What is the Youth Advisory Council?
The YAC is a structured opportunity for high school students to serve in a leadership capacity within KHK, lending youth voice and perspective to our organization.
What do members of the YAC do?
The YAC meets on a regular basis (at least twice a month) to plan upcoming projects and quarterly ambassador meetings. Members of the YAC represent KHK at public relations events and demonstrate initiative, responsibility, and commitment to the core values of KHK.
Meet the 2023-2024 YAC:

Sofia Castañeda
YAC President
Senior, Rye Country Day School
Hello, my name is Sofia and I am so excited to be on the YAC! I was introduced to KHK when I led a Spark-A-Project during the summer of 2021. I ran a writing workshop for three weeks with the 6th graders at the Boys and Girls Club. This was my first real introduction to service, in that I was studying issues relating to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and creating a project on my own, instead of participating in a service program that another person or organization ran. This project was very special to me because it revealed to me the wide world of community service; getting my feet wet with this project made me realize that community service is one of my life’s passions. The more I work with KHK, the more I am able to explore the underlying racial and socioeconomic inequalities that contribute to the issues we work with. Additionally, I realize that regardless of what career I pursue, I will pursue it in a way that allows me to continue to work to elevate oppressed populations, and to change our systems and institutions so that there is a future without inequality. KHK is incredibly special to me, and has by far been the pursuit of mine that has most contributed to the development of my public speaking skills and leadership abilities, and has, above all, introduced me to a community filled with people who I know I will have meaningful relationships with for the rest of my life!
Gabriela Coppola
Senior, Lauralton Hall


Michael Garofalo
Senior, Westhill High School
Hi! My name is Michael Garofalo and I am a member of YAC, I am I senior at Westhill High School. Some things I like to do are drawing, computers and video games. I have been with KHK for for quite a few years now and one of my favorite projects has been Gift of Giving. I am excited to continue to grow with KHK and I hope I can help others grow too!
Emilia Coppola
Sophmore, Lauralton Hall

Kate Lane
Junior, Wilton High School

William Higgs
Junior, Brunswick

Ben Schindelman
Junior, Center for Global Studies

Ellery Harte
Junior, Greenwich High School

YAC in Training
Gwen Harte
Freshmen, Greenwich High School

Sivan Niv
Sophomore, A.I.T.E
Hi I’m Sivan, a sophomore at A.I.T.E. and I love kids helping kids so much. The community is very welcoming and this is my 7th year working with them, it has been and still is an amazing experience.
