Youth Advisory Council

This year, YAC will be holding its first-ever Youth Voice Summit Conference. Youth and adults will come together to unite through leadership, amplify youth voices, and collaborate to tackle youth-related issues in your community. 

Location:
Fountain-Fort Carson High School
900 Jimmy Camp Road, Fountain, Co 80817

Date:
April 24, 2026

Time: 
9 a.m. -2:30 p.m. (There is no school that day for FFC8 students.) 

Who:
6th- 12th graders and adults who work with youth

Cost:
FREE to attend. Lunch will be provided. 

Register for the Youth Voice Summit
NOTE: Those under 18 must be registered by an adult. 

Contact: 
Email Meredith Powers

Key Note Speaker: 

Rashad Wisdom, safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a natural leader shaped by adversity, resilience, and vision. He believes real leadership means embracing discomfort, trusting your instincts, and standing firm even when it’s unpopular. Through personal loss and setbacks, he adopted the mindset that everything happens for you, not to you. Rashad values growth through experience, earning respect through trust, and committing to continual evolution even when it’s uncomfortable.

Conference Pathways:

Youth Voice
This pathway is going to be led by both youth and adults, with an emphasis on how youth can build confidence and develop a voice, as well as how adults can support this process. This will be a call to action for young people to gain the skills to make true change in their communities and their lives. It will also provide tools for working with youth and how to step down in a way that allows them to truly take charge of their own impact on the community. Presentations will cover personal experiences from current youth members of the council, panels led by mentors, and workshops for confidence-building and finding leadership styles. Presentations will also address personal experiences from the facilitators and other adult members and youth panels.

Creating the YAC
This pathway will cover the technicalities of developing a youth advisory council, addressing what worked well for us, and what did not work so great. This will help guide attendees in their own process of creating their own youth advisory council. Presentations will cover the background of the council, the elements that contribute to our council, and the steps taken to get to where we are now.

Substance Use
This pathway will cover the district and council’s specific approaches to vaping, as that is the focus of our council. We try to avoid suspension and expulsion, but rather provide resources to the students struggling with vaping. It will also cover other local and district approaches to substance use. Presentations will cover the initiatives throughout the district directed at substance use prevention, tailored information for students, school staff, and parents surrounding the topic, and the importance of education in addressing substance use.

Speakers

Joe Fabey helps students understand themselves, communicate confidently, and handle real-life situations. He gives them simple, practical tools to build strong relationships and navigate challenges at school and beyond.

Anne Warren is a retired educator with 31 years of experience as a teacher and administrator. She is passionate about youth voice, partnership, and communication, and is excited to support and learn alongside young leaders as they create positive change in their
schools and communities.

Amanda Jacobs, Ph.D., is a Grants Program Specialist with the Colorado Department of Education. She manages the Vaping Prevention Education Grant, supporting schools in strengthening prevention efforts and promoting student health across Colorado

Stephanie De Jesus Ayala, MS, is a Program Manager with the Youth Council on Mental Health. She is passionate about expanding access to quality mental health care for racially minoritized youth and families and brings experience providing therapeutic services to children, teens, and families across levels of care.

Other Speakers

PAVE (Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes), Children's Hospital, Fountain-Fort Carson Ready and Resilient, current FFC8 Youth Advisory Council members, Fountain School Resource Officer, and MORE!