The Stone Soup Leadership Institute’s
15th Annual Youth Leadership Summit for Sustainable Development
June 22-28, 2019 • Newport, Rhode Island
The week long program inspired multicultural youth to learn first-hand about the Blue Economy.
In times like these, it’s important to find ways to honor multicultural youth as champions of sustainability.
This year’s Sustainability Tours focused on the Blue Economy as well as experiential outdoor learning where youth learn to appreciate sustainable best practices to preserve our fragile ecosystems.
We first visited IYRS and learned about wooden boatbuilding methods and their digital modeling and fabrication program. We then embarked on a sailboat adventure with Sail Newport.
Trevor Tanaka, the Institute’s Hawaiian Emerging Leader, respectfully opened Monday morning with a Hawaiian Oli (chant) honoring the power of nature.
Blue Economy & Tech Career Pathways
Youth heard from Blue Economy speakers:

•  Aquaculture : Brian Crawford
     Univ. of Rhode Island's Coastal Resources Center
• Marine Trade : Evan Ridley
           Rhode Island Marine Trade Association.
• Blue Tech : Marisa Guarinello
           Inspire Environmental
•  Offshore Wind : Tiffany Ferreira, Vineyard Wind
Youth heard presentations by youth delegates and sustainability leaders:

-- Bailey Sweet
Cape Cod Regional STEM Network -- Bridget Burger
Newport's Sustainability Best Practices -- Mary Ellen Hawkins
On Thursday youth learned about creating a Five-Year Plan.

Thursday afternoon we embarked on another adventure to CCRI.
Summit Tech Team championed strategic projects for the Institute’s TouchStone Leaders Platform.

Design-A-Thon with leaders of the Blue Economy - from CEOs, to Newport Mayor and New England academic institutions - who were invited to engage in a deep exploration to shape the design of the Institute's  Sustainable Workforce Development Network.
At our Summit Graduation, youth were joined by parents, nominators, blue company executives, and
university leaders.

The Institute’s Performance Metrics measures 21st Century leadership skills: Communication, Teamwork, Conflict Resolution, Problem Solving, Adaptability, Critical Thinking, Project Management Skills, Goals, Motivation/Wellbeing, and Education. Overall, scores increased by 32.67 points.

Youth delegates took a Sustainability Survey before and after the Summit to help shape the Institute's Sustainable Workforce Development Network.
Youth delegates read aloud citations from Mayor, Governor,
U.S. Senator, and State Representatives.
Stone Soup Leadership Institute
Platinum Guide Star
FID# 31-159-4004