The Youth Allies Organizing Program is comprised of ten youth ages 13-19 who are responsible for leading the Youth Action Network, mentoring youth partipants in the Leadership Institute, representing the program at community events & in grassroots campaigns, and leading their own community improvement projects.

Every year the ten most committed and effective youth from the program are selected to serve as Organizers. Project meetings with the Youth Allies participants take place every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday throughout the school year and twice a month during the summer. Peer-education workshops are conducted during the school day in elementary, middle, and high schools throughout Santa Fe as well as in partnership with afterschool programs. Presentations at conferences, community events, and youth organizations take place throughout the year. Organizers also lead monthly Youth Action Network meetings and serve as mentors and peer role models for Leadership Institute particpants throughout the year.

The Organizers work for over 325 hours per year. They begin their work in August with a 2 day retreat - receiving intensive training in collaborative work, leadership, organizing, and peer education. The Youth Allies Organizers identify what new projects they want to focus on as well as how to expand and improve upon previous year’s initiatives. In the fall they advance and deepen their knowledge through targeted training in their interest area as well as sustainability, social change, project development, and peer education. They also conduct research on community and environmental issues to inform their project design. At the same time they apply what they learn as they develop their projects, write grants, develop workshops, and organize service days. Project implementation intensifies in the spring.

The community projects they design & lead fall under five areas and are based on sustainable community development principles. The areas are: 1) Food and Health, 2) Climate Action, 3) Art and Social Change, 4) Consumption & Waste Reduction, 5) Global Justice. All projects include service-learning days and peer education which together engage an additional 500 youth and community members in sustainability work per year.

Each of the ten Youth Allies Organizers receives a $1,000 educational stipend at a graduation ceremony in June for completing over 325 hours of volunteer work.