About

The SVYCA Youth Summer Leadership Academy is a free, three-week day program for Santa Clara County high school students (grades 9–12) run by Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, a youth-led nonprofit focused on climate policy advocacy. The 2026 academy runs July 6–24, Monday through Friday, 10AM–3PM, at the Santa Clara County Office of Education complex in San Jose. Snacks and lunch are provided. Applications are open and the program is not competitively selective.

Over 60 hours of programming, students engage with experts from local government agencies, environmental organizations, and community partners on topics spanning clean water, transit and urban planning, nature-based solutions, and climate justice. Sessions for 2026 include partnerships with Valley Water, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, and the County Office of Education. The curriculum is built around leadership development — public speaking, project management, coalition building, and community organizing — as much as climate science. Students work in small groups led by SVYCA student mentors and complete a capstone project tied to planning and executing SVYCA's annual Youth Climate Summit, where they interact with elected officials, panelists, and Bay Area climate advocates.

The program is designed as an entry point into SVYCA's broader network of city-based action teams, which work year-round on local climate policy. Students who complete the academy are encouraged to join one of SVYCA's eleven city teams and continue advocacy work beyond the summer. In 2025, the first cohort brought together 32 students from over 25 schools across Santa Clara County.

For a Bay Area student who wants to move from climate concern into organized advocacy — and who wants to develop real civic leadership skills alongside peers from across the county — the SVYCA Academy is one of the few local programs that treats high schoolers as genuine participants in the political process rather than passive learners about it.