We’re excited to begin another year with the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), a group of eight youth leaders taking an active leadership role in the Bicycle Coalition Youth Cycling (BCYC) program and beyond.
For those unacquainted, the YAC was created to give our youth a real voice in our cycling community and in steering the program — not just as participants, but as thoughtful partners, decision-makers, and influencers amongst their peers. Through this council, members engage in a range of activities designed to build their skills and broaden their understanding of leadership. They collaborate on projects, lead initiatives, and represent youth voices at community meetings and events. Our YAC members also have more opportunities to work directly with community stakeholders, learning the nuances of community engagement, advocacy, effective communication, and project management. Acting as a forum where they learn from one another, our council builds relationships that last beyond the program.
This year’s YAC brings together eight members who carry a strong sense of responsibility, creativity, and care for their peers:
- Yania Strawberry — WB Saul (Returning Member)
- Mamadi Toure — Neighborhood Bike Works (Returning Member)
- Anthony Brock — KIPP DuBois (Returning Member)
- Ambar Sanchez — Central High School (Returning Member)
- Jonathan Ramos — Kensington High School (Returning Member)
- Jeffrey Butler — WB Saul
- David Ume — Neighborhood Bike Works
- Randall — Boys’ Latin
We also have Justin Suarez (Kensington) a member of the 2025 council who is connected to the group in a more peripheral way as he focuses on his senior year and academics.
The YAC’s main project for the spring season centers on a Youth Career Day, scheduled for April 18 at the Hunting Park Recreation Center. Members have been hard at work, imagining what it should look like, what professionals they want to invite, and how it can best serve their fellow students across the city.
Planning the Youth Career Day has also given members the opportunity to explore possible careers for themselves. During a recent meeting, Ambar shared that she was interested in a career in healthcare but unsure how to move forward. She reflected that there were not many people in her family who went to college and that she did not know anyone personally who worked in the medical field.
We connected her with Steve Blickley, a registered nurse who is currently in school to become a Certified Registered Nurse Practitioner (CRNP) to give her a chance to ask questions and hear from someone who had already walked the road she was considering.
What started as a 15-minute call stretched into over an hour. Steve framed nursing not as a rigid career path but as a flexible one — “Nursing isn’t a box, it’s a door” — explaining that a single license can support roles across hospitals, clinics, schools, and even remote work, allowing people to grow and redirect without feeling trapped. The conversation also touched on self-awareness and fit, with Steve reflecting on how his own strengths led him toward psychiatric nursing, while Ambar recognized her draw toward structured, high-stakes environments like the OR. When Ambar opened up about her exhaustion and temptation to pause school, Steve was candid: stopping rarely brings the relief people expect, and “time passes either way, but the future version of you inherits the consequences of today’s decisions.”
The conversation is a reminder of what a Career Day can do for youth looking for mentorship. Ambar came into the meeting viewing a career in nursing as something that might be out of reach. She left with a clearer picture of what the path could look like from someone who had walked it.
What stands out about this year’s YAC is their curiosity and their willingness to take initiative. As we move toward April and bring Career Day to life, we’re eager to see how their ideas continue to evolve and how this experience will shape them as leaders.
What else is the YAC up to this season?
YAC members learn about transit advocacy in Philadelphia
This last Wednesday, YAC sat down with SEPTA YAC and Transit Forward Philadelphia Coalition Manager, Stephen Bronskill, to discuss the mobility issues they face getting to and from school and jobs, and how they can advocate for better transit access for themselves and their peers. We’re excited to see how they can bring their unique perspectives and voices to the campaign for better transit in the city.
One unexpected — and exciting — development has been the discovery that five of our eight members play musical instruments. A discovery that has sparked the possibility of BCYC’s very first youth band. Although we haven’t had everyone together for a full rehearsal yet, a few Saturday sessions have taken place.
Stay tuned for more updates from BCYC and the YAC! Learn more about the program >>