Fourth Annual Impact Youth Conference to Draw 600 Youth and Youth Advocates from Across Chicago

More than 600 youth and youth advocates from across Chicago will converge on the Gary Comer Youth Center, 7200 S. Ingleside Ave., May 11 and 12 for the 4th annual Impact Youth Conference.

Presented by the Peace Hub, a collaboration of 40 youth-serving organizations including the United Church of Christ’s UCAN, the two-day event will feature keynote speakers Syda Segovia Taylor, a Chicago-based social justice advocate, and D. Watkins, best-selling author and professor at the University of Baltimore.

The May 11 agenda includes seminars and activities to support the personal and professional development of young adults, youth service providers, and advocates. May 12 is given over to engaging local youth, including those who experience continuous violence. Breakout sessions will emphasize nonviolent solutions and peace, including such topics as trauma, gangs, and mindfulness, among others.

Segovia Taylor

Segovia Taylor has a master’s degree in community development and social justice, and almost 20 years of experience bringing opportunities to youth in Chicago’s under-served communities. She promotes race unity, gender equality, oneness of humankind, health and food access, the environment, arts, harmony between science and religion, and quality education.

Watkins

A college professor at the University of Baltimore and founder of the BMORE Writers Project, Watkins is editor at large for Salon. His work has been published in the New York Times, Guardian and Rolling Stone. He holds a master’s degree in education from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA degree in from the University of Baltimore. The East Baltimore, Md., resident is the author of The Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir and The Beast Side: Living (and Dying) While Black in America.

The Peace Hub works to build capacity and increase communication between service providers to understand and address the needs of youth, families and their community. Its Planning Committee comprises UCAN, Gary Comer Youth Center, Chicago Light, Children’s Home & Aid Society Strengthening Chicago’s Youth, and Urban Gateways.

Corporate sponsors of the Impact Youth Conference include the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Allstate, and Rotary International.

Learn more and register for the conference.

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