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Record of Proceedings

Las Vegas Youth Leadership Advisory Council Meeting – September 15, 2026

Public Meetings — Tuesday, September 15, 2026
BodyLas Vegas, Nevada
SessionPublic Meetings
DateTuesday, September 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 53:59

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
3:09

Hi everyone, welcome back to another year of the stage of Las Vegas Youth Leadership Advisory Council.

3:16

Really excited to be serving with all of you guys for this year.

3:20

Um so with that, we'll start with call to order and roll call.

3:31

Present.

3:41

Present.

3:44

Present.

4:00

Present.

4:00

Member Manales.

4:02

Present.

4:03

Member Ruiz.

4:05

Present.

4:06

Member Lester.

4:09

Member McCraeney.

4:11

Present.

4:11

Member Delgado.

4:13

Present.

4:15

Member Despell.

4:17

Present.

4:18

Member Whitely.

4:20

Present.

4:21

Member Jimenez.

4:25

Member Blankenship.

4:26

Present.

4:27

Thank you, Acting Chair.

4:28

You have a quorum.

4:32

So with that, we're going to move on to agenda item number two for an announcement regarding compliance with open meeting law.

4:39

And Acting Chair, you are in compliance with that open meeting law.

5:05

If we have no one, we'll just move to agenda item number four.

5:09

So we're gonna be doing uh possible action to approve the final minutes by reference of the regular meeting of April 21st, 2026.

5:17

This was our last meeting that uh the leadership advisory council had.

5:21

Does anyone have a motion to approve the meet the minutes from our most recent meeting?

5:26

Uh member Manales for the record.

5:28

I have uh motion this section.

5:31

Do we have a second on that motion?

5:32

Member McInall and I second that motion.

5:36

Thank you so much.

5:37

I think staff were good with that with the approval of the minutes.

5:41

Oh all those in favor, can you guys please say aye for final approval?

5:46

Aye.

5:47

Any news?

5:50

With that, the minutes from the meeting on April 21st, 2026 are approved.

5:55

We'll now move on to agenda item number five for a report by uh City of Las Vegas Youth Development and Social Initiatives Department staff regarding Wilak membership vacancies and member engagement.

6:14

Okay, that will be me, Sheena Judy Mitchell for the record.

6:18

Um currently we um we are waiting to process in.

6:22

Um they're waiting to be sworn in, the two uh mayorial candidates or mayoral appointees, and then we have a couple of vacancies in ward one.

6:32

Um member Johnson sent her resignation in just this morning because she is inundated with school stuff.

6:41

So those are just a few of the updates as far as membership, um, as far as expectations.

6:47

Again, we'll kick this year off with uh proper attendance.

6:50

We'll start noting unexcused absences.

6:52

I know a lot of them go excused, but um there's only a total of two that you're allotted, and then we will follow strictly the bylaws as far as removal or any type of um penalties for attendance because we did have some members that did not attend but like 20 minutes of one meeting.

7:10

Um and I don't think that that's fair to all of you who are making the commitment to be here each and every Tuesday.

7:15

So I would suggest if you are each and every third Tuesday of the month.

7:20

Um so if you because uh that means you guys have missed a lot of Tuesdays, right?

7:24

Um if you all have anything conflicting, maybe moving that around if you work, I get it.

7:30

Money is money, but it is one day a month, and we did everybody made the commitment.

7:36

So those are just a couple of the announcements as far as uh member engagement.

7:41

Um, there will be a lot more engagement between you all and your ward offices too.

7:45

I know that is the expectation of a council such as this, and it should be happening.

7:50

So they do have a lot of community engagement events, and we're going to work with them deeply to make sure they're engaging the three of you that represent their ward, whether it's a cleanup, uh whether it's some type of outreach, so you can truly get the civic engagement experience that I know that you all are here to get.

8:05

So just so that you to let you know that I'm making a concerted effort myself to make sure that we are connecting you with them more so than me.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Procedural██████████████████23%
Youth Programs███████████15%
Mental Health Awareness██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Las Vegas Youth Leadership Advisory Council Meeting – September 15, 2026

The Las Vegas Youth Leadership Advisory Council (YLAC) held its first meeting of the 2026–2027 term on September 15, 2026. The meeting was called to order with a quorum present. Members elected new officers, discussed membership expectations, community engagement initiatives, and established a reporting subcommittee for the annual city council report.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the final minutes of the regular meeting on April 21, 2026, by voice vote (motion by Member Manales, second by Member McInall).

Discussion Items

  • Membership Vacancies and Engagement (Agenda Item 5): Sheena Judy Mitchell (Youth Development staff) reported that two mayoral appointees are awaiting swearing-in and there is a vacancy in Ward 1 after Member Johnson resigned. She emphasized attendance expectations: only two unexcused absences allowed per year and warned that attendance policies will be strictly enforced. She also committed to connecting council members with their ward offices for civic engagement opportunities.
  • Election of Officers (Agenda Item 6): The council elected a new secretary, chair, and vice chair.
    • Secretary: Candidates Anar Manales, Member Ruiz, and Member Camarillo each gave speeches. Anar Manales received 10 votes and was elected secretary.
    • Chair: Candidates Ethan Cohen, Member McNallan, and Carla Beltrán gave speeches. Ethan Cohen received 7 votes and was elected chair.
    • Vice Chair: Candidates Emilia Tsai (also referred to as Member Sai and Member Cy), Carla Beltrán, and Member Ruiz gave speeches. Emilia Tsai was elected vice chair (confirmed by subsequent references to 'Vice Chair Tsai').
  • Roles, Responsibilities, and Priorities (Agenda Item 7): Members discussed officer duties and general member responsibilities. Member Manales suggested adjusting meeting start times to improve attendance but the chair noted it was not on the agenda for action. The chair reminded members that if an officer resigns, the council will elect a replacement per bylaws.
  • Partner Organization List (Agenda Item 8): Members brainstormed potential partners including Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Three Square, SPCA, Antioch Community Services (mental health and education), and Just One Project. Secretary Manales will compile the list.
  • Community Engagement and Partnership Opportunities (Agenda Item 9): Members proposed reviving the Youth of Solutions (YAS) initiative on traffic safety, a Thanksgiving food drive, mental health workshops (Member Hall), and reading literacy for middle/high school students (Member Camarillo). Advisor Williams mentioned the city’s YNAP grant (up to $1,250 for youth-led projects). Sheena Judy Mitchell offered to connect members with council offices for holiday events.
  • Reporting Subcommittee (Agenda Item 10): Sheena Judy Mitchell explained the requirement to present an annual report to the Las Vegas City Council. A reporting subcommittee of five members was formed: Chair Ethan Cohen, Secretary Anar Manales, Vice Chair Emilia Tsai, Member McNallan, and Carla Beltrán. The motion passed unanimously.
  • Future Agenda Topics (Agenda Item 11): Members suggested adjusting meeting start times and finalizing a service day event.
  • Citizen Participation (Agenda Item 12): No public comments were made. Sheena Judy Mitchell announced that starting next month, the meeting start time will move to 4:00 p.m. Advisor Williams urged members to bring issues affecting youth at school and in the news to future discussions.

Key Outcomes

  • Officers Elected: Secretary Anar Manales, Chair Ethan Cohen, Vice Chair Emilia Tsai.
  • Reporting Subcommittee established: Members as noted above.
  • Meeting time change: Effective next meeting, start time moved to 4:00 p.m. (announced by staff, not a council vote).
  • Partner list development: Secretary to compile and distribute.

The meeting was adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Hi everyone, welcome back to another year of the stage of Las Vegas Youth Leadership Advisory Council. Really excited to be serving with all of you guys for this year. Um so with that, we'll start with call to order and roll call. Present. Present. Present. Present. Member Manales. Present. Member Ruiz. Present. Member Lester. Member McCraeney. Present. Member Delgado. Present. Member Despell. Present. Member Whitely. Present. Member Jimenez. Member Blankenship. Present. Thank you, Acting Chair. You have a quorum. So with that, we're going to move on to agenda item number two for an announcement regarding compliance with open meeting law. And Acting Chair, you are in compliance with that open meeting law. If we have no one, we'll just move to agenda item number four. So we're gonna be doing uh possible action to approve the final minutes by reference of the regular meeting of April 21st, 2026. This was our last meeting that uh the leadership advisory council had. Does anyone have a motion to approve the meet the minutes from our most recent meeting? Uh member Manales for the record. I have uh motion this section. Do we have a second on that motion? Member McInall and I second that motion. Thank you so much. I think staff were good with that with the approval of the minutes. Oh all those in favor, can you guys please say aye for final approval? Aye. Any news? With that, the minutes from the meeting on April 21st, 2026 are approved. We'll now move on to agenda item number five for a report by uh City of Las Vegas Youth Development and Social Initiatives Department staff regarding Wilak membership vacancies and member engagement. Okay, that will be me, Sheena Judy Mitchell for the record. Um currently we um we are waiting to process in. Um they're waiting to be sworn in, the two uh mayorial candidates or mayoral appointees, and then we have a couple of vacancies in ward one. Um member Johnson sent her resignation in just this morning because she is inundated with school stuff. So those are just a few of the updates as far as membership, um, as far as expectations. Again, we'll kick this year off with uh proper attendance. We'll start noting unexcused absences. I know a lot of them go excused, but um there's only a total of two that you're allotted, and then we will follow strictly the bylaws as far as removal or any type of um penalties for attendance because we did have some members that did not attend but like 20 minutes of one meeting.

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