Who We Are                                                                      

Founded in 1988, UNYA currently has 21 programs and serves over 6,000 youth each year.  We have 190 partnerships, manage a $4.5 million yearly budget, and are the lead Aboriginal youth agency in Vancouver.  Youth, community organizations, and funders all recognize the need for us to consolidate and expand upon our programs in order to better meet the needs of youth so that they can gain the educational, training, employment, and lifeskills that will help them to reach their full potential.  To find out more about UNYA, click here.

We are recognized for our high level of youth involvement and consultation.  We believe this is what is key to the success of our programs.  Youth will continue to be involved at every stage of the NYC's development, including on all committees and on our Board of Directors.  UNYA is fortunate to have a talented team of individuals who are donating their time to ensure the success of the NYC.  Without their commitment and expertise, we would not be where we are today.  Thank you all for your continued support of Native youth!

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has final decision-making responsibility for all committees.  While they delegate some authority to the Committees to make day-to-day decisions, they take their responsibility seriously and make sure to understand what the implications of decisions are on the overall organization, now and in the future.
 

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee is comprised of youth and representatives from the Board of Directors, UNYA Senior Staff, the City of Vancouver, the Province of BC and the Government of Canada.  They have been active since the beginning of this project and have been instrumental in ensuring UNYA is proactive in its approach and aware of external initiatives and decisions that may either positively or negatively impact the project.  They have provided overall advice to the project teams as needed.
 

Capital Campaign Committee

The Capital Campaign Committee is responsible for raising the funds needed to build the Native Youth Centre.  The committee is comprised of youth, Board Members, UNYA Senior Staff and individual community members.  They are very helpful in directing the overall capital campaign, providing advice and recommendations, identifying potential contributors, and helping to review proposals.
 

Patrons

We are honoured to have nine distinguished individuals join us in our journey of building the NYC.  Because these high-profile individuals recognize the importance of this initiative, they have loaned their names in support of the Native Youth Centre to help raise its public profile and assist the project in obtaining additional support.  Our Project Patrons are Dr. Evan Adams, Adam Beach, Thomas Berger, Dr. Martin Brokenleg, Lee Maracle, Chief Leonard George, Peter Mansbridge, Terry David Mulligan, and James Taras.  To see thier bios, click here.