Are you creating change in your community? Do you have an idea for how you would like to have a positive impact? Do you want to pay it forward, build strong connections in your community, and put your bold ideas into action?
Vital Voices is proud to announce the launch of Rising Voices clubs, a unique opportunity for high school leaders across the United States to amplify their community impact. With the Rising Voices clubs, we will bring the lessons in advocacy and organizing to young leaders across the nation to similarly impact their communities. Through Rising Voices clubs, we will equip the next generation of change makers with resources to name their passions, create and implement action plans, and inspire progress. Rising Voices Club Leaders will be provided with informational guides, facilitation materials, advocacy toolkits, and Vital Voices staff support.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
The 2022 Rising Voices Clubs application must be submitted by Sunday, January 9th at 11:59pm EST. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance by Friday, January 14th.
TIMELINE:
The Rising Voices Clubs will be carried out from January to May of 2022. Club Leaders will be expected to attend monthly webinars and participate in providing feedback to Vital Voices. Additionally, with the opening of the Vital Voices Headquarters in 2022, we look forward to opening the space to engage young leaders and welcome them to our global network.
Meet the Rising Voices Club Leaders
Annai G.
2022 Fellow, 2022 Rising Voices Club Leader
Annai is a senior in high school in Idaho. She is a strong believer that every person should have access to higher education and have the resources and support to turn their dreams into realities. Annai is involved in activities that allow her to demonstrate leadership skills and give back to her community, including student council, National Honor Society, and TRIO Upward Bound.
Cassia C.
2022 Fellow, 2022 Rising Voices Club Leader
Cassia is a junior in high school in New York. She has a keen interest in advocating for racial justice, particularly for her Asian-American Pacific Islander community. She was selected to participate in the summer 2021 ACLU Advocacy Institute for high school students.
Adrianna B.
2022 Fellow, 2022 Rising Voices Club Leader
Adrianna is a sophomore in high school in Ohio. She is passionate about education and helping others, which is why her mission is to inform her peers and classmates about the importance of wearing a mask during the current pandemic. She is very active in her community, and she recently joined the new Advisory Board for Pathway Caring for Children, which focuses on foster care and mental health.
Parker G.
2022 Fellow, 2022 Rising Voices Club Leader
Parker is a sophomore in high school in Ohio. She is passionate about research within the field of pediatric cancer, prompting her to start a club/non profit about it. She is inspired by her little sister’s fight and her friend’s ongoing struggle with their respective cancers. Parker is excited to learn more about this program and is so excited to be a part of it.
Meet the Rising Voices Club Mentors
Jenna Smith
2019 Fellow, HERlead Fellow
Jenna is a first-year Robertson Scholar at Duke University studying International Comparative Studies. She is passionate about criminal justice reform, education, storytelling, and the intersections that exist within these fields. In service of these interests, Jenna serves as the Programming Director of Kidz Vote, an organization dedicated to expanding access to civic education and rectifying historical disenfranchisement from the political process.
Madison Vorva
2012 Fellow, HERlead Fellow
Madison is a 2012 HERLead alumna. She graduated from the University of Cambridge with a master’s in environmental economics and law in 2019. She was honored as a United Nations Forest Hero for her campaign to get Girl Scouts USA to source sustainable palm oil in its cookies.
Maria Wilkinson
2013 Fellow, HERlead Fellow
Maria is a senior at Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages in Taiwan. She is passionate about advocating and educating for the abolition of the Death Penalty in both Taiwan and the US. Currently, Maria is participating in a research internship at Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty to gather field research for her Master’s Thesis ‘On Death Penalty: A Comparative Discourse Analysis of Elites’ Strategic Narratives in Taiwan and the US’.
Angela Sutton
2015 Fellow, HERlead Fellow
Angela is in her third year at St. Joseph’s college where she is a double major in Mathematics and Philosophy. She is passionate about addressing inequalities in education and healthcare. Angela was awarded a congressional medal of merit her senior year of high school for her academic and community service efforts, particularly in providing tutoring and school supplies to her peers.
Stephanie Villanueva-Villar
2015 Fellow, HERlead Fellow
Stephanie Villanueva-Villar is the Founder & Executive Director of Your Girl for Good, a D.C. based non-profit organization that equips young girls of color with successful female mentors in the STEM, Art, and Political sectors. Since 2016, Stephanie has created summer mentorship programs, workshops, and summits that focus on reminding young girls of their limitless potential by connecting them with a network of supportive, professional women and exposing them to an array of career fields, college guidance, and mindfulness practices. Stephanie is passionate about the advancement of communities of color and has collaborated with the Smithsonian, Girls Who Code, DC Public Charter Schools, and Harvard’s Graduate School of Education to develop and implement diversity and inclusion programs that uplift the voices of marginalized students. Stephanie is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University and is double majoring in International Social Justice and Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies with a minor in Political Science. She is a Vital Voices member, Herlead Ambassador, and RockStar Award Grantee. In her free time, Stephanie loves to draw, bake banana bread, and go on long scenic walks with her 12-year-old yorkie terrier, Lucas.
Nadyah Hilmi
2013 Fellow, HERlead Fellow
Nadyah graduated from The George Washington University in 2018, with a B.A. in International Affairs and Development. She is passionate about global development, geopolitics, and youth and womens’ rights. She is currently an Associate at the global public health NGO Resolve to Save Lives, where she supports Former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden directly with strategic crisis communications and global policy responding to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Nadyah has previously worked with Plan International, UNFPA, the US Department of State, and Albright Stonebridge Group.
