The first Youth Town Hall, in 2002 brought over 200 young people together to voice their opinions on issues that related to them. The results of this meeting were clear. City government needs to involve and connect with Seattle's young people, not only through its outreach, but in the decision making process as well. Thus the Mayor's Youth Council was born.

Since 2002, Youth Council members have hosted various community gatherings and town halls throughout Seattle to reach out to Seattle’s youth and empower the youth voice. These community forums lead to the development of policy recommendations on issues pertaining to youth, which are presented to the Mayor later in the year. In addition, several departments have taken an active interest in the engagement of young people in City government.

In 2009, the Mayor’s Youth Council transitioned to the Seattle Youth Commission (SYC) in an effort to involve all decision-making bodies-the Mayor, the Courts and the City Council.

This year, the Seattle Youth Commission is comprised of 25 diverse members who represent 12 distinct geographic areas of Seattle.  Through this program, commissioners have various opportunities to impact their community, engage with city leaders and connect with other youth. The Commission meets two to three times a month in City Hall.

As an often overlooked segment of society, our mission is to connect and engage Seattle’s youth in the City’s civic participatory process and expose our elected officials to the voices and perspectives of youth in order to directly impact the policies, budgets, and decisions that affect Seattle’s youth and to foster inter-personal relationships, which effectively empower and inspire youth to take on roles as leaders, facilitators and public speakers.

For more information about the Seattle Youth Commission, please call Sol Villarreal at (206) 233-2656 or e-mail him at sol.villarreal@seattle.gov. 

You can also follow our progress on:

May 3rd Policy Presentations to City Council

Commissioners are involved in the planning and full facilitation of Youth Community Meetings geographically placed throughout Seattle.

Commissioners plan one city-wide youth community meeting, where the Mayor and City Council are invited to field questions from all of Seattle’s youth.

Learn about the racial disparities that exist within the City of Seattle and throughout our communities.  The Commission participates in three trainings with the Office for Civil Rights.

After thoroughly analyzing the youth input gathered from the community meetings, the youth commissioners are charged with selecting 5 issues to research, eventually writing well-organized policy briefs.

Commissioners learn about the functionality of city government through dialogue with the Seattle City Council, Mayor and other Department Directors.

" Young people hold a unique perspective about the future of Seattle that is important for policy makers to hear. As future leaders of our communities, we need to create opportunities for them to be engaged in the civic process today"

CM Mike O'Brien

Seattle Youth Commission -
An Overview

Seattle Youth Commission -
Becoming Official (69:47 -81:34)