By Spencer Bierman
Sustain Dane
The Powerful Teen Leaders (PTL) is a summer youth employment program for Northside teens in Madison. The program serves young people furthest from resources and opportunities and who face systemic barriers to employment. It is a paid employment opportunity that includes workforce experience and readiness training, with a particular focus on future employment in the green jobs economy.
This past summer, participants took part in many fun and informative experiences that helped provide exposure to different careers in the green economy, including:
▪ Financial empowerment with Summit Credit Union
▪ Touring Dane County Department of Waste and Renewables
▪ Shadowing Operation Fresh Start’s conservation work
▪ Solar panel installation lab at Madison College
▪ Touring Epic System’s campus and careers
▪ Geographic Information System (GIS) workshop with the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission and the State Cartographer’s Office
▪ Touring Exact Sciences’ lab and farm
▪ Cleanup day with Dane County Parks
▪ Touring Arboretum land and operations
▪ Outdoor recreation and college information with Color in the Outdoors
▪ Graduation presentations and reflection
Each week participants completed reflections that helped them meet their skill development goals as well as obtain a Work-Based Learning Credit through Madison Metropolitan School District. At the completion of the program, participants presented to an audience of host sites, parents and family about what they learned from this summer’s program.
Reflections from PTL participants included:
“I really liked learning about different careers that I am interested in for the future. Solar panels are awesome.” -Aviana
“I’d love to get involved with some local work, like at the Arboretum. I’d never been before, so I had no idea it was that big and important to Madison’s wildlife. Even if they don’t have job openings anytime soon, it would be a great place for me to volunteer and start building experience.” -Jeremy
“I love this program and wish to be in it again next year. I am more than grateful for being invited again. I want to continue to help our environment because even if nobody cares, I still wanna help because yolo; and I wanna be useful all my life til the end, and this job has given me so much inspiration and motivation and I’m so ready for change.” -Anonymous
Reflections from host sites included:
“I really appreciated the enthusiasm of the students. They all, in their own ways, were easy to connect with and asked great questions and showed a lot of respect. I was impressed by their leadership skills.” -Maryn, Epic Systems
“These kids are driven despite their backgrounds. I noticed one student inspired at least three others to apply to the program. When the kids broke out of their shells, that was my highlight. Finding that connection was the challenge.” -Matt, Capital Area Regional Planning Commission
Are you interested in joining the program in 2026 as a participant or as a host site? Visit sustaindane.org/powerful-teen-leaders for more information.
