For anyone that knows Alisha Reynolds Welch, a longtime member of the William G. White YMCA in Winston-Salem, it’s no surprise that she was just one of 21 youth leaders selected to serve on Y-USA’s Youth Advisory Council (YAC) this year.
Alisha has taken full advantage of nearly every opportunity the Y has offered: Youth & Government, Black and Latino Achievers, Teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) training to name a few.
After participating as a youth advocate in D.C. at National Advocacy Days in 2024, she was invited to a board meeting at her local YMCA. “I got to see that this is the space where the vision for the work happens,” Alisha said. “So, when I heard about the YAC and how it works closely with the national Y-USA board, I thought I would love to be back in that room to have a part in that vision and a voice in the ideas. I was really intrigued by that.”
The YAC is designed to engage youth (aged 16-24) across the country as active contributors to YMCA programs and services, rather than passive recipients.
“My experience with the Y and its programming has taught me that meaningful change happens at the intersection of dreams and dedicated action,” Alisha continued. “That sums up the YAC to me with so many young people coming together with their own dreams and their own experiences with the Y and using that to plan for others in communities around our country."
Alisha had the opportunity to travel to Minneapolis in June for a YAC meeting where she and other council members discussed Vision 2030 (a World Y plan) and the four pillars of impact: community well-being, meaningful work, sustainable planet and a just world. “In my group, we talked about third spaces and what the Y should be looking to become. I shared that I don’t always go to the Y to work out—my role has been through its programs. We talked about Apply Pay and using phone services to pay for membership to engage in that third space. We were brainstorming practical implementation of normal things we do but not at the Y yet.”
She and the YAC would like to see a YAC at the YMCA association level to give youth a voice in their local Ys. She and her colleagues are working to develop governance and foundational documents that will help Ys implement such councils.
A recent high school graduate, Alisha heads to North Macedonia this month for a year-long program through the State Department before she’ll start college at NC State University in fall 2026. She plans to major in political science and has set her sights on being a constitutional lawyer. Driven, thoughtful and future-focused, Alisha is a powerful example of what’s possible when young leaders are empowered to lead.
Y-USA Youth Advisory Council
In June, the Y-USA Youth Advisory Council (YAC) comprised of youth aged 16-23 led YMCA's National Board and executive team members through a discussion about what the Y can do in the next five years to remain relevant and responsive to the needs of young people and our future communities.
"Young people deserve a seat at the table, and decision-makers need to hear what they have to say," said Ebone Mitchell, Director, Strategy and Quality Practices-Teens, Y-USA.
(August 2025)