The foundations of Youth MOVE (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience) National first started when youth from several states had the opportunity to meet at a national peer movement conference in 1999. Having established relationships and built friendships together around the power and importance of peer support, the group went on to present on the youth peer movement at a national System of Care summit in 2001, formally solidifying the group as a powerful voice within the youth peer movement.

After many more presentations, conferences, speeches, and work, the collective was awarded a grant which allowed them to hire their first position in 2002. It wasn’t longer after that in 2003 the youth collective formally became the National Youth Development Board (NYDB) with support from SAMHSA and was housed within the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health (NFFCMH). Once again after much work and growth, NYDB became Youth MOVE National in 2007, and its own independent 501c3 nonprofit in 2012.