YLI Institute

Capacity Building of Individuals and Youth-Serving Organizations

We believe that transforming the ecosystem requires a commitment to equity, elevating immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC voices, fostering youth-adult partnerships, and redistributing power. 

Our breadth of knowledge and expertise include:

  • Youth leading youth 

  • Youth and adults sharing power 

  • Co-creating program design, delivery, and evaluation with youth

  • Ensuring program accessibility 

  • Building a culture that supports the social and emotional learning of diverse youth

  • Connecting youth and building relationships across differences

  • Empowering youth to stand up for others in the face of injustice

  • Shifting the narrative of traditionally marginalized youth from being troubled teens and recipients of services to contributors and change agents

YLI Institute offers the following capacity building activities to individuals and organizations:

  • Training - YLI conducts workshops on topics: sharing power with youth, youth leading youth, programming that matters to youth, dismantling white supremacy culture and deconstructing adultism, intentional multicultural programming and youth participatory evaluation. Workshops are co-led by youth and adult presenters.

  • Consultation and Technical Assistance - Organizations request YLI’s expertise to address specific aspects of their organization’s engagement with youth. 

  • Immersion in YLI - Volunteers, interns and youth professionals immerse in YLI to gain knowledge about practices that center youth, promote justice, and transform systems that impact youth.

These activities have strengthened organizations’ ability to advance equity and positive youth outcomes.

Inquiry About Our Services

Our work has reached over 5,000 youth development professionals across the country.

YLI Institute Partners

Our partnerships with institutions such as the University of Minnesota, Ignite Minnesota and Sprockets have enabled the YLI Institute to contribute to the professional development of thousands of individuals and youth-serving organizations across the Twin Cities and state. Through these opportunities, we have shared YLI best practices of youth work, modeled co-facilitating with young people, and led learning cohorts on the topics of youth equity programming, youth engagement, culturally responsive leadership and youth participatory evaluation.