On March 18, 2022, the Nederland Youth Board (NYB), in partnership with the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA), interviewed Board of Trustees candidates about issues that impact local youth. Neither NYB nor YLA engage in electoral topics in any way. However, election time is a critical period for building relationships with potential elected officials and putting candidate commitments on-record. Candidate: Tom Mahowald 1. What are your campaign points? I would like to bring more jobs to Nederland to keep people in Nederland instead of needing to commute up and down the canyon. I’d like to see peop ..read more

The Nederland area is a community brimming with unique opportunities for youth, ranging from outdoor leadership to government services. However, these opportunities are seldom taken advantage of, mainly due to the fact that the community is largely unaware that they exist. Nederland lacks a central resource for youths to find volunteer offerings, leaving organizations the responsibility of recruiting on their own. This means that youth are unable to find volunteer work, and organizations are unable to fill their volunteer positions. The MCY Youth Leadership Academy is now working on a solution ..read more

There is a world of difference between Youth Leadership and “youth voice” or “youth engagement.” Mountain Coalition for Youth is a local community organizing effort that aims to create a healthier, happier, more just context for young people in the Nederland area. Youth Leadership Academy is not just a coalition member, we develop the youth leaders this organization needs. You may note that the coalition includes adult local leaders and educators and ask whether these leaders are not adequate. Perhaps these adults’ expertise makes them the ideal leaders. If we look back at social movements tha ..read more