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Brief History
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- Category: About NLLC
- Published on Saturday, 07 October 2006 14:00
- Written by NLLC
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The New Leadership Learning Center, Inc. was formed as New Light Leadership Coalition, Inc. in 1999 by young people who felt a need to create change and manifest the leadership potential in their peers. NLLC has trained over 2,500 young people through leadership workshops, training programs, and conferences. An authentically youth-led organization at its founding, NLLC has always been at the forefront of addressing youth issues.
On November 13, 1999, the young organization’s pioneer effort was Youth Summit ’99: “Preparing to Rule: Leaders of the New Millennium.” This event was an initial call for youth to embrace the concept of self-improvement and leadership development. Youth Summit '99 attracted 100 participants. The following year NLLC expanded the event to two days and moved it to the Baltimore Convention Center to accommodate more participants. NLLC continued to consistently host the annual conference in Baltimore, Maryland from 2000 – 2003 and in Washington, DC in 2004 and 2005. In 2006, the conference returned to Baltimore, Maryland. The annual event has attracted powerful speakers including Congressman Elijah Cummings, Kevin Powell, Omar Tyree, Jeff Johnson, KRS One, Randal Pinkett, and a host of others. Young people from Iowa to Brooklyn have participated in the event—now dubbed the Annual Youth & College Leadership Summit. In 2002 the summit hosted international visitors from the All African Students Union headquartered in Accra, Ghana.
In 2001, NLLC released the Youth Leadership Development Workbook, a 164-page guide to leadership development for youth and student leaders. That same year NLLC initiated several youth development partnerships with local, national, and international organizations. The overwhelming response created the determination in NLLC leadership to spearhead a year-round effort to increase youth activism and involvement in the Baltimore community through the Youth Empowerment Movement initiative. The Youth Empowerment Movement is being developed as a model for collaboration between youth-led and youth-serving organizations to create real change in the lives of young people that can be duplicated in other cities.
In partnership with the NAACP Youth & College Division, NLLC hosted the Fall 2002 Youth Leadership Development Program at NAACP headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. The intensive five-week after school training program was the pilot of the Youth Leadership Development Program (YLDP) curriculum and graduated 15 young people from the Baltimore metropolitan area. Completed in June of 2002, this comprehensive youth leadership development curriculum is the result of 2 years of research and the combined experience of a team of youth leaders. It is based on best-practices for positive youth development and NLLC’s very own peer-training model.
In 2002, the growing organization awarded the first Youth Leader of the Year award to Nadia Campbell for applying the principles of leadership development in her life. The following year, the New York-based organization Youth Getting Involved (Y.G.I.) was honored with the first Youth Group of the Year award. These awards, along with the Lifetime Excellence in Leadership Award honoring adults that dedicate their lives to service, continue to honor the achievements of youth in leadership.
In 2003, NLLC opened its headquarters office in Baltimore, Maryland and held the first Summer Youth Leadership Institute at Baltimore’s City Hall. In partnership with the Mayor’s Office for Children Youth & Families and the Office of the City Council President, this program exposed 20 students to two weeks of intensive leadership training. The summer program is based on the YLDP curriculum and is supplemented with field trips, college tours, and guest speakers. The leadership institute is still held annually at Baltimore City Hall and since the 2002 pilot program, 130 graduates have completed the program.
Throughout our history, we have reached many young people and continue to empower youth through leadership development. Our network of youth leaders grows daily and we continue to make progress in the movement for youth empowerment.