Lacey Youth Council

A collage of three photos: people talking at a table, a group of students posing for a group photo, and several people standing by a board displaying colorful drawings.

Members of the Lacey Youth Council meets twice a month during the school year. During these meetings, they learn about how local government operates and current City projects. Youth councilmembers also report to the Lacey City Council, providing updates from their schools and Youth Council sessions.

Established in 2019, the Lacey Youth Council is an advisory body to the Lacey City Council that provides a youth voice in the community. The Youth Council is composed of sophomores, juniors and seniors from North Thurston Public Schools, private schools, alternative education programs and home school communities.

Each year the Youth Council works on projects and participates in events such as:

Joint Meetings: Commission on Equity and Lacey City Council
Community Engagement: Lacey Cultural Celebration and Lacey Spring Fun Fair
Youth Led: forums, summits and activities

LYC Leadership Roles & Representatives

The Lacey Youth Council offers opportunities for leadership roles. Each term youth councilmembers vote amongst themselves for one of the following roles:

Youth Mayor: serves as the chair for meetings and represents the Youth Council at other community events
Youth Deputy Mayor: supports the mayor and serves as the chair for meetings when the Youth Mayor is unavailable. Represents the Youth Council at other community events.
Youth Clerk: records meeting minutes and supports the Youth Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

Youth Councilmembers also have the opportunity to serve as representatives on other City advisory boards and commissions. Representatives attend board or commission meetings, either in person or virtually, and serve as active members by providing a youth perspective on community issues and initiatives. Representatives also report back to their fellow Youth Councilmembers on the activities and discussions of their assigned boards and commissions. Councilmembers vote amongst themselves to serve on the following boards and commissions:

2025-2026 Youth Council – Cohort 7

Councilmember	Council Role	High School
Dior Trinh	Mayor	Senior – River Ridge High School
Isabella Valerio	Deputy Mayor	Junior – River Ridge High School
Makayla Pennington	Clerk	Senior – River Ridge High School
Matthew Mandig	Social Media Coordinator	Senior – Timberline High School
Aryan Kumar	Representative to the Parks, Culture, & Recreation Board	Senior – Timberline High School
Avani Kumar	Representative to the Historical Commission	Senior – Timberline High School
Luka Froehlich	Representative to the Library Board	Junior – Home School
Michelle Ewig	Representative to the Commission on Equity	Junior – North Thurston High School
Jennifer Zheng	Representative to the Human Services Commission	Junior – North Thurston High School
Joel Whipple	Councilmember	Senior – North Thurston High School
Caleb Kim	Councilmember	Senior – River Ridge High School
Makayla Lesane	Councilmember	Junior – River Ridge High School
Shalom Mutua	Councilmember	Junior – Timberline High School
Harmony Johnson	Councilmember	Sophomore – River Ridge High School
Heeyoung Kim	Councilmember	Sophomore- River Ridge High School

2025-2026 Cohort Accomplishments

On December 17, 2025, the Lacey Youth Council attended a joint meeting with Olympia youth representatives, where members presented to their peers about their personal favorite aspects of being part of the Lacey community. Check out their presentation below.

The Youth Experience in Lacey

Who is eligible to serve?

Students who will be a sophomore, junior, or senior during their terms and are students enrolled in North Thurston Public High Schools, Northwest Christian High School, Pope John Paul II High School, or home school organizations in Lacey.