Congratulations to the new members of the National Youth Advisory Council!!!

We are proud to announce these 13 dynamic young leaders will serve as special ambassadors of the Tavis Smiley Foundation for the next three years. The council will work directly with the foundation’s national staff and advisory committee to help plan and implement the annual Leadership Institute.

In addition, council members will be required to perform volunteer service hours in their hometown, church or school community as part of their participation with the foundation.

		Colbe Beavers is a rising junior at Challenge Early College High School where she will be running for the position of junior class president. She is a member of the Houston Area Urban League’s NuLites and intends on campaigning for the position of parliamentarian. Colbe is a proud member of the Youth to Leaders Houston Chapter.
		Aneka Billings is a senior at Ocean Springs High School in Ocean Springs, MS. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Gulf Coast Youth Leadership, and president of the youth department at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.
		LaTisha Campbell will be a freshman in the fall at Yale University. At Ypsilanti High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, she served as senior class president. She was co-chairperson of the teens at New Grace Apostolic Temple and Co-Chair of Young Women For Change. She will study the social sciences and become an educator.
		Dante Bruno is a junior at Jones High School in Orlando, FL. At school Dante is involved in the National Beta Club, Future Business Leaders of America, 100 Black Men Organization and the O Ambassadors. He has served as an announcer at football games and is an usher at his church.
		Angela Groves will begin her freshman year at Princeton University in the fall of 2008. As a senior at Hathaway Brown School, Angela served as student body president and co-president of the Black Cultural Awareness Club. She founded the Youth Covenant Committee for African-American high school students from the Cleveland area.
		Nicholas Hall is a senior at Collierville High in Collierville, TN. He is Beta Club President, Student Government Vice-President, and founded Teens Helping Each Other, a mentoring program for minorities. With 250 volunteer hours, Nicholas is dedicated to serving others.
		Breana Jackson is a junior at Crossroads High School in Santa Monica, CA. She is a starter on the school's varsity basketball, volleyball and softball teams. She is a participant in the Friends of Lesbians and Gays club, People for Ethnic And Cultural Equality club, Teen AIDS Ambassadors club, and Student Council.
		Sydnee Kirvin is a senior at View Park Prep high school in Los Angeles, CA. Sydnee has been a dynamic young leader and entrepreneur since the age of 14 when she started her own clothing company, RUfitted Inc. Now, Sydnee has even bigger plans to launch her own store in the Bay area where she will be attending Berkeley University in the fall.
		Ryan L. Mack is a senior at Jones High School in Orlando, Florida. He is involved in several organizations in school: National Honor Society, vice-president of SGA, vice-president of National Beta Club, president of Concert Choir, FBLA, and many others.
		Justin Amadi Ogunji is a senior at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Canada, CA. He lives in Carson with his mother and brother. Justin is a member of the Minority Student Union, the KAPPA Instructional Leadership League, NAACP Youth Council, and the Usher Board at the Berean Seventh-Day Adventist church.
		Tony Tyrone Ramsey is a junior at Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY. He was a teen advocate and is a nursing assistant at Joseph M. Barry Career & Technical Education Center. He's looking forward to going to college and pursuing a career as a political speaker.
		Brittany Redfern will attend Morgan State University majoring in political science this fall. While a senior at Central High School, she participated in various activities such as managing the six-year consecutive championship winning girls’ varsity basketball team, president of the Big Brothers and Sisters of Central High School, and other school activities in her hometown of Philadelphia.
		Taylor Yarbrough is a junior at Lusher Charter School in New Orleans. She was inducted in Who’s Who Among American High School Students and into the National Society of High School Scholars and is a member of the NAACP and the National Urban League.