Young Adult Advisory Board (YAB)
The Young Adult Advisory Board (YAB) is a virtual board comprised of around 10 young adults between the ages of 18-30 years old with serious mental health conditions from all around the United States.
The YAB members gather virtually once a month to provide feedback on research-related projects and products.
YAB Members used their lived mental health experience to help us tailor our research projects and products to become more ‘youth-friendly’ and provide feedback surrounding language, content, and clarity.
Click here to meet the YAB Members.
For more information or to join YAB, contact the Co-YAB Facilitators: Tracy Neville and Mei Pearlstein.
Our Values
These are our core principles and beliefs that influence the YAB’s approach to meetings and membership. These values help ensure that the YAB operates under a shared agreement that provides the foundation for collaboration in our community.
Equitable and Inclusive
- We welcome different opinions and stay curious and open-minded, fostering robust discussions from various viewpoints.
- We value lived expertise and believe that feedback from diverse experiences improves systems for future generations. We strive to ensure that feedback is heard and integrated into projects.
- Moments of silence allow for reflection, giving individuals time to develop their thoughts at their own pace.
Meeting Members Where They Are
- We strive to be respectful and empathetic to each person's unique context, recognizing that members may show up differently depending on external factors. Rather than expecting uniform participation, we prioritize flexibility and responsiveness, offering the necessary resources and accommodations for individuals to engage in ways that work best for them. We acknowledge that, as board members, we all bring different perspectives and may even show up as different versions of ourselves at times.
- We understand that members can contribute in various ways and may have different levels of involvement at each meeting. We support diverse forms of engagement, such as using the chat, sending follow-up emails, or expressing thoughts with emojis.
- We also normalize workplace accommodations and offer one-on-one discussions to clarify presentations and address any questions.
YAB Consultation
Are you interested in obtaining feedback from our YAB on a project? We offer other researchers and prospective partners the opportunity to join one of our monthly YAB meetings to provide you with developmentally appropriate, timely feedback rooted in lived experience in various content areas (e.g., career development, peer support, mental health supports, young adult advisory boards).
The Continuum of Participation
YAB Portfolio
The YAB provides valuable feedback that impacts research, training, and dissemination projects across the Transitions ACR at UMass Chan and beyond. Below is a non-exhaustive list of projects and publications that the YAB has been a part of over recent years, either by consultation or by more substantial involvement.
- “How Do You Do Community?” A Mixed Methods Study of the Conceptualizations and Experiences of young adults with SMHC from Disadvantaged Backgrounds
- Tip Sheet: Demystifying Civic Engagement: How to Make Your Voice Heard (Beyond Voting!) & 5 Tips to Get Started
- Improving Research Partnership With Engagement Mapping: A Pilot Study to Advance Engagement Science – PCORI
- Tip Sheet: Accommodations at Work: What Do I Need to Know? (Part 1)
- Learning & Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
- Toolkit for Creating and Sustaining Youth Advisory Boards
- Tip Sheet: Applying for a Job: The Young Adults Guide, Revised 2023
- Adulting Shorts: Let’s Talk About Workplace Accommodations
Our Products
S.T.A.Y. Tuned Podcast
Episode 25: The Journey Within, Together: Spiritual Exploration and Community
Episode 24: Roots and Change: Youth Advocacy in Rural Communities
Episode 21: Improving mental health through community-based music, writing, and art programs
Episode 17: Leveling Up Together: Gaming, Community, and Mental Health
Episode 13: Salsa Dancing, a Youth Advisory Board, and Peer Support for Mental Health
Meme Project
One of our youth-led Learning & Working RRTC’s knowledge translation projects is developing memes that are relevant to youth and young adults living with mental health conditions. Memes use popular cultural images and simple language to convey meaningful content on social media. Created in 2019, our memes are developed on the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research’s social media channels. View our Meme Gallery
Reels Project
The Reels team delivers engaging short-form content on the CIRC Center and other initiatives at Transitions ACR, focused on improving mental health and community participation outcomes for young adults with mental health conditions. Watch the Shorts on YouTube or follow along on Instagram.
