Mayor's Youth Council

Press Release

Mayor’s Youth Council New Members Take the Oath of Office
Council Serves as Voice for Houston’s Youth in City Government

February 4, 2016 -- Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner administered the oath of office to 64 newly-named members of the Mayor’s Youth Council during an inauguration ceremony held in the City Hall Council chambers yesterday.  The program featured congratulatory remarks by City Council members Brenda Stardig, Steve Le, Karla Cisneros and Greg Travis and Director of Education Juliet Stipeche. 

The youth will serve a four-month term running February to May 2016, during which they will gain an understanding of how city government works, provide city officials with formal reports on youth concerns and collaborate with citizens and civic leaders to carry out public service activities.

“I am proud to welcome our aspiring young leaders to City Hall as they assume very important roles as representatives of our city’s diverse communities,” said Mayor Turner.  “We want to learn about the issues that concern them and their peers as young Houstonians, students and members of their respective neighborhoods and council districts.  We value the voice they bring to city government as young visionaries and tomorrow’s leaders.” 

This year’s members were selected from a pool of over 300 applicants ages 14-18 that reside or attend high school in Houston. Final selection was based on written applications, community leadership experience and interviews. 
Established in 1998, the Mayor's Youth Council provides young Houstonians with the opportunity to learn about city government and gain leadership skills.  Structured like city government, the Youth Council is composed of a Council Chair (Youth Mayor), 11 District and 5 At-Large Council seats, Senior Aides and Committee members.  Administrative positions consist of Chief of Staff, City Secretary, Special Events Director, Communications Director, Volunteer Coordinator, Executive Council Advisor, Youth Engagement Ambassador, International Affairs Advisor and Community Engagement Coordinator.

The Mayor’s Youth Council is administered by the Department of Neighborhoods Volunteer Initiatives Program.  Mayor’s Youth Service Corps Advisors provide support for the Council’s community service activities.

For more information, visit www.houstontx.gov/volunteer.

Mayor’s Youth Council 2016

Executive Committee
Jackson Oldham
Council Chair
Christine Huang
Chief of Staff
Amy Fan                    
City Secretary
Jonathan Simmons
Special Events Director
Madison Romo
Communications Director
Reilly Lawrence         
Volunteer Coordinator
Angel Saenz                
Executive Council Advisor
Ben St. Martin            
Youth Engagement Ambassador
Matthew Garnett       
Youth Engagement Ambassador
James Fang                
International Affairs Advisor
Mason Meredith        
Community Engagement
Hasnain Ali                 
Community Engagement
Xiaoyi Wang               
Community Engagement

Committee Members
Arshaan Ali
Shayann Ali
Mohammed Amin
Janelly Areche
Brady Brazda
Halle Brazda
Michael Brown Jr.
Medley Caleigh
Shawn Chacko
Xaingwei  Chen
Denisse Cordova
Nicky Cumberland
Hannah De Pina
Athene Del Vecchio
Vinay Friebott
Iris Garza
Landon Glaognen
Carla Godoy
Josnarie Gonzalez
Natasha Gonzalez
Luis Gramajo
Charlene Huang
Amy Jiang
Kelly Kinsella
Alissa Kono
Danny Li
Clayton McGee
Emmanuel Mendieta
Allan Ngo
Jannette Nguyen
Lily Nguyen
Larissa Obeng
Niara Pelton
Joshua Puente
Genesis Rivas
Lionel Russell
Alexis Sanchez
Vega Shah
Sameer Sidiq
Ajay Singh
Marcella Strane
Adarsh Suresh
Alie Turfe
Shriya Varma
Katheryn Vien
Liana Wang
Connor Watson
Timothy Wei
Chase West
Curtis Yao
Katy Yu