Youth Advisory Board Begins Fifth Year of Service

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As the circle of teenagers grew wider and wider, so did their discussion and range of ideas.  On September 15, 2011, the Teaneck Youth Advisory Board (YAB) held its annual kick off meeting.

Distinguishing their fifth year of consecutive service to the Township, the Board welcomed nine new teenage members and welcomed back twenty returning members.  As Town Councilmember Lizette Parker, the Boards liaison, initiated the dialogue and encouraged the teens to stay active in the community, words of encouragement were also well received from Councilmember Barbara Toffler, Board of Education President, Ardie Walser and BOE members Margot Fisher, Sebastian Rodriguez and Howard Rose.  YAB Adult Advisors Keisha Mclean and Scott Pleasants also provided support.

The meeting included upcoming activities; new ideas that the youth would like to bring to the attention of their elected officials and was highlighted by the selection of the new YAB executive board.  Former Chairperson Michael Pleasants facilitated the voting as several members vied for these positions.  Ashley Edwards was selected the new Chairperson, Isaac Rappoport, Co-Chair, Eric Tepper and Khaliya Legette, Co-Vice Chairs, Leora Margelovich, the Sergeant at Arms and Alex Gomez, Board Secretary.

This years Youth Advisory Board is comprised of students from Teaneck High School, Torah Academy, Immaculate Heart Academy, Bergen County Academies, The Frisch School, Saint Joseph Regional High School, and Bergen County Technical High School.  The teenagers have a full slate of action items as they continue their efforts to bridge the gap between Teaneck’s township officials and the youth of the community.