Our Leadership Framework
YES’s programming is aligned within a Leadership Pathways model designed to increase opportunities for Richmond youth and adults to connect to the outdoors and receive year-round leadership training and support.
YES’s model includes whole-family engagement within a Youth Leadership Pathway and an Adult Leadership Pathway. Our pathways move participants along a continuum of development to become successful community leaders, health advocates, and change-makers.
Our approach to engaging communities of color in the outdoors as a catalyst for leadership development and community empowerment is unique. We are recognized as a leader in developing culturally relevant outdoor and leadership development programming in the outdoor and environmental field and are often invited to present our program model and agency practices with our peers.
Our Pedagogical Roots showcase the foundational research that informs YES’s work, including Positive Youth Development, Social Network Theory, Collective Impact Approach, and Access to Nature. Our pedagogy also includes our organizational values, and the methods we use to engage our participants to effect change.
Our Leadership Framework is a unified logic model of our pathways and the strategies we employ to build relationships, develop healthy leaders, and strengthen the community.