Wendy Schaetzel Lesko is co-founder of Youth Infusion as well as co-founder of the

Youth Activism Project The Youth Activism Project (YAP), founded in 1992, is an international non-partisan organization designed "to encourage young people to speak up and pursue lasting solutions to problems they care deeply about." YAP has various projects and focuses o ...

. Lesko is an author of several books on youth-led advocacy, especially in the public policy arena, and recognized nationally as an expert on intergenerational collaboration.(nd
Advisory Board
The Freechild Project. Retrieved 7/8/07.

Biography

During Lesko's last two years at

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

, she created a recreational program for 100 children of Florida orange pickers about 45 minutes from campus. After graduating, she worked as a community organizer for

Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merged ...

United Farm Workers Union The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...

. Her career has included working as the managing editor of the '' Congressional Monitor'', and starting "Today on the Hill," a live daily radio program focused on action in the U.S. Congress, broadcast on WTOP in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Lesko lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband

Matthew Lesko Matthew John Lesko (born May 11, 1943) is an American author known for his publications and infomercials on federal grant funding. He has written over twenty books instructing people how to get money from the United States government. Widely re ...

. Wendy met Matthew in 1982 while she was working at the ''Congressional Monitor''. In 1992, Lesko launched the influential Activism 2000 Project that introduced youth-led policy participation that contrasted with community service. In 2004, together with a group of middle school students, she founded the nonprofit Youth Activism Project and its first international initiative called School Girls Unite in Maryland, These youth together with their partners in Mali, co-authored the bilingual action guide, ''Girls Gone Activist! How to Change the World through Education.'' Another major achievement of School Girls Unite was its victorious grassroots campaign that helped establish the United Nations International Day of the Girl Child, recognized annually on October 11 around the world

Lesko has served on advisory boards for several organizations, including CommonAction. She has presented hundreds of speeches and workshops ranging from the National Human Services Assembly to the US State Department International Visitors Leadership Program. ''Youth Voice Plus Youth Vote'' is the subject of her 2017 TEDx Talk.

In response to the school-to-prison pipeline, Lesko pursued a graduate degree with the International Institute for Restorative Practices and in 2018, she received a master's degre

In 2018, Anika Manzoor, one of the co-founders at age 12 of School Girls Unite and the Youth Activism Project, became the first full-time paid executive director. Beginning in 2021, Lesko started Youth Infusio

which focuses on building anti-racist intergenerational organizations.

Books

*''Safer Schools: Students Talk About Talking Circles'' (2018) Published by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko. *''Unleashing the Potential of Young RP Advocates '' (2015) Presented at International Institute for Restorative Practices Conference. *''Catalyst! Successful Strategies to Empower Young Advocates'' (2013) Published by Youth Activism Project. *''Knock-Your-Socks-Off Training Teens To Be Successful Activists! The Complete Guide For Facilitating A 1-2 Hour Workshop.'' (2005) Published by Youth Activism Project. *''Maximum Youth Involvement: The Complete Gameplan for Community Action'' (2003) Published by Youth Activism Project. ASIN: B0006SBDI4 *''Youth As Equal Partners'' (2002) with Adam Kendall. Published by

United Way of America United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016. United Way organizations raise funds ...

. *''Youth Empowerment Question Why'' (2001) Published by

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Department of Health. *''Youth! The 26% Solution'' (1998) with Emanuel Tsourounis, II. Published by Information USA. *''Student Activist Training Action Guide'' (1997) Published by

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivi ...

& U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. *''Youth Advocacy Module'' (1996) Published by U.S. Health & Human Service. *''No Kidding Around: America's Young Activists Are Changing Our World and You Can Too!'' (1992) Published by Information USA. *''The People Rising: The Campaign Against the Bork Nomination'' (1989) with

Michael Pertschuk Michael Pertschuk (January 12, 1933 – November 16, 2022) was an American attorney and advocate for consumer protection and public health. He served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1977 to 1984, and served as FTC Chair ...

. Published by

Thunder's Mouth Press Perseus Books Group was an American publishing company founded in 1996 by investor Frank Pearl. Perseus acquired the trade publishing division of Addison-Wesley (including the Merloyd Lawrence imprint) in 1997. It was named Publisher of the Ye ...

. *''The Maternity Sourcebook: 230 Basic Decisions for Pregnancy, Birth, and Baby Care.'' (1984) Published by

Warner Books Grand Central Publishing is a book publishing imprint of Hachette Book Group, originally established in 1970 as Warner Books when Warner Communications acquired the Paperback Library. When Time Warner sold their book publishing business to Hachett ...

. *''The Maternity Sourcebook.'' (1985) (Reissue) with

. Published by Warner Books.

Recognition

In 2019 Lesko received Youth MOVE National Dr. Gary M. Blau Professional of the Year ROCKSTAR Award. Lesko has been recognized as a leading expert in youth-led policy advocacy by diverse publications from across the nation, including ''The Washington Post'', ''Houston Chronicle'' and ''Youth Today''. Together with Karen Jackson-Knight, Lesko co-founded SPARK, a community-based program that provided free tutoring to hundreds of public school students for over a decade.

WETA-TV WETA-TV (channel 26) is the primary PBS member television station in Washington, D.C. Owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, it is a sister station to NPR member WETA (90.9 FM). The two outlets share studios ...

's "Hometown Heroes" Award in 2004.(2004
"Kensington duo recognized for their community tutoring program."
WETA. 25 August 2004. Retrieved 7/8/07.

References

External links

Youth Infusion Youth Activism Project
* TEDxYouth@Columbi

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesko, Wendy Youth empowerment people Women nonprofit executives Rollins College alumni Living people 1950 births