Youth Leadership in Action: Building Connection and Systems Change with Youth MOVE Nevada

Host Carmen continues her conversation with Brenna, youth leader of Youth MOVE Nevada, focusing on Nevada’s rural isolation, lack of community connection, and the importance of social connection for health and healing. Brenna describes chapter challenges such as reaching rural youth and increasing awareness that youth voices are welcome, and explains how virtual meetings support statewide inclusion. She outlines multiple engagement pathways for youth—decision-making in meetings, polls and chat participation, podcast and social media contributions, toolkits, contests, and youth panels—within a peer-led model that builds leadership. Brenna shares experiences bringing youth voice into systems-level meetings, noting receptivity but sometimes limited dialogue, and highlights the Youth Voice at Agency Level assessment/training, work with UNR on system-of-care data collection and youth focus groups, and her role with a Nevada Medicaid behavioral health transformation workgroup shaping care coordination improvements. She is excited about continued chapter growth and directs listeners to YouthMoveNV and YouthMoveNV@nevadapep.org.

00:00 Welcome Back Part Two

00:34 Nevada Rural Isolation

01:22 Why Connection Matters

04:51 Reaching Rural Youth

06:46 Everyday Youth Engagement

12:05 Youth Led Meetings

13:27 Youth Voice In Systems

16:22 YVAL And UNR Partnership

21:26 Medicaid Summit Impact

26:08 Future Growth And Contact

28:13 Final Thanks And Wrap