2015 Mahoning County Youth and Alumni

Leadership Retreat

Marshmallow Towers Activity

• The goal of your group is to build the tallest and most stable tower possible

• Work as a team to come up with a design and a strategy

• Each member of your group should play an important role

Questions:

• What did you notice about how your group interacted during the activity?

• What Is a Leader?

• What do you hope to learn by the end of the day?

Consumer & Social Movements•Civil rights movement

•Women’s suffrage

•Disability rights

•Faith movements

•GLBTQ

Culture of Foster Care

Where Was Your Voice?

•Design

•Delivery

•Evaluation

Foster Care Movement

•Youth in Care Network

•California Youth Connection

•Statewide youth advisory boards

•Foster care alumni groups

•International foster care movement

Risks and benefits of sharing our personal stories

 

Self Disclosure

Being Misrepresented or Misperceived

Double-bind:

The very thing that makes us credible…

“I am not a tragedy”

Not defined by what happened to me

Reclaim, reframe

Purposeful sharing

Be Prepared

Be

Professional

How much of your story should you share?

Talking to the media

Power of stories Sharing Effectively

What’s foster care like from

YOUR point of

view???

Choose – Connect - Claim

Officer Elections

Process:• Youth who are interested in serving in as

an officer give a speech • Decisions are made via secret ballot• Only YOUTH vote

Duties of the President

• Leadership skills.• Knows what work has to be done

and when to delegate it.• An impartial judge of the abilities of

others and able to determine where they can make the best contribution.

• Keeps informed of member’s progress and sees that the board is always moving forward.

• Presides over meetings, making sure that they begin and end on time and that they follow the order of business.

• Never interjects personal opinions nor dominates the meeting

Duties of the Vice President

• Presides at meetings and other functions in the absence of the president.

• Must be well informed of the issues and skilled in handling the board’s business.

• Must be prepared to assume the office of President when necessary.

• Is responsible for a year-end report on the board’s accomplishments.

Duties of the Media Spokesperson

• Gathers news about the board and gets it out to the public.

• Establishes contact between the local news media and newspapers.

• After getting details about a meeting or program prepares news releases and distributes them to newspapers and radio and television stations.

• Includes the “who, what, when, where, why and how” – a description of the activity and how it affects the community.

• Administers and monitors all electronic communication including, but not limited to, email, Facebook and the OHIO YAB Website and Blog.

Duties of the Secretary

• Keeps all board records for continuous reference to all that has happened.

• Maintains a complete list of members and contacts.

• Reads over previous board meeting minutes.

Duties of the Parliamentarian

The Referee of Youth Advocacy:

• Ensures that meetings follow the correct parliamentary procedure, allowing ample but not excessive time for discussion.

• Brings issues to a satisfactory conclusion when sensing a discussion is dragging or being monopolized.

Duties of the Treasurer

• Keeps record of all board funds.

• Sends out membership accounts.

• Assists in developing the annual budget for the board.

• Pays all approved bills.• Maintains accurate records of

income and expenses.• At the beginning of the year,

have an official treasurer’s book and the complete records of the outgoing treasurer.

• Makes a complete inventory of board equipment, books and other materials.

• Assists with other tasks as assigned by the president.