This is a joint session between the Live Well San Diego Youth Sector and During this session, the Youth Sector leads a discussion on the power of youth engagement in order to connect community stakeholders invested in empowering youth and young adults in San Diego County. This youth-coordinated, youth-led session features a model of engagement and examples of youth-led initiatives. Attendees will engage in tabletop discussions and activities to foster learning and connections.  Meanwhile, the UC San Diego Center for Community Health is presenting on the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (COI) which is a collaborative effort targeting childhood obesity prevention, with a recent focus on community perspectives and addressing racial and health disparities. This led to the formation of a community-led, multi-ethnic Community Council (CC) within the COI, reflecting a year-long process involving marginalized populations. The CC plays a pivotal role in shaping the COI's work and decisions, with achievements including expanding diverse membership, establishing compensation models and bylaws, and building strong multi-sector relationships. By integrating community voices and addressing health disparities, the COI, in partnership with the CC and others, aims to make a meaningful impact on childhood obesity in San Diego County.

Learning Objective:
1. Increase awareness on how to equitably integrate community and youth voice into your organization. Participants will gain a new perspective on what it means to share power with community, and leave the session with an action plan template for how their organization can advance community and/or youth voice. 
2. Understand how the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative is using the collective impact framework to support increasing community voice and authority within the coalition. 
3. Learn about the lessons learned/fail forwards and achievements related to the co-creation and development of a community-led Community Council. Including the importance of cross-sector partnerships and community trust and relationships 
4. Learn about efforts the Live Well San Diego Youth Sector and Center for Community Council are currently engaged in and future opportunities for your organization to get involved.