About Us

The New Orleans Youth Alliance (NOYA) is a healing-centered youth development intermediary for the Greater New Orleans area. NOYA works to cultivate a system of high-quality, well-resourced youth development organizations that center youth leadership, racial equity and intersectional equity in their work with young people. NOYA achieves its mission through three key areas of service: program quality and professional development, policy and advocacy, and organizational effectiveness.

Vision

Youth and adults work together to ensure that all young people – especially those who are marginalized – are safe, secure and thriving.

Mission

Guided by our community, and grounded in racial equity, intersectional equity and youth leadership, New Orleans Youth Alliance fosters youth-centered policies and cultivates a system of high-quality, well-resourced youth development organizations with the intent to drive the transformation of systems to better serve youth.

Values

We are rooted in our values, driven by the lived experiences of young people and their caregivers and guided by the following principles:

• Youth Leadership
  Youth voice guides the work of the organization and leads to better outcomes for young people. We will be responsive to the immediate and long-term needs of young people. We will encourage youth-serving organizations to prioritize adults and youth partnering in the design, decision-making, implementation and evaluation phases of their work.

• Equity and Solidarity
  We will inclusively engage and authentically honor the power of youth, families, and community- members by centering their voices and building trusting partnerships.

• Critical Social Analysis
  We will be explicit in naming the root causes of inequity and addressing the ways in which systems and power structures contribute to the disparities experienced by young people of color and other marginalized youth.

• Wellness
  Youth and youth serving organizations should have what they need to be, grow, and flourish. We will prioritize the holistic development of mind, body, heart and spirit for youth and youth development professionals.

Offerings

Professional Development and Organizational Effectiveness (PDOE)

The New Orleans Youth Alliance’s Professional Development & Organizational Effectiveness (PDOE) department serves as the hub for all of NOYA’s training, coaching, and capacity-building work. PDOE aims to strengthen the network of youth-serving organizations across New Orleans by offering high-quality, mission-aligned professional development and organizational effectiveness supports.

Our signature offering, the New Orleans Youth Program Quality Initiative (NOLA-YPQI), launched in 2015 to raise the bar for quality in out-of-school-time programs and improve developmental outcomes for youth across the city. Grounded in the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality’s nationally recognized intervention model, NOLA-YPQI helps program staff assess their work, identify areas for growth, and implement changes through coaching, training, and data-informed planning.

Through PDOE, we now offer a broader suite of services that includes custom curriculum design, learning community facilitation, strategic coaching, and targeted training that addresses equity, healing-centered practices, and youth leadership development. We serve a diverse portfolio of youth-serving programs, schools, and partners, locally and nationally, working collectively to ensure that young people ages 0–24 experience high-quality, responsive, and affirming spaces to grow.

Read more about our trainings.

Policy and Advocacy

NOYA’s policy and advocacy work centers young people as leaders, visionaries, and change agents. We work to ensure that youth-serving systems are well-resourced, responsive, and shaped by the voices of those most impacted. Our efforts include advocating for increased public investment in youth development, uplifting the New Orleans Children and Youth Planning Board’s Youth Master Plan, and creating direct pathways for youth to influence policy decisions.

At the core of this work is the NOYA Youth Leadership Fellowship, which prepares young people ages 17–24 to take on leadership roles in the design and decision-making of systems that impact their communities. Fellows engage in trainings, mentorship, and hands-on learning to explore issues like educational equity, economic justice, housing, and criminal legal reform. Their insights and leadership have directly informed multiple NOYA initiatives, including the Rebuilding Our Village NOLA Youth Fund and Policy Platform, which supports youth-led projects focused on economic stability, health and well-being, and safety and justice.

The Reengagement Center (REC) is another key part of our policy and advocacy ecosystem. As a free resource hub for opportunity youth ages 16–24, REC provides one-on-one case management and support services including mental health and wellness resources, transportation assistance, college and career counseling, and referrals to over 45 training and post-secondary partners. REC helps youth overcome systemic barriers, reconnect with opportunities, and move confidently toward their goals.

Together, these initiatives reflect NOYA’s commitment to transforming systems with young people, not just for them.

Convening and Networking

• Communities of Practice

  • YPQI Team Leaders

  • YPQI Coaches

  • YPQI Methods Trainers

  • Executive Directors

• New Orleans Youth Master Plan: NOLA-CYPB and The Mayor’s Office of Youth & Families

• New Orleans Opportunity Youth Collaborative

• Youth Justice Advocates

Resource Development

NOYA aims to help shape a vision and framework that defines the field; developing assessment tools, training curricula, and other materials and making them broadly available; and brokering access to resources, including funding, technical assistance, and training.

Read more about our resources.

Awards & Recognition