“Witnessing the impact Amplify has had on the community is powerful, but experiencing it firsthand has been transformative. Amplify has ignited a love for activism within me and has given me countless opportunities to make change and contribute to my community.”
Wren Durham (YLC 2024-2025)
Applications for Amplify’s 2026–2027 Youth Leadership Council are now closed. Interested in joining us next year? Applications will open next summer. Stay tuned!
What is Youth Leadership Council?
The Youth Leadership Council (YLC) is a paid leadership program where teens ages 14–19 learn about local sexual health resources, build peer advocacy skills, and lead a project on a sexual health topic they choose. Young people are the experts on their own lives. YLC is designed to center youth voice in the work that affects them, and provides space for teens to connect, learn, and grow as leaders.
Who Should Apply?
We encourage any Tulsa teen who cares about youth sexual health and wants to grow as a leader to apply. That includes young people from all backgrounds, schools, and communities across Tulsa. You should apply if you:
- Are 14–19 years old
- Live in Tulsa
- Care about sexual health
- Want to grow as a leader
- Want to connect and work with other Tulsa teens
What to Expect:
All YLC members are paid $350 for their participation and contributions. The group meets twice a month on Thursdays from October 2026–May 2027, with meals provided and transportation available for all meetings.
Here’s what you’ll do:
- Learn about local sexual health resources and how to share them with others
- Build leadership and peer advocacy skills
- Work with other Tulsa teens to plan and lead a project on a sexual health topic of your choosing
- Meet local leaders and participate in optional professional development opportunities
- Eat good food, get paid, and help shape youth sexual health in Tulsa
Important Dates for 2026-2027
- September 8th: YLC Application & Forms Due (Health Authorization Form, Photo/Media Release, Participation and Consent Form, MODUS Form)
- September 26th: Youth Leadership Council Orientation
- October 2026 – May 2027: Program Duration
- Spring 2027: Youth-Led Community Project
Past Youth Leadership Council Projects
Community-Based Youth Leadership Council (2025)
Amplify’s 2025 Community-Based YLC focused on healthy relationships of all kinds by hosting “Bridge the Gap,” a free event at Youth Services of Tulsa featuring food trucks, live music, interactive activities, and raffle prizes. They partnered with local organizations to share resources on platonic, romantic, and familial relationships, and created a set of five collectible bookmark comic strips with resources, reaching 50 community members.
School-Based Youth Leadership Council (Spring 2025)
At Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences, the School-Based YLC focused on healthy relationships by hosting “Healthy Relationships: What to Look For,” featuring a guest speaker from Domestic Violence Intervention Services (DVIS). They also led interactive games and handed out goody bags with candy, fidgets, and a student-designed flyer, reaching over 60 of their peers.
School-Based Youth Leadership Council (Fall 2024)
At McLain High School, the School-Based YLC focused on pregnancy prevention by offering trivia questions about contraceptive methods. Over two days during lunch, they engaged peers with interactive activities, handed out small prizes, and shared an informative flyer on healthy and unhealthy relationship traits. McLain SYLC reached over 400 of their peers!
School-Based Youth Leadership Council (Fall 2024)
At Will Rogers High School, the School-Based YLC focused on healthy relationships, highlighting both green and red flags. During their two-day lunch event, they connected with peers through games, gave out small prizes, and distributed a flyer featuring resources from key community partners they worked with throughout the semester. Will Rogers SYLC reached over 300 of their peers!
Youth Leadership Council Resources
Healthy Relationships Zine
Learn what the foundation of a healthy relationship is, how to identify an unhealthy relationship, and tips for showing up as your best self in any relationship in your life, whether family, friend, romantic, or otherwise!
Past Youth Leadership Council Projects and Member Initiatives
- YLC organized a Trivia Night for young people in the Tulsa Area in Spring 2022. Partnering with Hope Testing Clinic and Youth Services of Tulsa, participants competed in 5 rounds of sexual health trivia and were able to learn about Sexual Health, LGBTQ+ History, STI Testing, Pop Culture, and Healthy Relationships in a fun, educational, youth-led setting.
- During Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2022, four YLC members created original artwork and artist statements to affirm and support Trans history, excellence and experiences on Amplify’s social media. Check them out on our Instagram highlight!
- Two YLC members from the 2021-2022 cohort were invited to be interviewed by NPR member stations about their feelings regarding life in Oklahoma as Transgender teenagers during the height of the Oklahoma legislative session. They shared their firsthand experiences and honest feelings in a poignant interview that spoke about the experiences of many Trans youth in our state who cannot speak for themselves. Listen to their interview here!
- A member from the 2020-2021 cohort created her own bilingual Body Positivity workshop series, which was ultimately integrated into a Tulsa Community College program for adults working with youth. She then worked with Amplify to create a proposal to share her project’s success. We’re excited to share that she will be presenting about the importance of a youth-centered program model at Healthy Teen Network’s 2022 conference in Miami, Florida in October 2022!