Provides a "hands on" opportunity for high school students to learn about the different branches of government and how to have a voice in democracy.

Committee co-chairs:

Wendy Miller
wendymiller@comcast.net

Kevin White
kwhite@hunton.com

Community Planning Committee Leader: 

Scot Clinton (Asst. Attorney General-Consumer Protection & Public Health Div., Texas A.G.'s Office-Houston)

Teen Civic Leadership Academy 2008

OCTOBER 7 (8:45 AM - 2 PM)

"Host School" Location:  High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice

For registration information for potential teen participants or to join TCLA committee in HYLA, please send an interest email to wendymiller@comcast.net.

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Press Release:  November 1, 2008

Teen Civic Leadership Academy 2008

HYLA’s third annual Teen Civic Leadership Academy [TCLA] happened in October. The location school host for the 150 teens from four Houston-area schools attending TCLA 2008 was the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice. 

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Teen Civic Leadership Academy 2007

Houston Young Lawyers Association’s second annual Teen Civic Leadership Academy took place on “Law Day” on May 1^st at the University of Houston Law Center. Teen Civic Leadership Academy 2007 (TCLA) hosted fifty teenage participants and gave local leaders and the legal community a chance to interact with Houston-area high school students. 

TCLA is an annual Law Day-themed event hosted by HYLA and is designed to raise responsibility awareness and the value of civic leadership in "Tomorrow's Leaders."  The event included breakfast, snacks, and lunch for the participants and volunteers. The lunch sponsor for 2007 is Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP of Houston. 

TCLA in 2007 also received a public service grant from the American Bar Association Fund for Justice and Education through the ABA Young Lawyers Division for $1,100 to help support the event. ABA/YLD subgrants provide funding for public service projects involving either pro bono delivery of legal services or other law-related service to the community. Judging for the competitive grant program is based on the submission of well-developed proposals that show a need for the project and the potential to make an impact in the community.

TCLA organizers were delighted to discover that the basic purposes underlying the concept of TCLA work beautifully with the Law Day theme chosen in 2007 -- “Liberty Under Law: Empowering Youth, Assuring Democracy”. From the ABA Law Day website (www.lawday.org): “The 2007 Law Day theme prompts us to listen to the voices of young people and consider how the law can better serve their needs and interests. It also encourages us to assure that our youth are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively make their voices heard within our democracy.”

With a focus on the value of public service to a community, TCLA strives to help Houston teens become aware of civic responsibility and to develop necessary tools of civic leadership.  As the TCLA participants throughout the day "role-play" as leaders of the three branches of government in Legislative, Judicial, and Executive teams, the teens work under the guidance of actual Houston community leaders.  

Houston leaders guiding the 2007 TCLA included:  Kevin White, Attorney-Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Scot Clinton, Assistant Attorney General-Consumer Protection & Public Health Division, Texas Attorney General's Office-Houston Regional Office; Joe Porto, Asst. United States Attorney/PSN Coordinator & ATAC/LEAP Administrator; Nancy Price, Greenspoint Teen Court Coordinator; Rogene Gee Calvert, Director-Mayor’s Youth Council/Teen Task Force; Maida Asofsky, Houston Regional Director-ACLU; Bruce Menke, Attorney-political activist and member of the Houston ACLU Legal Panel; Henry Flores, Attorney-Haynes and Boone LLP; Bernadette Blanco, Milby High School-teacher; Helen Lee, High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice; Kimberly G. Burke, Associate Compliance Officer-AIG/American General; Yvonne Knesek-Flotz, Sr. Attorney-Barrett, Burke, Wilson, Castle, Daffin & Frappier, LLP; Richard Alderman, People's Law School/UH Law Associate Dean; law student volunteers from the Public Interest Law Organization; and Wendy Miller, Attorney and HYLA TCLA Chair.  The program also incorporated the “They Had a Dream Too” video from the Texas Young Lawyers Association, the “Choose Law” program from the American Bar Association-Young Lawyer Division, and the “Money Wise” program produced by the State Bar of Texas’ Bankruptcy section. 

A primary objective of the TCLA is not only for participants to learn how to identify the needs of a community but to also design and implement creative solutions to meet those needs.  TCLA participants increase their knowledge of civic leadership and gain a practical understanding of what it means to be a leader in a government of separate powers (three branches). Workshop projects for 2007 focused on the possible need to re-draft a particular statute in Texas. After a debate with all workshop groups participating, the Legislative branch teams rewrote the bill using the debate suggestions. The Executive branch team created and presented a seven-minute public service announcement explaining why Texas needs to change the statute. And presentations from the five Judicial branch teams each offered ways that teen volunteers could expand and become active in the American Civil Liberties Union.        

Every teen participant received a TCLA completion medal and a TCLA 2007 shirt. Three student leaders based on performance evaluations in the branch workshops were named as Outstanding Teen Civic Leaders -- Executive Branch (Leopoldo Ponce from Milby HS), Judicial Branch (Jessica Hodge from Eisenhower HS), and Legislative Branch (Cesalie Herrero from Milby HS). 

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Teen Civic Leadership Academy 2006 

Houston Young Lawyers Association’s first annual Teen Civic Leadership Academy took place during the 2006 Law Day week activities on May 2^nd at the University of Houston Law Center. Teen Civic Leadership Academy 2006 (TCLA) hosted seventy-five teenage participants and gave local leaders and the legal community a chance to interact with Houston-area high school students. 

TCLA is designed to raise responsibility awareness and the value of civic leadership in "Tomorrow's Leaders."  HYLA, in association with the Houston Association of Counsel for Children and the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center, were the primary hosts of this year’s TCLA.  The event included breakfast, snacks, and lunch for the participants and volunteers and was generously made possible this year by a grant from the Houston Young Lawyers Foundation.

With a focus on the value of public service to a community, TCLA strives to help Houston teens become aware of civic responsibility and to develop necessary tools of civic leadership.  As the TCLA participants throughout the day "role-play" as leaders of the three branches of government in Legislative, Judicial, and Executive teams, the teens work under the guidance of actual Houston community leaders.  

Houston leaders guiding the 2006 TCLA were:  Dominique Varner, HYLA President 2006-2007; Wendy Miller, HYLA TCLA creator/chair 2006-2007; Kim Diepraam, HYLA-Executive Director; Malikah Marrus, Southwest Juvenile Defender Center-Executive Director; Stacey Mathews, SWJDC Attorney/2005 Equal Justice Works Fellow; Lisa Reed, City of Hedwig Village Teen Court-Coordinator; Belinda Smith-Assistant District Attorney's office (and intern-Michael Breteler); Andre Rodriquez, Milby High School-teacher; Richard Alderman, People's Law School/People's Lawyer; and law student volunteers from the Houston Association of Counsel for Children and UH Law-Juvenile Defense clinic.  The program also incorporated educational videos from the State Bar of Texas (Tammi Sweet-Communications). 

A primary objective of the TCLA is not only for participants to learn how to identify the needs of a community but to also design and implement creative solutions to meet those needs.  TCLA participants increase their knowledge of civic leadership and gain a practical understanding of what it means to be a leader in a government of separate powers (three branches). Workshop projects for 2006 focused on the need to re-draft the Animal Cruelty statute in Texas (Penal code section 42.09). The Legislative branch teams rewrote the bill adjusting the punishment scale and adding the requisite changes to close loopholes in the statute in order to provide protection for Texas animals. The Executive branch team created and presented a seven-minute public service announcement explaining why Texas needs to change the statute. And presentations from the five Judicial branch teams each offered ways that teen volunteers could expand and become active in the Houston Humane Society’s animal cruelty investigation team R.A.I.D.E.R. (Rescuing Animals In Danger and Education Resources).        

Every teen participant received a TCLA completion medal and an ABA Law Day 2006 shirt.  One outstanding overall TCLA participant, Elizabeth Delgado (Milby HS), received a scholarship of $400 to attend this summer's National Youth Leadership Training in Sandstone, MN (courtesy of Angie Martínez, National Youth Initiatives Coordinator).  Three student leaders based on performance evaluations in the branch workshops were named as Outstanding Teen Civic Leaders -- Executive Branch (Taylor Green from Memorial HS), Judicial Branch (Christina Perez from Milby HS), and Legislative Branch (Scott Hyde from Memorial HS).  TCLA Outstanding Leaders received invitations and attended the annual Law Day Luncheon on May 5, 2006. HYLA also made a law-related book donation to the school libraries of Memorial HS and Milby HS.

TCLA is developed by HYLA to be an annual Law Day-themed event. TCLA recently received a Public Service grant for $1,100 from the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division to help support the event in 2007. ABA/YLD subgrants provide funding for public service projects involving either pro bono delivery of legal services or other law-related service to the community. Approximately $36,000 was available for distribution in the 2006-2007 Public Service subgrant program with a maximum limit of $2,000 per grant. Judging for the program is based on the submission of well-developed proposals that show a need for the project and the potential to make an impact in the community.

For registration information for potential teenage participants or joining the TCLA committee in HYLA, please contact the committee co-chair at wendymiller@comcast.net.