This October, new and returning members of the National Youth Advisory Council (NYAC) traveled from across the country to New York City to attend the 2025 Fall Leadership Retreat. Held October 26–28, 2025, and hosted at Baker McKenzie, these young leaders with lived experience of homelessness came together to connect, build skills, and shape NN4Y’s national advocacy to prevent and end youth homelessness.
Throughout the retreat, members engaged in wellness activities, storytelling workshops, and policy deep-dives that centered their lived experiences and strengthened their advocacy skills. Sessions like “Purposeful Power” and “Passion to Profession” encouraged participants to explore their leadership identities and map out their personal and professional goals. With guidance from NYAC mentors and organizational leaders, the council also began shaping its 2026 vision and laying the groundwork for the upcoming year’s initiatives.
This year’s retreat featured Courtney Smith, CEO of the Detroit Phoenix Center and NYAC alumni mentor, who led sessions during a new leadership training series that features NYAC alumni giving back. They share wisdom and leadership tools to help support current council members in achieving holistic goals as they navigate life and leadership.
By the retreat’s close, NYAC members left with new skills and experiences, ready to contribute to NN4Y’s work shaping policies and programs to prevent and end youth homelessness. Looking ahead, NYAC is excited to continue building momentum by engaging more youth and young adults during NN4Y’s annual National Summit on Youth Homelessness + Hill Day on March 12-13, 2026, in Washington, DC.
This annual NYAC Fall Leadership Retreat is an investment in the next generation of leaders and in NN4Y’s mission. This year, as in previous years, their insights will be central to our responses to federal policy changes and advocacy priorities. Supporting youth leadership through NYAC creates tangible outcomes, both for young people themselves and for the programs and policies that serve them.
Celebrating Our Partners
We are deeply grateful to our sponsors, Baker McKenzie and Grantmakers for Girls of Color, for making this retreat possible.
Baker McKenzie’s pro bono work engages teams of problem-solvers on the most compelling social justice challenges around the globe where their teams, both inside their Firm and from their corporate colleagues, can make an impact.
Grantmakers for Girls of Color (G4GC) is a leading national philanthropic intermediary organization that invests in the ecosystems that support and follow the leadership of our youth in the United States and in U.S. territories.
Their support ensures that young people with lived experience of homelessness can lead, learn, and shape national strategies to prevent and end youth homelessness.
