Kansas Youth Empowerment Academy (KYEA)

11/02/2026

 Fantastic resources for youth transition support from the Youth Transition Alliance of Wyandotte County. Great to see these connections making a difference in our community!

11/02/2026

Check out this great project, for people with I/DD, where you can be mentored, or BE a mentor, in employment!

Project TEAM: Talk About Your Job Goals with a Peer Mentor

Project TEAM is for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). You will talk with a peer mentor about work and jobs.

What will you do?
✅ Have 6 talks with a peer mentor about work
✅ Set your own job goals
✅ Learn about help you can get for work
✅ Answer some short questions about how it went

Want to learn more? Email [email protected]

They will be happy to answer your questions!

[Image description: Project TEAM flyer: peer mentorship for people with I/DD looking for work. Includes 6 mentor talks, goal setting, and short surveys. Contact [email protected].]

10/31/2026

Happy Halloween from the staff of KYEA- Carrie, Kirstianna, and Shane! We enjoyed a day yesterday of dressing up, drinking c***r, and stuffing our faces with candy... oh yeah, and some work in there as well. We hope all of you have a spooky, yet fun, Halloween! Thanks for being our friends and supporters!🎃👻

10/30/2026

What happens when you’re more active in the community than you are on Facebook?
You forget to post about the cool things you’re doing!

On Tuesday, October 13, KYEA hosted Shawnee County Disability Mentoring Day in collaboration with Shawnee County KEY Community Group at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library.
45 youth with disabilities in the area showed up to learn more about employment. But not just passively, actively! To build on their knowledge and skills, preparing for success as they enter the workforce.
Our activities kept the day live and moving around. To start the day, we had a panel of 4 people with disabilities who are working in the community share what employment looks like for them. Our youth then went on a choose your own employment adventure with breakout activities of creating a resume, identifying strengths and skills, preparing for an interview, exploring career options, and learning how to select accommodations that match your needs. We closed out the day with a resource fair featuring 11 organizations and resources that support youth in their journey to and through employment, along with interview simulations where youth were paired one on one with a volunteer to experience a job interview.

Disability Mentoring Day is a national initiative during October as it is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we were so glad to bring this event to youth in Shawnee County.

Picture descriptions are in the caption of each photo.

10/30/2026

We always love seeing exciting news about alumni from our programs! Check out the article below about one of our recent KSYLF alumna, Viviana Petelin! Viviana traveled all the way to DC to present an important project that she has been working on through school. Way to go Viviana!! You are changing the world!

Explore featured Kansas stories from KSDEweekly showcasing student achievements, educators making an impact, and highlights from schools across the state.

10/21/2026

⭐️KYEA WELCOMES NEW STAFF!⭐️
Meet Our Newest Staff Member, Our Very Own KSYLF and Faces Alumni, Shane Lewis!

Hey everyone! I’m proud to announce that I have officially joined the Kansas Youth Empowerment Academy (KYEA) team as their new Program Assistant!

Stepping into this role is a true full-circle moment for me that I never could have imagined back when it all started. In high school, I noticed that while I had plenty of friends, many of my peers in the special education classroom struggled to connect with students without disabilities. I wanted to bridge that gap, so I created Chief and Friends to bring people together. At the time, I just wanted to help my classmates—I didn't even realize that what I was doing was called advocacy. Seeing the group's impact, my teacher recommended I apply for the Kansas Youth Leadership Forum (KSYLF) in 2018.

Attending KSYLF completely opened my eyes. That was the moment everything clicked: it helped me realize what advocacy actually meant, showed me that people with disabilities can achieve incredible things, and connected me to disability culture, pride, and independence. In 2019, I built on that foundation through Faces of Change, where I took those leadership skills back into the community and advocated for an accessible automatic door at my local bank. After high school, I kept that connection alive by volunteering for KSYLF over several years. I’ve always lived by those philosophies, but I never anticipated that one day I’d actually be on staff helping lead the way.

For the past couple of years, I worked with the Self-Advocate Coalition of Kansas (SACK) as a self-advocate trainer, focusing on statewide policy, education, advocacy for adults with disabilities, and helping get supported decision-making legislation passed in Kansas. While that work was meaningful, I’m thrilled to bring my energy back to youth and young adults. In this new position, I get to take what started back with Chief and Friends to help build and guide youth and alumni peer groups across the state, support and help create a new Youth Advisory Council, and facilitate various trainings.

When I’m off the clock, you can usually find me gaming across different consoles, keeping up with all things superheroes, trying out new slow cooker recipes, catching the latest movies, and hanging out with my cat, Dude.

I’m so excited to be part of the KYEA team and to help empower the next generation of young leaders across Kansas. Let’s do great things together!

WELCOME TO OUR TEAM, SHANE!!

09/28/2026

One week left to register for Shawnee County Disability Mentoring Day!! Please spread the word to anyone that you know who has a disability and is age 14-25. It's going to be an awesome event!

🟠SHAWNEE COUNTY DISABILITY MENTORING DAY RETURNS FOR 2026!🟡

Do you know youth with disabilities in Shawnee County who would benefit from some tips on how to get a job and keep a job?

Would they enjoy an interactive day of activities, speakers, networking, interview and resume practice, and meeting other youth in our county?

We are excited to announce that Shawnee County Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) will be taking place on Tuesday, October 13 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library. KYEA is so honored and thrilled to be hosting this important, awesome event!

DMD is geared towards youth with all types of disabilities ages 14-25 and will help them see employment as a real part of their future! They will hear from panelists with disabilities that are working in the community, learn about soft skills and how to make the best impression, type up their resume, go to breakout activities with topics including career exploration and accommodations, have the chance to practice a job interview, and meet the faces behind local resources that can help them get and keep a job at our resource fair.

This event is hosted by KYEA and is supported by the KEY Shawnee County Community Group. Disability Mentoring Day is a national initiative with events being held across the United States throughout October (National Disability Employment Awareness Month) and beyond.

Youth attendees MUST register by October 5 at this link: https://forms.gle/GG8onEDzp6AdR3Dk7

To learn more, visit: https://www.kyea.org/show.php?contentid=236

09/23/2026

Back in June, KYEA was recognized with a Pay It Forward award from DeVaughn James Injury Lawyers and featured on WIBW! We were so busy around that time that we never got around to sharing the actual clip that was featured on the news. A big thank you to DeVaughn James and WIBW for celebrating and supporting our work to empower youth with disabilities in our state! We appreciate you, and we definitely put these funds to good use! Check out the clip below to learn more about the important work that we do at KYEA. YOU can support our mission too by donating at https://www.kyea.org/show.php?contentid=158!

https://www.wibw.com/2026/07/20/pay-it-forward-kansas-youth-empowerment-academy/

DeVaughn James Injury Lawyers presented a $500 donation to the Kansas Youth Empowerment Academy, a Topeka-based nonprofit that has worked with youth with disabilities for more than two decades.

09/17/2026

🟠SHAWNEE COUNTY DISABILITY MENTORING DAY RETURNS FOR 2026!🟡

Do you know youth with disabilities in Shawnee County who would benefit from some tips on how to get a job and keep a job?

Would they enjoy an interactive day of activities, speakers, networking, interview and resume practice, and meeting other youth in our county?

We are excited to announce that Shawnee County Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) will be taking place on Tuesday, October 13 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Topeka Shawnee County Public Library. KYEA is so honored and thrilled to be hosting this important, awesome event!

DMD is geared towards youth with all types of disabilities ages 14-25 and will help them see employment as a real part of their future! They will hear from panelists with disabilities that are working in the community, learn about soft skills and how to make the best impression, type up their resume, go to breakout activities with topics including career exploration and accommodations, have the chance to practice a job interview, and meet the faces behind local resources that can help them get and keep a job at our resource fair.

This event is hosted by KYEA and is supported by the KEY Shawnee County Community Group. Disability Mentoring Day is a national initiative with events being held across the United States throughout October (National Disability Employment Awareness Month) and beyond.

Youth attendees MUST register by October 5 at this link: https://forms.gle/GG8onEDzp6AdR3Dk7

To learn more, visit: https://www.kyea.org/show.php?contentid=236