Empowering Young Voices: Building a More Youth-Led Board

Eve Willis, one of our Young Trustees, reflects on Sheffield Futures’ ongoing commitment to increasing youth representation on our board and how connecting with the Young Trustees Movement has supported our efforts to strengthen youth voice in governance.

In a trustee board meeting in early 2024, the board discussed at length our desire to recruit new trustees. In this discussion, we also considered the representation of young people on the board as part of our wider conversation about board diversity. After the meeting I began researching ways we may be able to increase youth representation on our board. This led me to discover the Young Trustees Movement (YTM) which is a national initiative working to ensure that boards are more inclusive of young people under 30. 

I joined one of YTM’s Champion Training webinars, which provided valuable insight into the benefits and challenges of increasing youth involvement in governance. The webinar brought together a diverse group of people including leaders of organisations interested in introducing youth representation on their boards, young people aspiring to become trustees, and myself. I was in a unique position as an existing young trustee, attending on behalf of the organisation to learn more about what we could do to strengthen our youth engagement and what YTM has to offer. 

Many of the tips and practices shared during the session aligned closely with our existing approach which reassured me that Sheffield Futures was already making good progress in embedding youth voice within our governance structure. However, the session did highlight a key message that while there is no shortage of young people wanting to become trustees, the challenge really lies in organisations actively opening their doors to them, and in our case, continuing to keep the door open and proactively aiming to increase our youth board representation. 

Following this, I helped initiate communication between our then-CEO and YTM’s CEO, who expressed interest in learning more about the work we are doing to strengthen youth leadership. Through each communication I have had with the YTM it is very clear how strong their vision and passion is to build a national network of young trustees, offering peer support and development opportunities. This is something that myself and SF, immediately saw great potential in connecting with as we continue to expand youth involvement on our board, especially as our service users are young people themselves and it may prove useful to them too! 

In the meantime, while we were organising the leadership meeting with YTM, I also signed up for and completed their Model Boardroom Series. It is an interactive online programme that simulates real-life boardroom scenarios. Even though it is primarily aimed at those who want to learn what a board room is like and have no prior experience of what it may entail, this experience allowed me to reflect on what our own boardroom dynamic looks like and how it might appear to prospective new young trustees. It reinforced the importance of creating a welcoming, open, and empowering environment for young voices to be heard and valued. 

After the leadership meeting took place, I met with our other current SF young trustee and our then-CEO to discuss our shared vision for a more youth-led organisation. We acknowledged that continuing our youth representation would take time and considerable effort, but we agreed that it should not diminish our ambition. The Young Trustees Movement were extremely supportive of our plans and invited our upcoming new young trustee (Tilly) and me to write a blog about our experiences and goals for their website, which we said we would be were delighted to do. 

In March 2025, I was invited to be a panellist at YTM’s Community Café, a free online event designed by and for young trustees. The session included a lively Q&A, networking opportunities, and discussions about how to make governance more accessible. It was an energising space to share my experiences, learn from others, and encourage more young people to step into leadership roles. There are some clips from the Community Café posted on YTM’s LinkedIn here: 1 and 2.  

Building on this, in May 2025, YTM published my blog post, “More Than the Future: Young People Leading Now”, where I shared my journey to becoming a trustee and explored why young people should be seen not as tomorrow’s leaders, but as today’s - the blog can be found here. 

Looking ahead, I am excited for Sheffield Futures to continue its collaboration with the Young Trustees Movement. I have found that their network provides a fantastic platform for both recruiting passionate young trustees and supporting them through opportunities like the Model Boardroom Series and community spaces where they can connect with peers. 

Our continued relationship with YTM will not only strengthen youth involvement at Sheffield Futures but also ensure that young people remain at the heart of the organisation’s governance being able to shape decisions that impact their lives.