The Youth and Young Adult Initiatives team is dedicated to creating and implementing resources that empower youth, foster leadership, and address mental health. This session will highlight NAMI Next Gen (NNG), a national 12-member youth advisory group that elevates young adult voices and helps shape how NAMI engages youth across the country. We will walk through the process of creating and sustaining youth-led advisory groups at the state and local level, including lessons learned from NAMI Alabama and a current national NNG member who has been involved locally and nationally. We will also introduce NAMI CHANGE Makers, a flexible, event-based youth engagement opportunity that can serve as a starting point for organizations not yet ready to launch a full advisory group. Attendees will leave with practical tools and inspiration to expand youth voice within their own NAMI.

In this session you will learn to:

• Understand the structure and purpose of NAMI Next Gen and youth advisory groups.
• Identify key steps to launch and sustain a youth advisory group at your state or local NAMI.
• Recognize the leadership development and organizational impact of authentically engaging youth.
• Explore how NAMI CHANGE Makers can serve as an entry point to youth engagement.
• Determine which youth engagement model (advisory group or event-based activation) best fits your organizations capacity and readiness.