Youth MOVE (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience) National (YMN) has been connecting, supporting, and developing youth leadership in advocacy to create positive system change for over 20 years. We envision a future in which young people are valued as empowered leaders, advocates, and designers of communities that are built for all youth to thrive. We do this through policy change and system reform work, national trainings and accreditation programs, peer support, and working directly with youth across the nation to address their specific communities needs through our 40+ Chapter Network (and growing) who often do direct services. We practice authentic youth engagement through youth driven decision making by elevating youth voices of lived and living experience while being entirely youth led and driven (our Board is mandated to be 60% youth including our Board President).

It all started in 1999 when youth from various states gathered at a national peer movement conference. These early interactions and the bonds centered around peer support led the group to present at a national system of care summit in 2001, marking their emergence as a significant voice within the youth peer movement. The group’s growing influence was recognized with grant funding in 2002, which enabled them to hire their first staff member. By 2003, the collective was formally established as the National Youth Development Board (NYDB) with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and then the group was integrated into the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health (NFFCMH). Following continued growth and success, NYDB evolved into Youth MOVE National (YMN) in 2007 and became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2012.

What began as a small youth committee advising on youth engagement and systemic harm has expanded significantly over the past 20 years. YMN has grown from a single full-time staff member to over ten, from $1 in funding to more than $1 million, and from one chapter to over forty. Additionally, YMN has evolved from a small number of youth participants, partners, contracts, and supporters into a broad and diverse network of thousands, encompassing local youth- and family-run organizations to large federal agencies nationwide.

YMN’s impact is evident through our growth, the communities we serve, and the clients we work with (from entire states to the Biden / Harris administration). You can read more about our impact here: