Youth Leadership Board Meeting
Meeting June 8, 2008
Wintergreen Hotel
Present:
Jen Ledin (CESA 12 -Washburn)
Laura Spoerl (Appleton-Fox Valley Tech.)
Lindsey Wood (Rice Lake – WITC)
Caroline Leung (Milwaukee – YLF & YIPPE)
Mike Tews (Cedarburg – starting college at UW-Whitewater in fall)
Mary Kampa (CESA 11 – Spooner)
Linda Maitrejean (CESA 11 – Somerset)
Jenny Gilles (Madison – Fast Forward/Grad School)
Chad Murphy-Price (Waukesha. MATC grad./computers)
Patrick Young (new member--Germantown)
Welcome and Introductions/Ice-breaker
Three things most people don’t know about you.
Overview of the WSTI purpose and goals
 One WSTI coordinator from each CESA plus Milwaukee--they:
o Work with three 2 - 3 school districts each year
o 5 professional development modules – help teachers understand transition and how to write good
IEPs
o County councils – mission statement and activities, county resource guide
 Want a youth voice on the county council and are encouraging board members to join their local
county council
 WSTI is a DPI funded project
 Working with national community of practice – providing funding and resources; WI is ahead of the curve,
esp. in the area of youth leadership; WSTI provided structure to our youth leadership team
 How will Youth Board use WSTI to get into schools and other state and national organizations?
 Need group to become re-energized, re-organized, re-focused
 Need pictures of our youth board “in action” (at home, at school, at work, recreating) to put on our
brochures
Youth Board and Mission Statement (Group discussion)
 What did they like from the past year:
 Liked meeting new people; liked connecting with others - nationally and within the state
 National networking – learning and working with other states
 promoting and working with WSTI
 positive communication and outlooks
 sharing stories; talking about the board; getting feedback from those who listen to presentations
 sharing the idea that our disabilities help shape our individuality; sense of disability pride [changed
perception of some adults – “I am who I am because of my disability”]
 membership on the youth board; it’s a positive activity/perception related to disabilities
Want to build hope and skills in others; help others who have gone through what they have gone through;
leave a legacy.
Define the role of the Group
Purpose
 What is meaningful youth leadership; read handout “Nothing About Us Without Us”; this is what this
group is all about; does the group still like this phrase and its meaning? YES
 Reviewed “Nothing About Us Without Us” brochure and terms
Mission Statement
 Reviewed mission; review and revise as necessary
 Discussed the word “model”
Goals / Activities
 Group wants to continue to promote “disability pride”; I’m a package deal”.
 Discussed the word “advise”; group agreed they do more than that.
 Affect systems change for youth while they are still in school (this is the meaning of “youth leadership”)
1. “Youth as Planners”
 They want to be planners rather than have things planned for them (this is the first step to
ensure the work of the group is successful, and they feel truly empowered)
2. “Youth at Trainers”
 Want to keep training; need to keep involved; can’t just expect others to take and run with our
work
 Youth will be involved in conference planning and conference presentations
3. “Youth as Evaluators”
 Some said “yes”; some said “no”;
 Linda suggested that the group evaluates themselves and their functioning on this group (selfassessment); data to support that the youth board has an impact on state youth – an
active, meaningful youth voice; will be topic of future discussions; will need a selfassessment (may use this structure as a way to evaluate the group as an effective way to
measure the impact of the group)
 Review sectional comments/reviews from state conference and other presentations
4. “Youth Summits”
 YLF is not being held this year. Jenny N. called to ask if the YAB would take on this
responsibility; could become one of the activities the YAB takes over in 2008; does the
youth want to continue supporting this?
Mike: yes - very valuable
Caroline – yes, will bring board closer and have many contributions for this activity

Governor’s board is funding this for next year, but there will be no money after that, so the
board needs to thinks about this, and is they want to continue to fund this project it after
that; may possibly be something the state transition conference could fund in the future if it
is making money
5. “Youth Advisory/Action Council”
 Alignment with WSTI
 Want to get on a national youth leadership practice group
6. “Youth as Funders”
 Do some fund raising
 Apply for grants
7. “Youth Governance/Youth on Boards”
 This means youth actually runs for a seat on a board
 Need to gain the skills that will enable them to take on this role; their voice counts
 Need consistent participation and “voice” at meetings; need to make decisions
 Will need to investigate options and places this group can go to get more information and
experience, e.g. attendance at and participation on school boards first or participating in
county council would be a good way to get experience
 May be something they are interesting in doing in the future, but need more information and
modeling of what other states are doing; want to become more comfortable in this role;
may be something they do after tenure on board
 May be an individual decision; not all board members will be comfortable in this role
8.
“Youth as Policy Makers”
 Brings involvement on YAB up a notch, e.g. attendance at and participation on school boards

Positive Youth Development (Wisconsin Youth Policy Advocates) policy and legislation group membership may be very good place for a YAB member
 Reviewed the Ladder of Youth Participation (Handout 5)
This group is at Level 6; the goal is to get to Level 7 in the next year or two, and Level 8 after that;
This work will depend on the interest and skills of the group (more than time), as well as how youth
pass on roles to new members and the internal leadership that evolves
 2007 Specific Activities – Jen reviewed grant application and Lindsey took notes on poster board
1. Web page
a) Need to update this page
• mission statement
• individual and group photos
• bio on each member
• contact information (public/private); Jonathan and LeDerick contacts on “Transition Topics A – Z”
• summary of what has been done so far / accomplishments
• coming events
b) Chad and Lindsey will work on this and get some sample out to the board members by Aug.
31; final copy to Jen and Linda by Nov. 15
c) Photos need to be updated
d) Due in November
2. YAB Forum—for this year, we just need to be in the exploratory stages of this—what shape do we
want this to take? We will then research our options at a higher level and do some
experimentation next year with different formats (ie: bulletin board, e-pals, etc.)
3. Stories—Jen will share a power point template for members to use to develop their stories so they
have something to use for presentations, etc.
4. Conference presentation
e)Will be much more active in sectionals and will do multi-media presentation as part of the
opener
5. Participation on regional trainings—Jen will be conducting regional meetings, likely in Madison or
Milwaukee, LaCrosse, Eau Claire and Green Bay around the topic of “studentdirected IEP meetings.” YAB members will be asked, based on availability, to
present their stories at the beginning of these regional meetings.
 2008 Specific Activities (Jen and Linda presented their draft workplan; group decided on the goals they
want to keep)
1. YLF/Youth Summit (keep)
 Caroline provided information on YLF
 can be organizing or participating
2. IEP video of student role-playing at an IEP (keep) (app. 30 min.; Delaware model)
 Chad, Mike, Caroline and Laura interested; everyone will participate
 app. 30 min.; Delaware model go to: www.picofdel.org/connections.htm
3. Multi-media presentation, as started (keep)
 Caroline and Laura will work on presentation; due Nov. 15
4. WI Employment Practice Group (keep)
 Chad and Patrick will participate in this group
5. Co-presenting at WSTI, with a WSTI coordinator; topics:
 effective transition planning – Lindsey & Laura
 course of study – Caroline & Mike
 coordinated set of activities – Chad & Mike
 SoP - Jenny
6. 2009 State Transition Conference planning committee (keep)
a. Caroline worked with Jen, Linda and hotel staff on planning 2008 conference
b. Caroline will continue in this role
7. Update WSTI A – Z Topics (keep)
a. Would be gathering this information anyways
b. Everyone will participate
8. Recruit to WTCS—the group (or representatives) will meet with disabilities services staff from
WTCS and the UW system to discuss our group and recruit new members from post-secondary
institutions. (keep)
a. This will be best way to mentor new members to keep board going w/ app. 7-8 members all
the time
b. Everyone will participate in some way
9. YDL Practice Group (keep)
a. Off shoot of the Wisconsin Community of Practice on Transition, but more people are
included and it is project/work driven
b. Working on promoting topics of interest and resources of interest to youth
c. Last year built resource maps of activities for youth in WI and materials around youth
topics
d. Caroline has participated in this practice group
e. Small commitment, but need to be visible and participatory
f. Jenny, Lindsey and Patrick will be on this practice group
10. NYLN (discussed keeping as an exploration in 2007 & move towards active membership in 2008)
a. Lindsay and Jenny participated in the NSTTAC National Transition CoP
b. Jenny and Lindsey have both traveled nationally to speak about disability issues
c. This isn’t just going to a meeting, but being an affiliate, with some commitment of work
after the conference, such as bringing information back to the group and knowing how the
information gathered relates to the work in WI
d. Usually an annual national conference with regular conference calls
e. Examples KASA (Chad is a member), NYL, start our own in WI, join another state’s group
11. E-Mentoring/online forum (keep, but start as research & development for 2008)
a. Develop system using the WSTI website
b. Linda brought some ideas
c. Everyone will work on developing the system (R & D)
Conference
Possible presentation: what is meaningful youth involvement and leadership; “Youth as Planners” to “Youth as
Policy Makers” from Youth as Partners Training Guide.
Logistics
Name of the Board
After much discussion and several possibilities, the group decided to adopt the name:
WSTI Youth Leadership Council (YLC)
Participation Guidelines: YLC members will need to have some degree of transition experience (have gone
through the transition process during and after high school, have had to access some type of support services
postsecondary, whether in education or employment). YLC members will be between 21 and 30 years of age
(those current members who are under 21 will remain on the YLC).
Number of Members: It was decided to keep the number of YLC members around 8 to keep the group
manageable, yet still allow for appropriate coverage of the state.
Officers: YLC members have decided not to elect officers; instead, they prefer a more informal structure
based on individual strengths, balanced power and shared decision-making.
Term of Participation: YLC members will serve a term of 3 years, with an option to return for an additional 3year term. YLC members can serve a maximum of 2 terms (6 years). Veteran members of the YLC will serve
as mentors for newer members.
Application Process for Membership: Jen distributed copies of a sample application that the Pennsylvania
Youth Leadership Network (PYLN) uses for their new members. YLC members were asked to review this and
look for other examples. We will explore this further at our next meeting.
Renewing Membership: YLC members are eligible to serve two terms on the YLC. They will need to inform
the YLC of their intent to continue or resign during the third year of their first term.
Participation in extra conferences, meetings, etc.: Following discussion, it was decided that participation by
YLC members in the WI Transition Conference should be mandatory (to the fullest extent possible—we all
know that conflicts sometimes arise). Other possible state conferences for YLC members to attend include, but
are not limited to, the following:
1) Principals’ Conference
2) New Wisconsin Promise Conference
3) Rehabilitation and Transition Conference
4) Leadership Conference
5) CASS Conference
YLC members will also be asked to participate in regional meetings if they are available.
The National Community of Practice meets every 6 months. Linda would like 2 YLC members to commit to this
particular project—at this time, it is likely that Jenny and Laura will continue with this since they attended the
National CoP meeting in North Carolina in April. Participation in other national conferences and meetings could
be rotated among YLC members.
**Those YLC members attending Community of Practice and other meetings as a member of those groups and
representing WSTI YLC will be responsible for reporting back on those meetings to the YLC.
Reimbursement Claims: Each YLC member was given a blank reimbursement form. These forms need to be
used to claim reimbursement from CESA 11 for activities completed on behalf of the YLC. The following things
can be put on reimbursement claims:
1) Mileage to and from meetings (currently reimbursed at 48.5 cents per mile
2) Other transportation costs (bus tickets, plane tickets)
3) Stipends for YLC members to participate in meetings
a. $100 for full day (6.5 hours or more, including travel time)
b. $50 for a half day (3.5-6.5 hours)
c. $25 for less that 3.5 hours
4) Per diem amounts for meals during meetings that are not provided by the meeting
a. $8 for breakfast (at an in-state meeting)
b. $9 for lunch (in-state)
c. $17 for dinner (in-state)
d. $10 for breakfast (out-of-state meeting)
e. $14 for lunch (out-of-state meeting)
f. $26 for dinner (out-of-state meeting)
YLC members will be able to claim these amounts for events that have already occurred in 2007, as well as for
future 2007 events. Jen will prepare an example of a completed reimbursement form and will send it to all YLC
members as an example for them to follow to complete their forms. Jen will also include a list of dates for
meetings that have already occurred in 2007 for YLC members to claim.
**All reimbursement claims for 2007 will be due by November 30 to CESA 11. No additional claims for 2007
will be able to be made after that date due to closing the budget year.
Business cards, t-shirts, etc. (logo-items): The YLC decided during their last phone conference that they
would like to select a golf-polo shirt to wear this year. Linda brought in several options of color and fabric for
these shirts for YLC members to make a decision. YLC shirts for next year will be black, with the WSTI logo
that has already been developed (teal/green arch, WSTI) and we will add “Youth Leadership Council” under the
logo.
Linda and Jen passed out their business cards for YLC members to see as examples. There was some
discussion about what information should be included on the cards for each member. Linda was concerned
about YLC members using their personal email accounts on their business cards for privacy purposes. We will
check with our webmaster to see if would could possibly set up an email system connected with the WSTI
website for this purpose. If this happens, each YLC member could have an email address that looks like this
(EXAMPLE ONLY: ylcmembername@wsti.org). We will keep you posted.
Use of WSTI website – youth login: We will pursue this with our website person. At this time, WSTI
coordinators can log in to the WSTI website to access information on training modules, etc. that are not
available to the general public. We may pursue a similar login for YLC members for them to be able to have
online discussions, etc.
Dates for future meetings: The plan for the future (2008) will be to have monthly conference calls and 3 face-toface meetings per year. One of those meetings will likely be linked with the WI Transition Conference since YLC
members will be in attendance anyway. For the remainder of 2007, there will be a conference call in July to update
everyone on regional meetings, then a face-to-face meeting in mid-August to view preliminary work on the
multimedia presentation and YLC web page and to go over the content of the regional meetings to be held later in
the fall. Jen will have dates for the regional meetings at that time as well for YLC members to check their
availability.
Discussion/work session on items to be completed for this year: Those YLC members who stayed for
Saturday morning worked with Jen to finalize the power point template that YLC members will use to develop their
story presentations. We also clarified some information regarding the web page and decisions that were made
yesterday.
TO Dos:
1. Copy of LeDerick and Jonathan’s new manual (YLAD Handbook/Facilitator’s Guide) to everyone on
the board
2. Youth as Partners Training Guide to Mary please