Empowering NYC students for a brighter future.
Our Mission
New Youth Leaders (NYL) empowers youth of color to lead, innovate, and thrive in the world’s largest creative economy—New York City. Through our 4-Ps framework—Passion, Plan, Produce, Purpose—we cultivate entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, and creative excellence, ensuring students gain the skills, access, and confidence needed to shape a more equitable arts and culture sector.
Vision
New Youth Leaders envisions an equitable arts education ecosystem where every artist has the space, opportunity, and recognition to be seen, valued, and heard.
Rationale
New York City’s Creative Sector generates over $110 billion in total economic activity, accounting for one in every eight dollars spent.
The industry employs more than 293,000 people, and contributes $30.4 billion in wages.
Despite the wealth generated by the sector, many youth of color live in communities isolated and disconnected from these opportunities. The core mission of NYL is to create pathways for these underserved youth to discover their passion and leverage their talents to access both existing and emerging opportunities in the creative sector.
Through our program, NYL graduates become active creators–rather than passive consumers–whose innovation uplift not only themselves, but also their families, communities, and the city at large.
SOURCE: Office of the Comptroller estimates based on Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau American Community Survey.