The 47 high school students chosen for the 2026 Regional Youth Leadership (RYL) class, who represent 38 schools in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area, are announced with great excitement by the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber). The NKY Chamber’s renowned youth leadership program is in its 32nd year with this year’s cohort.
The goal of Regional Youth Leadership is to help our region retain talent by developing local students’ community leadership abilities. The seven-month program’s experience component encourages the development of leadership abilities like decision-making, teamwork, and communication as well as personal growth. The students will be exposed to a variety of subjects during the once-per-month classes, such as human services, health, law, leadership, life skills, local government and economic development, and the arts and culture.
Students that demonstrated leadership potential in their school and/or community, had a minimum GPA of 3.0, and were interested in learning more about the area and community leadership were chosen after a rigorous application process.
According to Ann Marie Whelan, Director of Leadership for the NKY Chamber, “each year we are inspired by the drive and talent of the students who join this program, and this class is no different.” We’re honored to give them the opportunity to gain knowledge from prominent figures in our community, and we’re eager to watch how they use what they discover to bring about significant change in our area.
Class of 2026 for Regional Youth Leadership
Archbishop McNicholas High School’s Molly Armstrong
Eleanor Barker, Academy of Villa Madonna
Kavi Bijayananda, Classical Academy of Covington
Covington Catholic High School’s Carden Bozeman
The Summit Country Day School’s Caelan Burke
Caggioni, Alessandro, Madeira High School
Madison C. Rdenas Clark, High School in Colerain
Cuozzo, Leanne, Anderson High School
Dayton High School, Grayson Davies
Randall K. Cooper High School’s Charlotte Day
Covington Catholic High School’s Jack Dusing
Layla Feinauer, High School in Newport
Beechwood High School’s Elijah Ford
Erika Harris-Foy, High School at Western Hills University
Indian Hill High School’s Zohaib Kalloo
Sofia Karacostas, High School in Mariemont
Mount Notre Dame High School’s Rachael Kasipe
Isabella Lachmann, High School at Holy Cross
Villa Madonna Academy and Lillian Lewis
Paris Love-Adams, High School in Colerain
Madyson Lux, High School, St. Henry District
Maheshwari Trisha, Ignite Institute
Ruth Maier, Academy of Notre Dame
William Martis, High School at Simon Kenton
Mariemont High School’s Mary McIntosh
Calvary Christian High School’s Josiah Montalvo
Kieran Nauglebaugh, Latin School at Covington
Jolay Ndiaye, Oyler High School, Owedradgo
Campbell County High School student Madalyn Osterhage
Owusu-Boateng Sarpomaa, Princeton High School
Madeira High School’s Ryan Prus
Logan Purcell, Central Catholic High School in Newport
Robinson, Iyana, Oyler High School
Lakota West High School’s Sarah Sakami
Roger Bacon High School’s Amelia Sebens
Serger Johanna, Saint Ursula Academy
Adam Tarvin, High School at Bishop Brossart
St. Xavier High School’s James Taylor
Olivia Taylor, High School in Owen County
School for Creative and Performing Arts, Adler Tomeo
Scott High School’s Ian Wallace
Wehner, Molly, Saint Ursula Academy
Whelan, Ainsley, Ursuline Academy
Lloyd Memorial High School’s Nyelle Whisby
Covington Catholic High School’s Alex Wuest
The Summit Country Day School’s Cailyn Youtsey
Larry A. Ryle High School, Nina Zurad
To learn more about RYL, contact Ann Marie Whelan at [email protected] or visit NKYChamber.com/RYL. Regional Youth Leadership is part of the NKY Chamber s leadership programming alongside Leadership Northern Kentucky and Encounter NKY, all of which are powered by Citi. Presenting sponsors are altafiber, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Duke Energy, Fischer Homes, and Prysmian.
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