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Hi Youth MOVErs! My name is Maxx LaBrie (they/he), and I am the newly elected President of Youth MOVE National! I have been on the Board since 2019, and just wrapped up my term as Vice President, and I am super jazzed to step into the President role.

I started my journey with Youth MOVE National first with peer leadership in the Massachusetts statewide chapter from 2015 to 2020, and in 2017 I worked on a project with YMN and The Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation in Health and Human Services to inform meaningful youth engagement in federally funded programming. That year, I also joined the Youth Best Practice Committee, a group I am still involved with to this day!

My lived experience in the mental health and special education systems is a huge part of why I decided to get involved in youth advocacy, as I saw a lot of room for improvement and a lack of input from folks who have navigated these systems, and those who have been harmed (either purposefully or inadvertently) by them. I come from a trauma-assumed lens, as I see trauma as a universal lived experience that has varied implications in life. I want to ensure that folks are met where they are and that their negative experiences are not pathologized. I want to hold space and compassion for the reactions folks have to hardship and trauma.

I am queer, agender, autistic and disabled, and those experiences also contribute to the work I do and to the things I am passionate about. My personal and professional passions include disability justice, bodily autonomy, fat liberation, mad liberation, effective communication, accessible education, anti-capitalism and anti-carceral care.

Outside of my work with Youth MOVE, I am the Director of Community Engagement and Outreach and a Match Coordinator at GSA Link, Inc., a non-profit that provides support and connection for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. I am also a regular contributor/staff writer on WriteThroughtheNight.com, and I frequently write about my childhood, my feelings, and books and TV shows I love.

In my spare time, I love to make people laugh. I like to read and write poetry. I love to sing, and I love musical theater and acting. I am also a huge fan of cats and have a handsome black cat named Sully who is the light of my life. I spend a lot of time reading YA fantasy and thrillers and love to recommend a good book to anyone who will listen!