The Collaborative Stakeholder Committee voted to add two youth seats to the committee roster and welcomed the first cohort of Richmond Rising Youth Fellows. The motion to add two seats was moved from the floor and passed by roll call with no dissent recorded.

Gabby, the Richmond Rising youth fellow project manager, introduced the cohort and said the fellows will attend committee meetings, support outreach and participate in training and projects through the duration of the grant. New fellows introduced themselves in person and described goals including community engagement, leadership development and public-speaking skills. Montserrat, one of the fellows and a senior at Richmond High, said she joined to deepen community involvement beyond school activities.

Project staff said the youth fellows program will be available to request by project leads starting in May using a form that will capture details such as number of fellows requested and dress code for events. Committee members discussed whether to expand the number of youth seats beyond the two established in the memorandum of understanding; the committee approved adding two youth seats and will include youth applicants for committee membership on a future agenda for formal selection.

The meeting included a roll call-style vote; staff said the committee will consider applications for the open youth seat(s) at the next meeting.