Created in 1989, Youth Leadership Jacksonville is a six-month program that brings together a select cross-section of Northeast Florida high school sophomores from Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties with demonstrated leadership abilities. The program prepares them to become ethical leaders committed to active community involvement cultivating a lifelong interest to participate in the issues and opportunities facing Jacksonville. Youth Leadership Jacksonville draws together more than 50 students each year.
During this exciting program, students attend an Opening Retreat, four Program Days (one per month) and a Closing Retreat. Program Days deal with specific facets of the community such as government, criminal justice, human services, diversity and business. Each day combines a behind-the-scenes experience and interaction with community leaders.
Program Goals:
- Meet other students from all areas of Northeast Florida and develop mutual trust and respect for each other.
- Have an increased awareness of our community’s needs, opportunities, problems and resources.
- Gain a greater understanding of current issues through interaction and problem solving with peers, community leaders and decision makers
- Develop effective styles of leadership, communication and decision-making skills.
- Become a responsible, ethical leader committed to active community involvement.
Program dates: August – February
Program Fee: Free for Participants
YLJ is generously supported by philanthropic contributions. To make a donation, click here.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Attend an accredited high school in Duval, Clay, Baker, Nassau or St. Johns County.
- Apply as a freshman to participate in your sophomore year.
- Be approved by the high school principal.
- Demonstrate proven leadership ability in school and/or community activities.
- Have an interest in addressing the issues confronting Northeast Florida.
- Commit to full participation in the program.
- Be academically sound. An average of “B” or better is recommended. The program will require students to miss seven days of class (one per month).
YLJ 2026 Calendar (2025-2026)
- Thursday, May 8, 2025 – Family Orientation. Mandatory Meeting.
- Friday, August 15 & Saturday, August 16, 2025 – Opening Retreat. Mandatory in its entirety.
- Thursday, September 25, 2025 – Program Day
- Thursday, October 23, 2025 – Program Day
- Thursday, November 20, 2025 – Program Day
- Thursday, December 4, 2025 – Program Day
- Thursday, January 15, 2026 – Program Day
- Saturday, February 21, 2026: Closing Retreat and Graduation
Application Process & Timeline
Each high school manages their own application process, often run by the guidance department. Your school liaison will confirm your school’s process and deadlines. Ultimately, each school can nominate up to 6 freshmen for consideration by the end of January.
Students nominated by area high schools are then interviewed by a volunteer panel of community leaders. This volunteer panel then selects the finalists for the program.
In February and March, up to 100 nominees will be invited to interview with a community leader panel. These selection interviews will take place over zoom.
In April, the community volunteer led selection team will invite up to 55 students from across the region to participate. All applications will receive emails notifying them of the selection team’s decision by mid-April.
Questions regarding Youth Leadership Jacksonville (YLJ) can be emailed to [email protected].
Information for School Liaisons
Whether this is your first year, or you are a seasoned facilitator of this process, we have compiled some helpful tips and tricks to assist you in promoting and selecting your candidates. Thank you for facilitating this experience for your students.
- Based on your feedback, we recommend running the application process over a two-month period including holiday breaks. This ensures students and references can be completed over the holiday breaks and long weekends. December and January have historically provided the best window of time to promote the opportunity and collect the full application materials.
- Depending on the number of applications you receive, you may need to review and select school finalists. Some long-term partner schools choose to interview the candidates before finalizing their selection of candidates to move forward.
- Your final selection of up to 6 candidates (3 female and 3 male) must me emailed or snail mailed to the Leadership Jacksonville office by Friday, January 31.
- Application, reference form, and promotional materials are available below for download.
For additional help or questions, please contact [email protected].
Downloads for School Partners/Liaisons
“The lessons I learned about life, our community and society in general are things that cannot be learned inside the classroom, but only through the many hands-on experiences YLJ provides.”
