Youth Leadership Institute students and community leaders at the Jaisohn Community Wellness Plaza following the program’s second session. (Credit: Jaisohn Center/AAPI)
Inspiring youth to become confident changemakers for a better tomorrow.
The Jaisohn Center and the AAPI Coalition successfully completed the second session of the Youth Leadership Institute, a two-day leadership development program equipping high school students from across the Greater Philadelphia region to become changemakers in their broader communities.
Held August 6–7 at the Jaisohn Community Wellness Plaza in North Wales, the Institute brought together a diverse group of 16 students for interactive workshops, peer-led presentations, and a leadership panel. Through these activities, participants explored key issues facing youth today and proposed innovative solutions to address them.
“The Institute empowers youth to see the unique strengths they bring to all communities and gives them the tools to lead with confidence, empathy, and purpose,” said Nancy Walsh, program facilitator. “Equally important, the program is designed to give them a safe space to share their stories and feel truly seen in a way they often don’t get to experience. Not only did they embrace this challenge to be courageously vulnerable, they inspired the adults in the room to do the same.”
The program concluded with student presentations and a Leadership Panel featuring local leaders, where students shared their ideas and gained valuable insights into community leadership and impact.
Panelists Kenneth Hong, MBA (left), George Whitehair (center), and Khine Arthur, Ph.D. (right) engage with students during the Leadership Panel discussion (Credit: Jaisohn Center/AAPI)The presentation began with insights from a student leader selected by their peers: “Opening our presentation at the Youth Leadership Institute allowed me and our group to share stories that tied our journeys to the challenges our communities face,” said Grace Jiao, a student from North Penn High School. “This program showed me that leadership is not simply about being the most outgoing or talkative, but really about listening, understanding, and leading with both empathy and purpose.”
The Leadership panel included Kenneth Hong, MBA; George Whitehair; and Khine Arthur, Ph.D. “Our future is bright — just spend time listening to young people,” said Whitehair. “Let’s keep our focus on uplifting the leaders of tomorrow.”
The Youth Leadership Institute is co-led by the Jaisohn Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving Asian American and other underserved communities through culturally and linguistically responsive healthcare, social services, senior programs, education, and advocacy, and the AAPI Coalition, a collaboration of leaders representing eight Asian American ethnic communities in Montgomery County working to advance impactful initiatives for Asian American communities across the region.
