By Crystal Harrell
Angel Light Academy (ALA), a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to teaching leadership to youth and adults, held their 26th annual Youth Leadership Conference on March 1-2 at Rancho Mirage High School.
ALA trained young leaders at the conference who are inspired to learn about leadership and strengthen their social-emotional well-being. The program focused on essential leadership traits, effective communication, life and social skills, problem solving and substance abuse prevention—placing a special emphasis on the dangers of fentanyl use and overdose. Through interactive workshops, skits, games and mentorship, ALA trains youth to develop confidence, and the tools needed to thrive at home, in school, and within their community. Service is a key focal point of ALA’s teachings and youth who attended the conference earned 12 service hours for their participation.
“Today’s youth are facing unprecedented problems. Our goal at Angel Light Academy is to build a strong leadership foundation in these kids, that will give them “Hope for the Future”. We believe everyone has innate leadership abilities and the conference is about developing those abilities, becoming problem solvers and learning the importance of giving back to the community through selfless service,” stated Tracy Foley, Event Chair and Youth Program Director at ALA.
This was the first year that the Youth Leadership Conference was held at Rancho Mirage High School, with the aim of reaching more of the western Coachella Valley.
“It’s our first year here in Rancho Mirage. So it’s a big move for us, but we’re very excited. We’re really trying to expand into the whole valley. We’ve been in Indio for the past 16 years at Van Buren Elementary. This year, we’ve had so many requests from different cities to have our program. We’re working really well with Rancho Mirage High School. Assistant Principal Dr. Omier has been fantastic and everybody has been wonderful,” said Foley.
“Great things occur when partners collaborate and work tirelessly to engage colleagues, business partners, and the community at large to support our next generation of leaders. It is imperative to teach our youth the importance of communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, community service, but most importantly, how to apply these skills in real-life situations,” said Dr. Julio Omier, Assistant Principal at Rancho Mirage High School.
ALA was founded in 1995 by Julia and General Richard Wilmot. Julia has been a dedicated community leader and successful businesswoman for over 40 years. Formerly, she was the director of Project Prevention, which assisted 600,000 youth during her five-year tenure. She was selected by Governor Janet Napolitano as Arizona’s Woman of the Year for years of outstanding leadership and commitment to the improvement in the areas of health care, education, human development, and community relationships. She developed protective rights for children’s issues along with existing agencies. Her creative problem solving assisted various business and financial organizations thus solving historical non-cooperation among all nationalities. She is continuing the process here in California.
Since its inception, Angel Light Academy (ALA), a grassroots, all volunteer program, has been dedicated to teaching leadership and service to children and adults within all ethnic groups. Today, the Academy continues its successful and tested experiential teaching methods, teaching life skills such as problem solving and coping skills, teaming, effective communication, and bringing out innate leadership skills in youth and adults. ALA has directly served over 6,000 children and young adults
Youth participants can continue learning and work on their leadership throughout the year by participating in ALA’s Junior Leadership Training Program that meets every six weeks. The Junior Leadership Training Program provides on-going, in-depth leadership programming. They develop sound problem solving skills for key areas in their life such as health, money, relationships, and school.
Junior Leader Tiffany Chan, age 16, who has been involved in Angel Light Academy since her freshman year of high school, started her own nonprofit organization during the COVID-19 pandemic called CAMI (Corgis Against Mental Illness) with the skills she developed while taking part in ALA.
“I decided to start my nonprofit and from there, I got help from Angel Light Academy, where I learned my leadership traits. They taught me how to problem solve, how to reach out, how to communicate with others. And so I’ve reached out to local boarding cares. I’ve brought my two corgis now, Tootsie and Daisy, and they’re certified therapy dogs,” shared Chan.
ALA provides opportunities to learn new leadership skills that improve confidence and allow individuals of all ages to grow and be the best they can be. Through training, mentoring, and nurturing, ALA creates inspiring leaders who provide exceptional service to others and their communities. The reputation and success of this training organization has resulted in trusted relationships with teachers, school districts and community professionals leading to increased requests for programming. For more information, visit www.angellightacademy.org.
