Participants in the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce’s (SBCC) Young Leadership Collaborative (YLC) will graduate in June after completing a seven-course program designed to increase the number of young people of color interested in becoming future business leaders.

YLC helps youth ages 16-23 develop the necessary skills to succeed through personal finance training, exploration into the world of entrepreneurship, business mentorships, and scholarships.

In 2019 the SBCC took YLC program participants, referred to as fellows, to Africa to demonstrate solar power to students in Tanzania with the help of SMUD, one of its sponsors.

While finance and fiscal responsibility remain a pillar of the program, leadership is equally important to the students and so, much time is spent focusing on that career path as well,” Ms. Davis-Goines continued.

Graduating fellows are Nevaeh Austin, a sophomore at Sacramento Charter High School who plans to study medicine at an HBCU en route to becoming a nurse practitioner and starting her own business; Nailah DuBose, a junior at Rex & Margaret Fortune Early College High School, who plans to attend a four-year college majoring in biology in pursuit of a career as a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon; Faith Mucheru, a junior at Christian Brothers High School, who plans to attend either the University of San Francisco, UC Irvine or San Jose State University and become a forensic scientist; Ehigie Osunde, who currently attends Cosumnes River College (CRC), pursuing an associate degree in electrical engineering and plans to transfer to a four-year school and become a leader in business in his community; and Serenity Your, a sophomore at CRC, who is studying business administration with the ultimate goal of becoming a sports and entertainment lawyer with her own firm.