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Youth Forward

About Youth Forward

Youth Forward is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the wellbeing of underserved children, youth and families through youth leadership development, policy advocacy, coalition building, and community education. Established in 2017 and based in Sacramento, Youth Forward works to develop youth leaders; win investments in children and youth; and build partnerships locally and statewide that improve how systems and policies support the most vulnerable kids. By lifting up all children, Youth Forward builds stronger families and communities.

The organization was formed when a group of youth advocates and community organizers were brought together to address the threats posed to children and young people by the legalization of cannabis and to advocate on the issue of cannabis tax revenues. Youth Forward became a leader in efforts to regulate the cannabis industry ensuring that the state of California would invest the millions of new revenues from cannabis taxes in protecting and providing prevention programming for youth.

Youth Forward has expanded its work to include advocacy in support of youth mental health in the Sacramento region and to co-lead the city’s largest grassroots coalition with 36 member organizations and over 2,200 individual supporters, Sac Kids First. Youth Forward and Sac Kids First were featured in a 2021 documentary on youth organizing in California by the television station KCET in the episode City Rising: Youth and Democracy. In 2022, the organization established a tribal department to support local native youth and assist tribes throughout the state in accessing state funding for substance use prevention and for environmental restoration.

Today, key initiatives encompass Youth Leadership, Youth Justice, Youth Mental Health, the Tribal Department and Cannabis Policy. Youth Forward - with its 9-member Board, 7-person team, and approximately $1.2 million budget - has quickly built a strong foundation for considerable change-making winning significant victories for children, youth and families in Sacramento and across the state and catalyzing network and capacity building for other youth-serving organizations.

Full time
 
Executive Director
Youth Forward Sacramento, CA
Executive Director Reports To : Board of Directors Location : Sacramento, CA Status : Full-Time, Exempt Apply By : 5/15/26 Youth Forward seeks a compassionate, courageous, and deeply committed leader to serve as its next Executive Director. This is an opportunity to helm a dynamic nonprofit advocacy organization working at the intersection of youth leadership, public policy, public health and community power-building in Sacramento at a pivotal moment for underserved children, youth and families. The Executive Director will advance the organization’s mission, strengthen its public presence, lead policy initiatives, ensure financial sustainability, and manage staff and organizational operations all with youth voice, leadership, power, and partnership at the center. The Executive Director will work closely with the Board of Directors and represent the organization to policymakers, funders, partners, and the public. As Youth Forward heads into a...

Apr 21, 2026