Florida Youth Council
The Florida Youth Council, part of the National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD/Y) is supported by a partnership between the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities and the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. It is made up of a diverse group of young leaders with disabilities throughout the state.
The Florida Youth Council is comprised of fifteen youth (age 15-17) and emerging leaders (age 18-30), and represent a balanced, culturally diverse membership, representing a variety of disabilities and locations across the state. Council Members may have a varying level of experience in youth development activities (disability related, or non-disability related) on the local, state, and national level.
FYC members are trained in the Guideposts for Success and the five areas of youth development/youth leadership (learning, connecting, thriving, working, and leading) to empower them to create policy change on a local and state level. FYC members are from throughout the state and each comes with a different level of involvement in leadership development activities on the state and local level and inside and outside of the disability community.
The Florida Youth Council is actively working on having two weeks in the month of October dedicated as Disability History and Awareness Weeks to teach the history and culture of people with disabilities to students in K-12 public schools across the state.
Florida Youth Council: Members
Matthew Boselli, Alex Brown, John Thomas ((J.T.) Davis, Carly Fahey,,Danielle McGill, Coury Knowles, Casey O’Halloran
Florida Youth Council: Bios
Matthew Boselli
Age: 23
Location: New Port Richey
School/Employer: PHCC/ Publix
Interests: I am interested in sports,animals, entertainment-to include movies,music,etc.
What does it mean to you to be a leader?: To be a leader to me means to feel important, I can help others like myself with a disability overcome fear of being different and fitting into society and lead a productive life and hopefully become independent.
What’s different/unique about being a leader with a disability?: Being a leader with a disability is challenging to me not only for me but for the group involved. I like the unique ideas that we discuss at our group meetings and how we help each other out. This is not an easy task for us but we live everyday with our own disability and that is the hardest thing of all for me.
Something that You’re Good At: I am really good with people- I catch their attention, they catch mine. I enjoy learning about their lives, sharing past experiences and gaining knowledge through conversation.
Something that You Want to Learn: I want to learn more math, to be able to use it and understand it.
What is your leadership goal?: My leadership goal is to have our voices heard in Tallahassee- another goal would be not be afraid of what other think about us, let us shine, let us achieve, give us a chance!!!
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Alex Brown
Age: 18
Location: Monticello, Fl
School/Employer: Tallahassee Community College/ Agency for Persons with Disabilities
Interests: I enjoy playing role-playing games, and reading fantasy novels. I like to bowl and am very involved in my church.
What does it mean to you to be a leader?: To me a leader is the person who is willing, no matter the risk, step out and blaze a new path. Leaders have to be willing to accept the responsibility for their actions. No one will follow someone who doesn’t do anything. A leader leads by his action as well as his words.
What’s different/unique about being a leader with a disability?: What makes being a leader with a disability unique is they not only have the responsibilities that every other leader has, but they also the limitation that their disabilities place on them.
Something that You’re Good At: I am good at giving speeches
Something that You Want to Learn: I want to learn how to more effectively edit my own writings
What is your leadership goal?: My leadership goal is to work on getting those who either follow me or those who are fellow leader more involved in what I am trying to accomplish. I can’t win many battles on my own. I need their help, but a lot of times I have the mentality that have to do it alone.
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(J.T.) John Thomas Davis
Age: 20
Location: Taylor County FL
School/Employer: North Florida Community College
Interests: History and History of civil war, Volunteering, Advocacy for Students with Disabilities
What does it mean to you to be a leader? To take charge and be able to make things for the better of the people of the community and the state.
What’s different/unique about being a leader with a disability? You have to work harder than others and you know how to treat other people. You are more aware of disabilities and are more willing to help others due to their disabilities.
Something that You’re Good At: Being an Advocate for student with disabilities
Something that You Want to Learn: How to grow as a greater advocate for people with disabilities.
What is your leadership goal?: To make a difference in our state for students with disabilities.
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Carly Fahey
Age: 16
Location: Tallahassee, Fl
School/Employer: Leon High School
Interests: Movies, Music, Shopping, Current Events
What does it mean to you to be a leader?: Being a leader has been eye opening and very meaningful to me. Leadership brought me a tremendous amount of experience in life. It helped me realize that I can achieve anything I set my mind to, that’s not something you can learn in any classroom. It means a great deal to me to be able to share my perspective with other people and it is to me to be able to be seen by adults as not just a kid or another average teenager.
What’s different/unique about being a leader with a disability?: I think experiences with any kind of disability often builds character. Every leader with a disability has something different to bring to the table, regarding their challenges that they have faced or conquered. I think that a lot of times leaders with a disability learn not to take many things for granted, because you know that some things don’t come as easily as others in life.
Something that You’re Good at: playing the Flute
Something that You Want to Learn: How to sail
What is your leadership goal?: to make a significant change for the better for all individuals with disabilities.
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Coury Knowles
Age: 29
Location: Altamonte Springs, Florida
School/Employer: Seminole County Public Schools, Sanford, Florida-Teacher, Specially Designed PE and Varsity Baseball Coach at Lake Brantley High School
University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida-Doctoral Candidate in Curriculum and Instruction/Educational Leadership, Dissertation Topic: Is there a correlation between FCAT scores and Athletic Success? Defend/Graduate in the spring 2007.University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida-Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Sciences (May, 1999) & Master of Exercise and Sport Sciences (May, 2001)
Interests:
General: Sports, especially College Football, Basketball, and Baseball; Watching the Gators Play & Movies; Listening to music; Working out/running/swimming; Hanging out with friends/family.
Music: My favorite is country, but I listen to all types depending the mood/situation I am involved.
Movies: Top Gun, Rocky Series, Goonies, Rudy, Eight Below, Big, Jerry McGuire to name a few.
Television: ER, 7th Heaven, Cold Case to name a few.
Books: Anything that deals with my dissertation, coaching and physical education, especially bios of famous coaches like Vince Lombardi.
What does it mean to you to be a leader?:
A leader has “the ability to get work done with and through others, while at the same time winning their confidence, respect, loyalty and willing cooperation” (Palmer, 2004, p. 1).
Reference:
Palmer, S. (2004). Leadership styles and problem solving. Retrieved
October 11th, 2004 from http://www.deakin.edu.au/~spalm/srp70733.html
What’s different/unique about being a leader with a disability?: To be a leader with a disability, a person must fully accept his or her disability as a unique part of themselves. Without this acceptance, it’s difficult for others to follow. This leader must have a high-level of self-esteem. Remember though, self-esteem levels fluctuate for everyone. If a person is in their comfort zone or in their routine, they are usually confident in their abilities to complete a task. On the other hand, if a situation is new or unfamiliar, a person's self-esteem level may drop. The key is to do your best at the task(s) at hand (i.e. school work).
In the end, a leader with a disability has the responsibility to teach others about their differences. How people perceive these differences is their own responsibility. A leader has no control over it. As long as he or she acts as a confident, respectful, and loyal person, others will follow.
Something that You’re Good At: I categorize my strengths by the following:
1. The support from my family and friends;
2. The self-sustaining discipline they taught me at an early age;
3. My ability to focus on chosen goals.
I am in sync with my limitations. I have trained and completed 5 5k road races as well as a 10k road race in Winter Park, FL this past March. After my third strength listed above, my list probably looks like that of most young men my age.
In short, my work ethic, desire, determination, and focus have gotten me where I want to be (a coach and soon to a doctor)!
Something that You Want to Learn: I want to be more knowledgeable about the internal working of automobiles. I do not want to necessarily do my auto work myself; I just want to understand a mechanic’s language better.
What is your leadership goal?: I aspire to become a head baseball coach at the high school or collegiate level and/or an athletic director. However, I may want to move into public school administration (either at the school level, at the county level, at the state level, or at national level). Later in my career, I may want to be a professor at a University where I can teach adults who desire to become coaches themselves.
After completion of my Doctorate of Education degree (Ed.D.), I will make some decisions to figure out which path to follow. I feel blessed to have options. Thank you.
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Danielle McGill
Age: 18 years
Location: Pembroke Pines, Florida
School/Employer: Miami-Dade College
Interests: Writing poetry, karate, music ministry at church, creating advocacy awareness in high schools, and helping people.
What does it mean to you to be a leader?: A leader is someone that motives others to reach their goals and dreams in life. I don’t see myself as a leader, I see myself as a person that wants to make a difference through action not, just words. I am an example, for people with my disability and being example will show others, that nothing is impossible.
What’s different/unique about being a leader with a disability?: Being an advocate with disability for others is challenging, but rewarding at same time. At times it’s difficult because when you first start out, most people will not take you seriously. I have faced all different types of people, but the most important thing, is to know that we all have feelings. We are all human and being a leader you have to learn how to respect others opinions as well as ideas. This would be at your work place, college, and home environment. A leader with a disability you have to take action in your own life, before you can help someone else.
Something that You’re Good At: Helping people as much as I can and organizing ideas.
Something that You Want to Learn: to communicate with others in different ways so, I may reach out to others with all different types of needs.
What is your leadership goal?: My leadership goal is to create an organization for all types of disabilities to educate parents and students about awareness, for all states in the USA.
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Casey O’Halloran
Age: 25 years old
Location: North Myers, Florida
School/Employer: Lee County Court House
Interests: During my free time, I am an assistant Scout Master, and I work out at the gym. I write poetry and country songs. I have a mom an dad, two brothers, a sister-in-law, two loving nieces, and a nana. We get together for pizza nights and lots of other occasions
Something that You’re Good At: I do not drive a car. But I know how to use the bus system, so I can travel by myself to work and to do fun things like go to the mall
What is your leadership goal?: I am the CEO of Casey Enterprises which is a micro enterprise dedicated to presenting information about being independent. I give seminars, I have made a video and give technical help to people with disabilities, their families, friends and care givers.Recently, I was appointed by President George Bush to the President’s Committee for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
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Florida Youth Council attends and presents at the Family Café Conference, Orlando, FL
As part of NCLD/Youth’s work in developing leaders with disabilities to create national, state, and local policy change, the members of the Florida Youth Council got to present at the Family Café conference, a large parent/family/consumer centered conference with over 9000 participants. In their board meeting, they’re looking to create Disability History and Awareness Weeks, in October, for all students in K-12 public schools to learn about the history of the disability rights movement and gain an understanding of disability as a natural part of life, and people with disabilities as people first. The pictures below show their meeting with Governor Jeb Bush, who has agreed to issue an executive order supporting the initiative and he promised to help them find sponsors for the bill upon leaving office.
| FYC @ Family Café conference |
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