The Youth Fellows Program is a rigorous, full-time summer program that provides 6 weeks of immersive leadership development training for rising high school juniors and seniors.

Leadership Seminars: Sessions led by Coro’s expert facilitators, focusing on effective leadership skills. Practice and apply proven leadership strategies:

• self-awareness and self-management

• collaboration and effective communication

• mindfulness

• inquiry, critical thinking, evaluation skills, and more.

Internship Placement: Provide Youth Fellows with direct exposure to local institutions and real-world job experience. Youth Fellows begin to build a strong network and apply their leadership skills in a professional setting.

Logic Study: Youth Fellows are challenged to delve into the inner workings of a specific system in Los Angeles — engaging in tours, expert interviews, and independent research. This exercise hones the cohort’s leadership abilities, sharpening self-awareness and group dynamics.

Focus Days: Cohort-led explorations of specific civic challenges promote collaboration, relationship building, and strategic thinking. Youth Fellows work in small teams to design and lead an in-depth exploration of a civic issue, deepening their understanding of challenges facing the community.

At Coro, the learning doesn’t stop when your program ends. Coro alumni gain access to:

• Alumni-only continuing education sessions.

• Networking events with key decision-makers working to shape the spirit and integrity of our region.

• Coro Classifieds, an alumni-only job board.

• A Credly by Pearson™ digital badge showcasing your credentials.

• Alumni-only digital networking platforms to exchange resources and collaborate with other alumni.

Explore the Program Benefits Guide to learn more.

Coro values the representation of diverse perspectives, identities, experiences, and world views; as such, YFP cohorts reflect the make-up of the region, representing a wide array of backgrounds, beliefs, and identities.

Ideal candidates…

• live or attend school in the Greater Los Angeles Region.

• are high school sophomores or juniors when they apply (the program is tailored to rising juniors and seniors)

• want to make a difference in their schools and communities.

• are eager to learn, grow, and challenge themselves.

• commit to meeting for the scheduled sessions.

There’s nothing like the Coro approach. Coro helps people deepen their innate leadership skills, giving them the tools and a lifelong network to activate tangible change. 

It’s not just about finding the right solutions; Coro training is uniquely focused on helping leaders ask the right questions. It’s about equipping leaders to relate across differences rather than simply reacting to them. Coro leaders intentionally engage and collaborate with others across identities, ideologies, sectors, and generations. Participants should be ready to engage productively with different perspectives and in personal reflection.

Coro views leadership as an active practice that requires hands-on experiential learning. Participants are expected to be engaged, mindful, and fully present, minimizing external distractions to maximize their growth and contribution to the cohort.

Coro leaders learn to move from judgment to curiosity, navigate ambiguity, sit in discomfort, and embrace empathy and vulnerability as essential leadership practices, critical for unleashing learning, and building authentic connections. Participants must be willing to embrace vulnerability to foster a psychologically safe environment — a necessary precursor to adaptive, innovative collaboration.

Program Cost

Tuition is $5,000 (subsidized from $11,000 thanks to our generous sponsors).

Scholarships

Coro offers need-based scholarships. Applicants seeking a scholarship must complete the relevant questions on the application. Questions? We’re here to help! For more information, email Callie Spaide at callie@corola.org.