5:30 pm – 6:35 PM PST Online November 21, 2026
This online event is for youth by youth with students attending from throughout California, as well as from over 100 countries throughout the world. All of the panel topics and questions were selected by youth and young professionals. Attendees of all ages are welcome.
Building effective relationships
1AI's Role in Schools
3Inclusive and equitable education
2The Pros and Cons
42026 California Youth Leadership Summit
Online panelists will include youth (high school and college students) participating from the State of California, as well as from countries where California’s 356 sister cities around the world are located. There is no charge to attend.Â
California & international high school & college student 14-member panel. Brought to you by The Akademeia 21st CenturyÂ
Art Awards, KOTODAMA Presentation, Sister Cities Awards, L.A.-Nagoya Day 65th Anniversary
California & international high school & college student 14-member panel. Brought to you by The Akademeia 21st CenturyÂ
Sister City Awards & KOTODAMA Presentation
California & international high school & college student 14-member panel. Brought to you by The Akademeia 21st CenturyÂ
Sister City Awards, Animated Short Film & KOTODAMA Presentation
California & international high school & college student 14-member panel. Brought to you by The Akademeia 21st CenturyÂ
2025 California Youth Leadership Summit High School Co-Chair (Canyon Crest Academy)
Ava Khossravi is a student at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, California. She is driven by a deep commitment to fostering positive change. As the President of an Environmental Science Club and Co-President of Biology Club, she inspires peers to engage in exploring innovative solutions. Ava enjoys discussing various topics, especially quality education for all. In her role as High School Co-Chair of the California Youth Leadership Summit, she aims to bring together young leaders from across the globe to collaborate and drive transformative change.
2025 California Youth Leadership Summit High School Co-Chair (University City High School)
My name is Sadie Wheeler, a sophomore at University City High School in San Diego. I am passionate about advocating for positive change in my community and engaging in meaningful discussions. I was the captain of my JV cheer team and the vice president of my class for the past two years. Currently, I am focusing on growing my club "Social Change Club" so we can continue to make small differences in our school and city. In the future, I hope to pursue a career in being a social justice lawyer and work in the government.
2025 California Youth Leadership Summit College Chair (Harvard University: San Diego, CA)
Name: Emily Khossravi School: Canyon Crest Academy City: San Diego, CA
2024 California Youth Leadership Summit College Chair (University of California, Berkeley)
Name: Aiden Park
School: University of California, Berkeley
City: Bakersfield, California
2024 California Youth Leadership Summit High School Chair (South High School, Torrance)
Name: Olivia Manning
School Name: South High School
City: Torrance, CA
2022/2023 California Youth Leadership Summit College Chair (University of California, Berkeley)
Lori Nalbandian is the California Youth Leadership Summit College Chair. Lori is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley studying Public Health with an emphasis on Leadership in Community Health. She strives to use her knowledge and skills to generate sustainable solutions to increase health literacy and combat health inequities. Lori is a Campus Ambassador for UC Berkeley, Cal Armenian Student Association member, UC Rally Committee member, and a federal work-study student at the Berkeley School of Public Health. Outside of school, Lori’s interests include traveling, listening to music, discovering eateries, volunteering, and spending time with family and friends.
2022/2023 California Youth Leadership Summit High School Chair (Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences, Santa Monica)
Meaza Light-Orr is a senior at Crossroads School for the Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica. Meazi is an avid reader, equestrian, and lover of knitting, crocheting, and all things arts and crafts. Issues that she is passionate about and worked actively on are education equity and diversity of thought in change-making dialogue. In her pursuit of increasing education equity and access, she hosted an art auction, raising over $120,000 to build a middle school in her rural birth village of Kololo, Ethiopia. Additionally, she spent a semester in Washington D.C. writing writing policy recommendations presented at the Department of State and speaking with many leaders in a variety of different fields about their varying careers and the responsibilities of ethical leadership and commitment to integrity. She is invested in the communities she is a part of and is excited to further engage in actionable change and dialogue in her second time at the California Youth Leadership Summit.
2021 California Youth Leadership Summit College Chair (Stanford University)
Steven Trinh is a Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter Young Professional and the California Youth Leadership Summit College Chair. Steven is a junior at Stanford University studying Product Design. He strives to use his skills and knowledge in design engineering to develop impactful solutions for problems that hurt lower socio-economic communities. Outside of school, Steven’s interests include basketball, hip hop, fashion, and sneakers. Steven’s involvement in Sister Cities began in the summer of 2016, when he served as a student ambassador to the Anaheim-Mito sister city exchange program. In the following summers, he has hosted Japanese students in this same program, where he has developed many meaningful relationships that last to this day.
2021 California Youth Leadership Summit High School Chair (Orange Lutheran High School)
Maya Al-Jamie is a Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter Youth Ambassador and the California Youth Leadership Summit High School Chair. Through her involvement as a SoCal Sister Cities Youth Ambassador and a volunteer helping to host students from overseas as well as guide students from California on a tour of Tokyo, Maya was inspired to volunteer for the California Youth Leadership Summit. Maya is currently a junior at Orange Lutheran High School. Prior to the pandemic, she played on the Villa Park High School water polo and swim team as well as participated on the mock trial team as an expert witness. Currently, she is the President of the Orange County, California Chapter of High School Democrats of America and the Vice President of the Orange/Anaheim Chapter of Dear Asian Youth. Her plans for the future are to study neuroscience and women’s studies on a pre-med track. After college, she plans on attending medical school to become an OB-GYN and help give women of color and lower socioeconomic status access to better quality health care.
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2021-2023 Supporters & Endorsements. 2026 list TBA.
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