About #PassTheMicYouth
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Collapse ▲About #PassTheMicYouth
#PassTheMicYouth is a multimedia Extension program that amplifies the voices and experiences of young people, shines a spotlight on youth-led civic and community engagement, and provides practitioners with resources for teaching social impact storytelling.
Storytelling Workshops & Showcases
We work with youth to build and showcase their stories. The aim of our storytelling workshops and showcases is to amplify and celebrate young people’s voices, stories, and ideas on a large platform with the ultimate goal of nurturing meaningful youth-led community collaboration and engagement.
While not affiliated with #PassTheMicYouth, Drs. Gonzalez and Byrd help organize an annual TEDxYouth event, which features youth from across the Triangle area. Learn more on the TEDxYouth@Chavis Way website.
Pass the Mic Camp
This week-long summer day camp empowers teens to create and share social impact stories. Throughout the week, campers will build community, develop leadership skills, and learn how to create an effective social impact story, culminating in a storytelling showcase. Each day includes a hands-on workshop with local professionals using various media, from spoken word to visual art to podcasting. Campers also have the chance to visit NC State University student centers and experience tastes of campus life.
Amplifying Youth Voices: A Storytelling for Social Change Curriculum
Amplifying Youth Voices is a youth-centered and co-created educational tool aimed at fostering informed leadership among young people. The 20 lessons are intended for young people ages 14+ to learn about the role storytelling plays in motivating social change and have the opportunity to develop and present their own social impact stories.
Amplifying Youth Voices will be available in 2025.
Youth Advocacy Summit
Our Youth Advocacy Summit is organized in partnership with the Town of Cary, Wake County 4-H, and a host of community partners. The annual event brings together youth from across the Triangle area to learn how they can make a positive impact on their schools, communities, and the world. You can learn more about the Youth Advocacy Summit here or by checking out this video.
Teaching Storytelling in Classrooms and Communities: Amplifying Student Voices and Inspiring Social Change
Storytelling is a powerful pedagogical tool for developing critical consciousness and amplifying students’ voices. In this informative, theoretically-grounded, and interactive book, educators will learn how to integrate various forms of storytelling—such as counter-narratives, digital storytelling, spoken word poetry, and podcasting—into their classroom. Aimed at youth-serving professionals and middle and high school teachers across disciplines, this book will also feature practical applications and strategies for implementation, including sample classroom activities and reflection exercises.
Teaching Storytelling in Classrooms and Communities will be published in June 2025. Learn more here.
Storytelling in Your Classroom & Community Organization
We work closely with schools and youth-serving organizations to bring storytelling to the young people. We can adapt our curriculum materials to fit a variety of settings, from after-school programs to core classes. We support educators in identifying key program goals and tailoring the lessons to meet specific needs. Whether it’s creating counter-narratives, developing leadership skills, or exploring community action, we make storytelling a dynamic tool for academic and personal growth.
If you are in the Research Triangle area and would like us to collaborate with your school or organization, please contact us to schedule a consultation.
Professional Development
We offer training workshops for educators, youth-serving staff, and community leaders to help them effectively incorporate storytelling techniques into their programs. Whether virtual or in-person, these workshops equip professionals with the tools to guide young people in developing their storytelling skills, fostering critical thinking, nurturing connection, and encouraging civic and community engagement. You’ll learn practical strategies for guiding young people in finding their voices and sharing their stories with broader audiences, whether in classrooms or through community platforms like TEDxYouth@ChavisWay.
Contact us to set up a workshop for your group and learn how storytelling can inspire social change while developing the confidence, creativity, and leadership of the youth you engage.
Critical Positive Youth Development
Our work is based on our model of Critical Positive Youth Development (CPYD). The goal of CPYD is to foment students’ leadership capacity in a strengths-based and supportive environment, ultimately driving youth-led community engagement and social change.
Our collaborative, youth-centered research uses CPYD to explore how storytelling supports young people’s self-efficacy, fosters connection and reflection, and increases students’ motivation to contribute to their schools and communities. We have published several articles about our curriculum and framework.
Contact us to learn more about our research and how you can participate.
Program Directors
Maru Gonzalez, Ed.D. (she/her/ella) is an Associate Professor, University Faculty Scholar, and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences. Dr. Gonzalez has over 15 years of experience working with youth in various capacities, including as an educator, researcher, intergroup dialogue facilitator, and school counselor. The experiences and stories of young people—both spoken and unspoken—motivate, inspire, and sustain her work in the area of youth development. In addition to her efforts domestically, she has collaborated with youth in Chile, Peru, Spain and the Dominican Republic on initiatives aimed at cultivating more supportive and welcoming schools and communities. Dr. Gonzalez is co-author of Teaching Storytelling in Classrooms & Communities: Amplifying Student Voices and Inspiring Social Change.
Christy Byrd, Ph.D. grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Agnes Scott College and a masters degree in psychology and PhD in education and psychology from the University of Michigan. Her work has multiple threads, all aimed at empowering young people and fostering inclusive environments. Her primary research examines how students make sense of race and culture in their school environments and shows that inclusive educational environments can bolster motivation, a sense of belonging, and academic success. She also works toward understanding how students develop their knowledge and motivation for addressing systemic inequalities in society and helps young people tell stories that raise awareness and inspire positive change.
Curriculum Consultants
Michael Kokozos earned a Ph.D. in Education, Culture & Society from the University of Pennsylvania; he also earned a B.A. and a Masters with an international studies focus from New York University. He loves to travel and has lived in Turkey, Greece, and Canada. His research focuses on inclusion in educational contexts and prejudice reduction. His leadership focuses on collaborating with youth on global leadership and social activism. He currently teaches IB Global Politics in Miami, Florida.
Katie McKee, Ph.D. teaches courses in leadership development and advises undergraduate students. She is a Co-coordinator of the Leadership & Social Justice Program in the College of Agriculture and is a Project SAFE Ally. Katie loves discussions about issues of justice and access, teaching methods and curricula for leadership, and 90s music. She’s a reviewer for the Journal of Leadership Education because she loves seeing what other people are studying. Katie is partner to Jonathan and favorite human/carrot lady to Phineas (the wonder horse).
Partners
Wake County 4-H
4-H is the world’s largest youth serving organization. Our Wake County partners host Pass the Mic Camp and play a core role in TEDxYouth@ChavisWay.
Alliance Health
Alliance is the managed care organization, or MCO, for public behavioral healthcare for the citizens of Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties in North Carolina. Staff from Alliance are part of our core planning team for TEDxYouth@ChavisWay.