802 Youth Leadership Summit

We look forward to seeing OVX & VKAT Chapters (and aligned groups) for the 802 Youth Leadership Summit on Monday, January 8 (rescheduled date!) at VTSU Randolph, featuring learning & action opportunities around the harm caused by commercial tobacco and how we can expose the industry.

Registration is free; both a light breakfast and lunch are included. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/802youthsummit

Agenda & Workshop Descriptions
Youth/student participants will have the opportunity to attend workshops in the morning and afternoon along one of three tracks:

1. Storytelling & Communications (focused on storytelling and expressive empowered youth voice)

2. Social & Environmental Justice (focused on addressing commercial nicotine use as a social & environmental justice issue)

3. Leadership & Policy Development (focused on authentic voice in youth leadership and policy engagement)

8:15-9am: Arrival & Registration (light breakfast options & free swag!)
9am-10:15am: Welcome & Warm-Up Presentation
10:30-12pm: Workshop Session AM
12:15-1pm: Lunch (in campus dining hall)
1:15-2:45pm: Workshop Session PM
2:45pm: Departure

Welcome & Warm-Up
We will start the morning off with an energetic and engaging plenary session to set the tone for our day of learning & action.

Storytelling & Communications Track
Creating Community Change with Brianne Smith (AM)
The workshop “Creating Community Change” will provide step by step guidance on how to transform an idea for community change into a proposal you can present to your peers, local government, and/or community members. Youth will gain experience on how to develop their idea for community change into a realistic proposal. The workshop will address important considerations when thinking about a community change project, how to plan a community change project, and how to talk about your project to a variety of audiences.

Brianne Smith is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at Vermont Afterschool. In this role, she supports the Vermont Youth Project (VYP) and various statewide and local youth councils. She is passionate about engaging young people in community change and democracy. Through VYP, she has led youth councils through a participatory budgeting process to fund youth-driven community change, supports local youth voice efforts, and works with community coalitions to create plans for upstream prevention.

Youth Storytelling & Communications with Matt Wolf (PM)
In this workshop, youth will move through a framework for how to compose their story, or talking points, to make sure they have the most meaning and impact on their audience as possible. Participants will walk away from the session with the experience of moving through the process as a group, as well as receiving a hand-out that will support them in moving through the process on their own when the need to speak up comes up in their own life. Vermont Afterschool is offering an interactive workshop that breaks down the essential steps to consider when talking to other people about a change you want to see.

Matt Wolf has worked with youth and young adults in Vermont for over 20 years – working to empower their leadership development, while advocating with them in the Vermont system of care and legislature. He is active in training & promoting young adult leadership statewide, as well as supporting various agencies & their staff in developing a strengths-driven and empowering system of care for Vermont’s youth.

Social & Environmental Justice Track
Cigarettes are most commonly categorized as a health problem, but they are a huge environmental problem as well. The entire life cycle of a cigarette has an impact on the environment – from growing the tobacco to throwing away the butt and beyond. It contributes to deforestation, pollution, and post-consumer waste. It’s also a social justice issue. Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. A human rights approach to ending tobacco is unique because it implores or requires governments to protect their citizens by implementing tobacco control laws and strategies to end the tobacco epidemic based on legally-binding human rights norms. This workshop is presented by ASH: Action on Smoking & Health.

Chris Bostic is the Policy Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and has been a leader in global tobacco control since 2001 when he attended negotiations for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) as a civil society international and human rights law expert. Chris oversees the development and implementation of ASH’s programs. His current priority areas include Project Sunset (tobacco endgame), the environment, UN and WHO treaty negotiations, trade agreements, tobacco industry monitoring, human rights, and tobacco industry liability. In addition to his close involvement in the WHO FCTC negotiations and implementation, Chris actively participated in negotiations for the TransPacific Partnership Agreement from 2011-2016 and the negotiating sessions of the UN Treaty to End Plastic Pollution. Since 2018, he has served on advisory committees for the tobacco endgame at the state, national, and global levels.

Leadership & Policy Development Track

Using Your Voice to Impact Policy Change (AM Session)

In this session you will learn how to advocate to lawmakers about the need for policy change. The workshop will discuss the difference between educating and lobbying and the importance of sharing what you know about tobacco’s impact on youth with Vermont legislators and others. Youths’ voices can be powerful tools at the Statehouse and are more impactful in many cases than lobbyists. We’ll provide you with resources to make change. We’ll also share our youth advocacy website and take participants on a fun “scavenger hunt” of resources and tobacco facts. These tools will prepare youth for the afternoon workshop where they’ll have a chance to put what they’ve learned into action.

Sharing Your Story Using Your Authentic Voice (PM Session)

To make change, policy makers need to feel a sense of urgency or problem that must be solved. Personal stories are a powerful tool for accomplishing this because they provide a face to the problem. Armed with facts about tobacco’s impact in Vermont from the morning session, this workshop will provide a chance for participants to exercise their voice via storytelling. We’ll help participants learn what is a good story, how to keep it short, speak in their own authentic voice and rally others to act. Participants will learn various ways to connect with policy makers and have a chance to practice putting their stories into action via video, letters to the editor or art.

Tina Zuk is the Government Relations Regional Lead for the American Heart Association based in Vermont. She holds a BA in Management and Leadership from St. Michael’s College and has over 20 years of experience in communications and public health advocacy.

Rebecca Scharler is a dedicated professional with over a decade of experience in grassroots management, currently serving as the Regional Grassroots Manager for the American Heart Association's You're the Cure Network. Her expertise lies in training and engaging volunteers, guiding them to find their voice and share their unique stories. Rebecca is particularly passionate about empowering individuals, especially the youth, to become active participants in the legislative process. Her passion lies in empowering individuals to make a difference, and she takes great joy in witnessing the transformative power of volunteerism.

Jill Sudhoff-Guerin is the Vermont Medical Society’s Policy and Communications Consultant. She has 11 years of experience working in Vermont health care policy and has previously served as the Vermont Medical Society Policy and Communications manager, policy lead for the Vermont chapter of the American Cancer Society and legislative and regulatory analyst at Leonine Public Affairs (previously KSE Partners). Jill currently provides communications and policy support through her independent firm, Maidstone Public Relations.