Virtue Visionary partners with organizations to design, implement, and strengthen systems that integrate youth voice into real decision making—ensuring that governance, policy and program development reflect lived experience and produce meaningful, real world outcomes.

We support organizations at different stages. From those those exploring youth voice for the first time to those looking to strengthen existing youth advisory boards and initiatives.

Who We Work With:

✔ Organizations WITH youth programs or boards

  • Strengthen governance structures

  • Prevent tokenism and burnout

  • Increase accountability and long-term impact

✔ Organizations WITHOUT youth programs or boards

  • Integrate youth voice into existing workflows

  • Inform policy, funding, and service design

  • Build ethical, trauma-informed engagement practices

Areas of Work:

Virtue Visionary supports organizations seeking to strengthen how lived experience and stakeholder insight inform leadership, strategy, and system design.

• Youth Governance Design
Developing structures where young people with lived experience hold meaningful influence in decision-making and accountability processes.

• Systems Change Strategy
Helping institutions rethink how power, leadership, and community expertise are integrated into policy and organizational design.

• Lived Experience Leadership
Supporting organizations in embedding lived experience into leadership structures in ethical, sustainable, and impactful ways.

• Stakeholder Engagement & End-User Insight
Helping systems move beyond consultation toward meaningful integration of community insight in decision-making and problem-solving.

Developing Youth Leaders for Systems Engagement

Preparing young people to engage systems with clarity, confidence, and impact.

We move beyond centering youth voice. We prepare young people to translate their lived experience into insight that shapes decisions.

Through small, intentional spaces such as leadership labs and guided conversations, young people are supported in:

  • understanding how systems operate

  • refining their perspectives into clear actionable insight

  • stepping into leadership—prepared to influence decisions, not just participate in them

These spaces are intentionally limited and integrated into broader systems work to ensure youth engagement is meaningful and positioned for impact, not extractive.

Leadership labs are currently facilitated on a limited, invitation-based basis as part of our broader work.

How We Work:

Strategy & System Design

Design structures that embed youth voice into decision-making, policy, and system operations.

This includes identifying gaps, clarifying roles, and building governance pathways that move youth insight from feedback into function.

This work is tailored to your system’s structure, priorities, and stage of development.

Facilitation & Implementation Support

Facilitate shared spaces where youth and systems engage in meaningful, structured decision-making.

This includes guiding conversations, supporting youth leaders and staff, and ensuring accountability as ideas move into action.

This work adapts to your existing structures while strengthening consistency, clarity, and follow-through.

Training & Capacity Building

Deliver interactive trainings that connect youth lived experience to professional practice and system improvement.

These sessions support teams in understanding youth governance, applying it in their roles, and strengthening how they engage youth in decision-making.

This work is designed to be practical, applicable, and grounded in real-world implementation.

Ongoing Advisory & Partnership

Support organizations over time in strengthening, refining, and sustaining youth-informed systems.

This includes ongoing strategy support, feedback loops, and collaboration to ensure youth governance is embedded, not one-time.

This work is ideal for organizations committed to long-term systems change and continuous improvement.

Services:

Investment & Engagement: We believe meaningful youth voice requires investment. Our pricing reflects the depth, care, and accountability required to build youth-led work that is ethical, sustainable, and impactful. We work with organizations of varying sizes and budgets and offer flexible engagement models when values align.

Pathways & Tiered Engagement

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Pathways & Tiered Engagement 〰️

Pathway A: Integrate Youth Voice Into Existing Systems

  • “Pause & Prepare”


    Help organizations understand what youth voice means, assess readiness, and identify structural conditions required to integrate youth insight into decision-making without creating a new advisory body.

    Typical length: 4 - 6 weeks

    • Youth Voice Readiness Assessment (culture, power, risk, capacity)

    • Review of existing structures (boards, committees, decision pathways)

    • 2 facilitated leadership sessions (virtual or in-person)

    • Youth Voice Ethics & Safeguards Framework

    • Systems mapping of where youth insight can inform policy, service design, and

    • Written summary with prioritized recommendations

    Best for:
    Risk-averse orgs, funders, or agencies that want to “do it right” before acting.

  • “Embed Youth Insight”

    Support organizations in integrating youth perspective into existing systems, workflows, and decision processes so youth voice informs strategy, policy, and program design without a new program, board, or committee.

    Typical Length: 3 - 5 months

    • Everything in Tier 1, plus:

    • Identification of 1–2 existing systems for youth integration
      (e.g. strategy planning, service design, policy review, grantmaking, advisory input)

    • Youth Engagement Pathway (how youth input flows → decisions)

    • Adult Role & Power Mapping (who holds power and how it shifts)

    • Compensation & Support Model for youth participation

    • Facilitation of one pilot youth engagement moment (co-designed)

    • Staff training on trauma-informed, power-aware engagement

    Best for: Organizations ready to act but unable to build a new youth program.

  • “Sustain & Evolve”


    Support long-term integration of youth voice into organizational culture, strategy, and accountability structures.

    Typical Length: 6 - 12 months

    Includes:

    • Everything in tier 2 plus:

    • Executive and leadership coaching

      • Ongoing facilitation of youth insight processes
      • Monitoring and evaluation of youth integration practices
      • Organizational culture alignment and change support
      • Sustainability and transition planning

    Best for:
    Funders, government agencies, or orgs making a public commitment to systems change.

    • Executive Coaching (Youth Power & Risk)

    • Board Training (2–3 hours)

    • Youth Compensation Framework Only

    • Facilitation of Additional Youth Engagement Sessions

    • Grant/Funder Language Alignment

    These services do not require the creation of a youth board.

Pathway B: Build or Strengthen a Youth Advisory Board or Youth-Led Initiative

A small green plant sprouting from sandy soil on a beach or desert area.

Tier 1: Foundation Build “Design & Launch Support”

Includes:

Readiness Assessment

Youth advisory board framework & governance design

Core curriculum delivery (staff + youth leaders)

Initial tools/templates

Limited coaching (e.g., 3-4 sessions)

Typical length: 2- 3 months

Close-up of tree roots growing over moss-covered rocks, with a waterfall and flowing water in the background.

Tier 2: Capacity + Coaching “Build & Strengthen”

Includes:

Everything in Tier 1

Expanded staff and leadership training

Ongoing coaching & technical assistance

Support during first implementation cycle

Monitoring & feedback checkpoints

Typical length: 4 - 6 months

Looking up at a dense bamboo forest with tall green stalks and leafy canopy, sunlight filtering through

Tier 3: Systems-Level Partnership “Embed & Sustain”

Includes:

Everything in Tier 2

Executive coaching

Policy & practice alignment

Ongoing monitoring & evaluation

Culture- change consultancy

Sustainability & transition planning

Typical length: 6 - 10 months

Unsure Where to Start?

We can help you identify the right entry point based on your system’s needs and goals.