The Forum’s Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison Program (OYCL) is a three-month paid fellowship that equips U.S. youth ages 16 to 26 with the skills and tools they need to directly advocate to lawmakers. The program was designed with and for Opportunity Youth (16- to 26-year-olds who are not connected to school or the workforce) in order to level up their advocacy skills and connect them to others working for more equitable access to opportunity.

For more information, contact Gerod Blue, the Forum’s Senior Policy Manager, who directs the program.

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Meet the OYCLs: Spring-Summer 2022

Together, we are working to hold our elected officials accountable for the decisions they make, and to ensure that our priorities are heard. After all, who is better positioned to advocate for what we need than we are? We are the experts on our own lives, our communities, and the solutions we and our nation need in order to build opportunities and equality for all.

Our Pilot OYCL Cohort (2021-22)

Our first OYCL cohort kicked off in November 2021. Seven talented young leaders came together to learn, connect, and advance equity and opportunity. Now alum, they each continue to support one another and the subsequent cohorts of OYCLs, and are advising the Forum team on how to improve the design of our OYCL program.

Notice something missing? Could it be YOU?

Applications for our next round of Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison will open in September 2022.

For a look at what it means to be an Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison, check out this video from our March 11 OYCL Information Session. Please contact Gerod Blue for more information.

March 11, 2022