belonging, rising mental health challenges, and persistent opportunity gaps. Young Leaders Strong City offers safe spaces for young leaders to connect, lead, and take action.
Founded in 2014, Young Leaders Strong City (YLSC) has served over 8,000 students from across Dallas Fort Worth to have conversations about identity and framing leadership development.
Young people have always been at the forefront of positive social change yet often they don’t have opportunities to share their experiences, grow their leadership skills and decide what issues are important to them. Young Leaders Strong City creates that space by investing in youth leadership and youth voice.
Amber Sims
Co-Founder & CEO
YLSC equips students with essential leadership and career-ready skills
YLSC programs are offered at no cost to high school students from public, private, charter and homeschools. Through monthly Youth Advisory Council sessions, summer leadership cohorts, and Annual Teen Unity Summit, students build the knowledge and confidence needed to graduate and pursue meaningful postsecondary pathways.
For over a decade, YLSC has been the trusted leaders in out of school programming, equipping students with essential leadership and career readiness skills. With support from The Addy Foundation, YLSC has been able to scale programming and improve internal infrastructures including data collection and database infrastructure.
