The Young Leaders Council (YLC) was founded in 1985 by the Council of Community Services, in partnership with the Frist Foundation (formerly the HCA Foundation) and the United Way, to address an emerging and immediate need to broaden and strengthen Nashville’s volunteer leadership base.

YLC’s programming consists of a series of eleven interactive training sessions, which address fundamental board skills. Each session is facilitated by an industry expert and reflects on success indicators such as collaboration, diversity and the role of catalyst deemed crucial for today’s nonprofit leadership roles. The training is followed by the completion of a one-year internship with a nonprofit community organization. During the internship, the YLC participant will serve as a non-voting member of the organization’s working board.

Participants are between 25 and 40 years of age and represent a broad range of corporate, civic, and volunteer backgrounds. Participants may be nominated by YLC alumni, their company’s management or may be self-nominated with management’s recommendation. 

Additional opportunities to support and stay connected to the organization and other YLC alumni are also available.