Policy Pathways' Summer Leadership Academy Welcomes 2022 Cohort

RICHMOND, Va., July 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Policy Pathways kicked off its 2022 Summer Academy for Policy Leadership and Public Service Online (SAO) on Sunday, June 26th with great success. City of Newport News Councilwoman Tina Vick and Virginia House Delegate Delores McQuinn offered words of welcome. Keynote Speaker Illinois State Senator Jacqueline Collins delivered an inspirational message to youth entering the fields of policy and advocacy and encouraged them to hope, act, and remain engaged in their communities.

Twenty talented young leaders from across the country comprise the 2022 SAO cohort that brings backgrounds and interests in reproductive and immigration rights, the environment, foreign policy, education, human rights, and more. The SAO offers participants insights into a wide variety of policy issues and opportunities to discuss, analyze, and challenge themselves while learning from top professors and policy experts.

Trey Smith, a member of the China-Africa Trade Capstone team, is interested in international affairs with a focus on global warming and the shift from fossil fuels to sustainable energy options. His team member Tad Tan is eager to learn effective advocacy and communication strategies he will employ to demonstrate "that environmental policies are essentially non-partisan."

Alivia Taliaferro, working on the Title IX and Equal Opportunity in Sports Capstone, is enjoying the opportunity to "develop professional relationships with other individuals [who] have a passion for making a difference in the world."

Logan Sowers, who serves on the Chesterfield Youth Citizen Board, is passionate about identifying creative and pragmatic solutions to problems we face in [Virginia] and our country. He is reimagining Petersburg's Legends Historical Park with his Capstone project teammates.

The Summer Academy for Policy Leadership and Public Service Online will conclude Saturday, July 9, with a Closing Ceremony at 10:00 AM EST. Teams will present their Capstone projects, and Ms. Christian Herald, sophomore at the University of Richmond and President of the Black Student Alliance, will speak to our theme: Policy Leaders Shape the Future.

This celebratory event is open to the public! Please join us here.

Policy Pathways thanks its partners: Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development; UCLA Arthur Ashe Oral History Project; ACLU of Virginia; University of Energy and Natural Resources (Sunyani, Ghana); Willcox Watershed Conservancy; Hampton Roads Community Action Program; Richmond Public Schools; City of Richmond Mayor's Youth Academy; Signs & Wonders Ministries and MEGA Mentors; and Commonwealth (VA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

For more information, please see policypathways.org.

Media contact: Gretchen Kent, [email protected]

SOURCE Policy Pathways, Inc.