The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a diverse group of 30 students aged 17-20 who have been selected from nearly 650 applicants. They play a leadership role in creating and overseeing a $5 million-a-year State Farm® funded service-learning initiative. The Youth Advisory Board grants funds for student-led service-learning projects in the United States and in the Alberta, New Brunswick and Ontario provinces of Canada. These grants address in a structural way the issues of disaster preparedness, driver safety, accessing higher education/closing the achievement gap, and financial education. The number of grants to be awarded will depend on the number and quality of requests received. Grant amounts will vary according to the nature of the proposal and availability of funds. However, at least one service-learning project will be funded in each of the thirteen State Farm zones which include the three provinces in Canada.
The minimum grant amount is $25,000 and the maximum grant amount is $100,000. Applicants may request any amount within this range based on a required budget which outlines project expenses in a one year timeframe.
Youth Advisory Board Members
Canada Zone Sasha Faraone Rohan Dang
California Zone Francisco Araujo Zachary Profant
Central Zone Whitney Black Hope McFarland
Corporate Zone Parita Patel
Florida Zone Quintín Haynes Katie Greenman
Great Lakes Zone Tara Kutz Kristen Britton
Great Western Zone Brooke Robison Jason Sanchez
Heartland Zone Matthew Boring Cameron Dary
Mid-Atlantic Zone Bradford Corriher Emily Corley
Mid-America Zone Meghan Bostic Cedrick Riley
Northeast Zone Jennifer Bauer Laura Mantell
Pacific Northwest Zone Melissa Nguon Kayla Drozd
Southern Zone Jessica Moran Evan Russo
Texas Zone Terrance Hadnot Trevor Rodgers
Representing the National Youth Leadership Council Julia Sewell
Representing Youth Service America Eunice Buhler
Representing the National Service Learning Partnership Salema Davis
State Farm Education Leadership Team Kathy Payne- Director
Joel Rogers- Youth Advisory Board Coordinator
Carl Nelson
Joni LaDew
Marcie McDonald
Tom Laxton
Stan Otto
Natalie Reiser
National Partners
Youth Service America Steve Culbertson President & CEO
National Youth Leadership Council James Kielsmeier President & CEO
National Service-Learning Partnership Nelda Brown Executive Director
Initiative Evaluator:
Dr. Lawrence Bailis, Center for Schools and Communities Brandeis University
Initiative Consultant:
Kenneth Holdsman, Academy for Educational Development
Mission Statement & Guiding Principles
As the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, we believe that we have a responsibility to our fellow youth; the Youth Board itself; State Farm; and the community-at-large in carrying out our work with integrity, inclusion, and maximum effectiveness. Therefore, we believe that:
Youth bring insightful perspective.
The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is responsible for advocating on behalf of its peers.
Every board member has an essential role and a responsibility to fulfill that role.
Responsive communications are imperative.
Board members should invest their passion into the board’s mission.
Board members should maintain a professional attitude towards the board’s work and its members.
We should respect and utilize the diversity of the board.
The board should act in the best interest of State Farm, its agents, associates and customers.
State Farm Youth Advisory Board supports youth who…
Take great ownership in all dimensions of service-learning, identifying issues and problems needing to be addressed and studying the root causes and potential solutions;
Collaborate with expert community and business partners to design and execute the solution; and
Make decisions about which of the proposed solutions are worthy of financial support.
Youth Service America