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Equity. Quality. Collaboration.

Minnesota Youth Council

Representatives

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Each year, 36 young people serve as Youth Representatives in the Minnesota Youth Council, representing each of Minnesota’s 8 Congressional Districts. There are 4 Youth Representatives for each Congressional District, 4 At-Large members, and a corresponding group of Adult Partners that support their work.

To contact any of the Minnesota Youth Council representatives, please email youthvoice@mnyouth.net, with the name of the council member in the subject line.

  • Congressional District 1

    Dominick Lund-May, Sophomore at Fairmont Junior/Senior High School

    Dominick joined the MYC because he wanted to be a voice for the students in his town, and in his community.  He is involved in many things at his high school. Not only is he involved in speech, debate, math league, and knowledge bowl, he is also o a member of the soccer and tennis teams, and an active member of his church congregation.

     

    Paige Friedrich, Junior at Kasson Mantorville High School

    Paige joined the Minnesota Youth Council with hopes of representing the unique perspective of rural Minnesota, as well as participating in legislation that will affect her generation and generations to come. Some of Paige’s goals as a representative are to obtain more leadership experience and to gain more knowledge of issues affecting youth and what she can do to help solve these issues. She is passionate about issues regarding health disparities and inequities, mental health, and education equity.

    Zuhur Abdullahi, Junior at Faribault High School

    “I’m passionate about everyone getting justice!”

  • Congressional District 2

    Sahasra Molleti, Junior at Eastview High School

    Sahasra enjoys participating in a wide variety of activities such as volleyball, student council, debate, and more. She is passionate about women’s rights, increasing education opportunities, helping the homeless, and taking care of the environment.

     

    Aaimah Khawaja, Junior at Lakeview North High School

    Aaimah is a member of her school’s Muslims Student Association, Speech Team, and National Honors Society.  She is a Food Shelf Volunteer at South Metro Islamic Center.  She has always found it extremely difficult to see injustices occurring around her prevail, with little to no action being taken in her community to put an end to it.

     

    Megan Burri, Freshman at Eastview High School

    Megan joined the MYC because she is passionate about uplifting local communities.  She wants people like her to know the importance of embracing who you are no matter what.  She is involved in speech and debate and plays the piano.

     

    Aisha Ibrahim, Junior at Eagan High School

    Aisha is a full time PSEO student at Inver hills community college. She strives to be active within the community, serving as a volunteer at her local mosque, and is a reading and math tutor to elementary school kids. She cares greatly about addressing BIPOC, achievement gaps, vaping prevention, as well as increasing the amount of teachers of color.  At school, she is driven to make change. She’s involved in student government and is one of the co-presidents of her school’s women in STEM club, and is the treasurer of the multicultural student Union. She also serves as a student representative to her school’s curriculum and instruction advisory council. In her free time, she likes to work out, go for runs, make art, and watch movies!

  • Congressional District 3

    Sage Hartman, Junior at Wayzata High School

    Sage is passionate about Mental Health and Wellbeing. Sage cares deeply about racial equity and mental health awareness. This is her third year on the council and she joined the Minnesota Youth Council to make a difference within her district and Minnesota as a whole. Sage wants to give back to her community by using her voice to work towards change.

    Adonai Yidnekachew, Sophomore at Chaska High School

    Adonai Yidnekachew is a sophomore at Chaska High School. At her high school, she is a part of extracurricular activities such as Speech, Math League, and Student Council, and the sports Cross Country and Track. As she is a part of many of these activities, she also is a member ARCC, a non-profit focusing on eliminating racism, where she was inspired to create a club at Chaska High School called S.O.A.R (Student Organization Against Racism) that focuses on eliminating racism and educating others about antiracism in our school community. She works with 6 other amazing leaders of the S.O.A.R Club to create fun educational content for youth in her school community.

    Maryjane Iteghete, Junior at Park Center High School

    Maryjane joined the MYC to work with and learn from other youth leaders working towards improving and advancing our community. She serves on her school’s Student Advisory Committee and Junior Class Cabinet, is on the Varsity Soccer team, is president of the Black Student Union, and is a member of Youth Environmental Activists.

    Sidarth Gazula, Senior at Wayzata High School

    Sidarth “Sid” Gazula is a senior at Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minnesota. Sid enjoys playing chess in his free time, and he teaches young kids at his temple, high school students, and many more. In school, he serves as an NHS Officer, Student Council Senator, Chess Club Captain, and Vice President of DECA. Sid is very involved in the Asian-Indian community where he helps organize IndiaFest at the State Capitol, raise awareness about elections, emcee town halls and local events, and make posts on social media. Sid enjoys playing pickleball, watching TV (favorite show ever is Modern Family), and spending time with his cats!

  • Congressional District 4

    Hufsa

    Aila Brodd, Sophomore at Twin Cities Academy
    My name is Aila Maki Brodd and I live in St Paul, MN. I am very passionate about animal and environmental welfare and the preservation of wildlife and their natural habitats, as well as gender and racial equality, and equal educational opportunities for people of different economical backgrounds.

    Ava Roots, Senior at Stillwater Area High School

    Ava is passionate about the intersection of environmental and racial justice. Although sustainability is often only thought of as either a culmination of either inaccessible personal actions or sweeping global legislation, through Stillwater Changemakers, a student-led organization, she is passionate about creating accessible and meaningful change at the local level to build community and a planet for the future. Previously serving on a district-wide facilities planning committee, she also hopes to focus on the educational divide that students of color, especially, face to push for equitable resources and access throughout their school careers. In her free time, she enjoys speech, debate, and making garments and other items by hand.

    Anish Valluri, Junior at Woodbury Math and Science Academy

    Anish is passionate about spreading awareness for those in special education, and hopes to use his perspectives as a neurodivergent student to help change the stereotypes and issues that surround them.  He participates in First Tech Challenge, cross country, track, and is the captain of the chess team.

    Noah Yehalashet, Junior at Woodbury Math and Science Academy

    Noah has presented the students at his school and youth in my community through many of my experiences and is eager to offer his skills and background to serve and represent the youth of the 4th Congressional District.  He is Co-President of the Student Action Group, a Youth Researcher at SEARCH Institute and will be starting as a Student Member on the Board of Math and Science Academy this fall.

  • Congressional District 5
    Naomi Teshome, Junior at St. Anthony Village High School
    “My name is Naomi Teshome, I’m sixteen and I go to St.Anthony Village Highschool as a junior. I represent CD5 whilst being in the subcommittee Juvenile Justice. By serving on the youth council, my motive is to implement the voices of those at a disadvantage when it comes to their class, race, gender or overall identity. Institutions and systems are built off of the backs of those who are not even able to benefit from it, therefore it is our responsibility to provide resources, information and a say in creating and reviewing policies that target or affect marginalized groups. Representing the youth is a privilege and it is with great honor that I can dismantle patterns of oppression, even if it is within my own community or state-wide. Change is still change, it can never be too small of an act.”
    Sarah Ragoonanan, Junior at Hiawatha Collegiate High School Minneapolis
    “If I’m not educating people about the injustices in our state and country, I’m connecting my passion for social justice, climate change, and equality to my school work and continuing to use my voice in every way I can. Being a first generation Indo-Caribbean woman, I know what it’s like to be overlooked and pushed aside. I joined MYC to bring real representation to my community and speak up against the struggles that people like me know all too well. Bringing change is something I feel obligated to do and nothing would make me happier than making a difference so that in the future, youth of color can grow up without having to relive the same struggles as those before them. My determination and passion for those in my community will continue to push me to make this world a better place for my generation and those after them.”
    CharlieCharlie Schmit, Junior at Washburn High School Minneapolis

    At Washburn, Charlie participates in swimming, student council, site council, Model UN, and Integrate MPS (Minneapolis Public Schools). He has always been passionate about trying to improve the lives of other people, specifically in the process of making the Minneapolis school system more equal. He is also passionate about stopping the Line 3 oil pipeline which would cause mass pollution in Minnesota’s soil. This fall he is working as a city council campaign staffer and is looking towards a better policing system across the state. Lastly, he is passionate about the legalization of marijuana. He is very excited to be part of MYC!

    Luka Jacobi-Khron, Junior at Edina High School
    He believes that young people must be given a chance to talk about real issues that affect them as it brings about change. The decisions made in local and national legislatures will have a direct impact on young people’s lives and everyone around them. He has enjoyed working in the political field especially for local campaigns. He joined the MYC to make a positive difference in his district and community.
    Marsara Dunbar, Senior at Parnassus Preparatory School

    Marsara joined the MYC to be a voice for those that do not have an opportunity or feel comfortable enough to voice the frustrations and problems they are experiencing and facing on a day to day basis. Marsara is part of her school’s volleyball team and serves as a representative on the Hennepin County Library Youth Advisory Committee.  She is a strong advocate for education and racial equity, as well as mental health awareness & increasing resources for immigrants and other minorities.

  • Congressional District 6

    Annabelle Trombley, Freshman at Sartell High School

  • Congressional District 7

    Alya Nimis-Ibrahim, Senior at Bemidji High School

    Alya is captain of the Math League and FIRST Robotics Team at Bemidji High School. She is passionate about global social justice issues, including the role of the U.S. military and diplomacy in international disputes, having lived in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. She aims to participate in local and national advocacy and attended the ACLU High School Advocacy Institute during the summer of 2020. She is serving her third year on the Minnesota Youth Council in order to gain the skills to make a positive difference in her community.

  • Congressional District 8

    Azrianna Johnson, Sophomore at Cloquet High School

    Bio coming soon!

    Grace Swenson, Junior at Cromwell-Wright

    Grace is part of the Speech and One Act teams. She enjoys helping out in her community any way she can. She joined MYC to make a bigger and positive difference through the state of Minnesota.

     

    Trinity King, Junior at Cromwell-Wright

    Bio coming soon!

     

  • At Large Representatives

    Grace Van Voorst, Junior at Northfield Senior High School

    Grace says “Ever since I was young, advocacy and community service have been at the forefront of everything I do.”  She finds the most peace being in positions where she can use her voice and perspective to enact change.  Grace is on the Northfield Mayor’s Youth Council City and serves as the Public Relations Committee Chair, is a Northfield Youth Bank Board Member, is captain of the Mock Trial Varsity Opening Attorney and is a staff writer and editorial manager for Redefy.

    Nithin Palani, Sophomore at Eden Prairie High School

    As a Youth Representative, Nithin wants to bring in knowledge on the many diverse cultures in our state. He will listen to the many issues the youth in Minnesota are dealing with every day and use any means possible to help create a change. He is a member of the Eden Prairie Debate Team and is part of the Eden Prairie Speech team in the category extemporaneous speaking.

    Kiran Leonard, Junior at Stillwater Area High School

    Kiran’s grandparents taught him at a young age to always express his opinions to others, and allow them to then do the same.  Kiran is a member of his school’s Speech and Debate teams and is president of Stillwater’s Amnesty International Club.

     

    Mushtaq Hagi, Junior at Columbia Heights High School
    Mushtaq is a high school junior at Columbia Heights High School and joined the MYC because she loved how active it is within communities and how it thrives for change within Minnesota.  She is a member of her school’s student council and tries her best to get involved in her school!