Colorado Youth Advisory Council

OUR IMPACT FOR YOUTH ACROSS COLORADO

During the last five years, the teens of COYAC researched, conducted outreach, wrote, and presented 35 policy recommendations; 16 became bills and 14 became laws benefiting youth across Colorado, including:

• Reducing food waste in schools

• Increasing the availability of opioid antagonists to prevent drug overdoses

• Providing free menstrual products to students

• Printing the Colorado Crisis Services hotline on the back of student ID cards

• Funding higher education for foster youth

• Adding youth representatives to state boards and commissions

Learn more at coyac.org/our-work.

 

OUR IMPACT ON MEMBERS

“COYAC is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become civically involved before the age of 18. While we as youth might not be able to vote, we are able to directly influence policy for our generation. I’ve learned lifelong skills in research, outreach, public speaking, media training, etc. COYAC opens the floor for deep debate on issues facing youth and allows members to critically think about problems facing our state. The support network created by COYAC encourages students to think outside the box and constructs a lifelong community. As a member of COYAC, I am able to see problems in my community, bring them to legislators, and work with my committee to reach a beneficial resolution. COYAC gives a voice to all youth wanting to be heard, and teaches youth how to become civic leaders long into the future.”

– Sophie Tipper, Senate District 16 Representative

“I’ve talked to dozens of people about my work within COYAC, and I have yet to encounter someone who is not astonished by the potential of youth to enact change that reverberates across CO history. COYAC has enabled me to connect with lawmakers and serve as a pioneer of change for youth. I have refined my research and synthesis abilities while advocating for more equitable health outcomes, creating valuable opportunities for personal growth and productive collaboration. Working with this policy committee over the past year, I've conducted outreach to renowned organizations and health practitioners, lending me a more robust outlook on the social, economic, and political factors affecting health literacy. COYAC has undeniably stimulated my passion for global health and public policy.”

– Ranye Ezenekwe, former COYAC Senate District 17 Representative

Read more at coyac.org/impact. 

“COYAC made me realize that I want to do work in advocacy. I started college this last year and have begun to shape my career around public health policies. Without COYAC, I never would have stepped onto this path. COYAC gave me a path in life, a direction to explore. If nothing else, COYAC is a vehicle for epiphanies, a chance for students like myself—who come from schools with such poor funding that they only operate four days a week and never would have had the opportunity to work in advocacy otherwise—a chance to interact with things that matter, with topics that have the potential to set young people on a path for leadership. COYAC must continue. It has to. It symbolizes what youth strive for: the chance to be heard and the opportunity to represent.”

– Walker Bargmann, former COYAC Senate District 25

“Being a Colorado Youth Advisory Council representative has been a life-changing opportunity to learn, grow, connect, and explore my future career. In 2022, I joined COYAC blind to how much I would learn and grow. Over the past two years, I helped pass a bill and a budget amendment and found a love for public health and public policy. COYAC has changed my future to something bright. Joining COYAC was the first time I felt heard, inspired, and hopeful for change. This council has created partnerships between state and local government while giving youth a voice, which is so often stifled. Being in COYAC opens your eyes to a world of lived experience and real-world applications of research, analysis, networking, and presenting. The entire process changed my perspective and is a part of the person I am today.”

– Mason Evans (he/him), former Senate District 3

Your donations help us:

• Travel to the Colorado State Capitol to present our policy recommendations to legislators

• Bond and learn government 101, nonpartisanship, and civility at our two-day fall retreat

• Celebrate growth and teamwork at our awards/senior send-off dinner

Read more at https://coyac.org/impact/