As 2022 begins, we wanted to take a moment to reflect and acknowledge the wonderful capstone projects of our National Youth Advisory Board. After serving their term, leading and facilitating advocacy events, speaking directly to our elected officials, and changing the way we view and measure policy, our NYAB has culminated its most powerful year yet. We commend them and honor their work to create a Just Society.
Alex Soltany began a Health Policy Collaborative at Wake Forest School of Medicine, he started the club last year and it has grown exponentially. Over the year he planned, led, and facilitated five different events. Those events included North Carolina Vaccine distribution, Medicaid and Medicare, Covid Mental Health, Gun Violence, and Universal Coverage. Ultimately, his efforts connected him with the Harvard group “Future Doctors in Politics,” which asked Alex and his team to join the Harvard organization. We are so proud of Alex. His events garnered over 400 attendees and 17 different medical schools represented! Alex’s vision was to create a collaborative body of health care physicians, an entity devoted to progressive policy. He did.
Nick Richard-Thompson presented a case on democratizing community control of the police, giving a local community the power to hire and fire its police force. He led efforts to elect an all civilian community council, one in which the community would have final authority over police policy. Nick presented his findings, which showed that 70% of crime in Illinois was survival-based. He argued that crime doesn’t just happen, the police force was invented to suppress community voices that have been historically marginalized. Nick also took an active role in helping to pass the people’s ordinance in the Chicago City Council, the first step towards community control of the police. In addition, he facilitated teachings on outreach building, research, reading groups, and media storytelling. Nick is currently working on a documentary with the cities of Elgin, regarding the response to the police lynching of George Floyd.
Kaylyn Goode surveyed George Washington University students and found out that students were not prepared to return to in-person classes amidst an everchanging pandemic. In addition, affordability and basic needs were large issues amongst university students. Notably, her research showed that students who took a 10% decrease in tuition to remain remote lost out on thousands of dollars in scholarship money, which ultimately erased any of the benefits of a tuition decrease.
Zane Landin began an initiative to officially establish a Disability Cultural Center at his University of Pamona, CA. Students with disabilities at UPamona were not having their basic needs met. Zane highlighted and advised the institution to change its policy regarding disability service recertification. While thriving at his internship with NASA, speaking out against harmful policy, and leading the effort to create and support Disability Cultural Centers across the nation, he wrote numerous articles on disability policy, urging electeds to support them.
We congratulate the NYAB on such a formative 2021. Alex Soltany, Nicholas Richard-Thompson, Kaylyn Goode, and Zane Landin are the spearheads of Young Invincibles.