Youth Development Champions Program

AzCase is currently seeking a group of passionate leaders to be a part of the 2021 cohort of Youth Development Champions

The  Youth Development Champions Program gives individuals a unique opportunity to create a network and build relationships with local policymakers, parents, community leaders, and many other key stakeholders in their county to advocate for youth development with an emphasis to promote equity and increase access for expanded learning opportunities in the out-of-school time field.

Champions spend one year working directly with the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence (AzCASE) to host a Youth Development Day at the Capitol*, several Lights on Afterschool and other events, engage local elected officials, and foster deeper relationships between afterschool program providers and their communities.

Champions will receive in-depth advocacy and public speaking training and access to exclusive professional development opportunities including free registration to the 2021 School’s Out, Make It Count Conference, and AzCASE Spring Training Professional Development Series in addition to other national youth development events and conferences such as National Afterschool Association and the Afterschool for All Challenge in Washington, DC.

A successful Champion should be:

• Interested in increasing access to high-quality afterschool, summer, and expanded learning programs.
• Committed to advocating for out-of-school time programs and the young people, families, and communities they serve.
• Involved and informed in current trends in youth development, social and emotional learning, trauma informed care, informal STEM/STEAM education, or related areas of out-of-school time programming.

If you know someone who is passionate about afterschool, summer, and other expanded learning programs and wants to advocate for Arizona’s children and families and who might be interested in becoming one of our Champions, please submit their nomination.

We are accepting nominations until January 20th, 2021. The 2nd class of YD Champions will be selected in late January. Nominees will be selected based on qualifications and geographic diversity.

Help us spread the word by sharing this information with others who are passionate about afterschool!

Nominate Someone Today

*Pending safety protocols and regulations regarding COVID-19.