Hope & Courage

Spring 2009

Youth Leaders Convene at Summer’s End
By Steering Committee Member Nicole Demedenko

Youth in Mind (YIM) is having an exceptionally exciting welcome to the new year! On December 26, 2008 we received our incorporation paperwork and very soon we will apply for our nonprofit status, preparing us to venture out next October as our own official 501c3 organization! As such, our Steering Committee made several exciting decisions at our meeting in November…. Along with the decision to take the next steps toward our nonprofit status, our full Steering Committee will soon become a Board of Directors. Board officers already elected include: Treasurer Denise Gil-Perez, Secretary Rochelle Trochtenberg and Nicole Demedenko as our first Board President! After this meeting we also elected and welcomed three new Steering Committee members: Dr. Gregory Manning, Kate Teague and Victoria Schraeder! Now with a full Steering Committee of 10, Youth in Mind will continue to take steps towards further establishing our organization. This transition has included several Steering Committee members attending workshops on nonprofit organizations, growth and development through the Zellerbach Family Foundation-funded Compasspoint Training Services.

We planned extensively for our annual meeting at CMHACY 2009 and included an exciting new training model featuring the direct interests and leadership of our members. Additionally, Youth in Mind featured in the youth plenary at CMHACY showcasing the work of YIM's local chapter work in Humboldt County. We presented a workshop on supporting young mental health consumers in college at CMHACY's general conference entitled "Getting Schooled."