New England Youth Leadership Council (NEYLC)

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Email the NEYLC at neylc@janegoodall.org

The New England Youth Leadership Council (NEYLC) kicked off its first regional campaign, Peace Through the Arts, at New England's 1st Annual Peace Day Celebration this fall. One of the NEYLC’s goals is to raise $3,500 to support Roots & Shoots programs for Congolese youth living in the Lugufu Refugee camp in western Tanzania. This program has been successful in helping create sustainable living conditions, reducing the impact of refugees on the local environment and creating linkages among refugees and local Tanzanians. The NEYLC encourages New England’s Roots & Shoots groups to help raise money for Lugufu, as well as to create local service projects using the arts as the media of expression for peace.

The NEYLC also helped to host the Regional Youth Summit whose theme was "Promoting Engagement in World Harmony" to tie in with the "Peace Through the Arts" campaign. They made presentations on the campaign as well as the Youth Leadership Initiative. The NEYLC also supports Roots & Shoots national campaigns, having recently held a Rebirth the Earth: Trees for Tomorrow event; see event highlights on YouTube.

Meet the Council

David Chase, 2007-2008 Youth Leadership Fellow
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
David became involved with Roots & Shoots at his middle school and then started a group at his high school. He first became passionate about saving the world by spearheading a local "Green Hotels" campaign to help hotels become eco-friendly. In 2005, David became a founding member of the Roots & Shoots New England Youth Leadership Council. He has traveled to Peru and Tanzania with the Roots & Shoots Youth Leadership Immersion Program.

Nicole Coakley, Secretary
Hometown: Medford, Massachusetts
Nicole began her work with Roots & Shoots at Medford High School . At church, as a child, Nicole took part in the Giving Tree project, through which she realized just how much there is in the world that needs to be changed. Nicole was able to relive the joy of this project on a much larger scale. Working with a number of animal shelters and the city's family network, her group gathered holiday gifts for children in unfortunate situations, as well as supplies needed by the shelters.

Maria Geueke
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Maria has been passionate about the environment ever since she was little. In Germany, where she spent most of her childhood, she was surrounded by organic farms, a large community of bike riders and wilderness to play in. By joining Roots and Shoots in sixth grade, she was able to bring this part of her culture and her own passion, taking care of the environment, to her community in the U.S. Maria has been a member of the New England Youth Leadership Council since October 2006 and recently became a member of the National Leadership Council. Maria will begin her senior year at Nauset High School this fall.

Clare Gillies
Hometown: Trumbull, Connecticut
Clare is the leader of Trumbull Roots & Shoots and participated in the XS Project..

Felicia Mazzone
Hometown: Scarborough, Maine
Felicia became involved with Roots & Shoots at her middle school and has carried it into high school through a family group. She joined because of her passion for animals and has used this passion to take action on projects. She became a founding member of the New England Youth Leadership Council in 2005 and has been able to meet many amazing youth and leaders along the way. Through her involvement she has been able to participate in Earth Day celebrations and the Tchimpounga Youth Campaign.

Jackson Niles
Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Jackson is a junior at Nauset Regional High School and has been a member of Roots & Shoots since sixth grade. His favorite project was creating a documentary on poverty. He likes people, sleeping in the woods, crabs and sidewalk chalk.

Cassandra Zito
Hometown: Hartford, Connecticut