Last year National 4-H Council announced a partnership with Atlanta-based businessman and philanthropist, Joel Roth, who provided a $1.1M gift to launch the 4-H Leadership Academy (The Academy). This two-year pilot will provide 25 high school students with employability skills that business leaders seek, including communication, leadership, ethics, conflict resolution, and social responsibility.
Academy participants receive stipends to support research projects that address community challenges. The culmination of the program will see the Roth Scholars implement the lessons learned in the cohort to drive research-based community impact.
Makenna Lybarger, a 4-H member from Fairfield County, is serving as an Ohio representative in The Academy's first cohort and is using her stipend to grow access to agricultural education in her community.
Learn more about her project here.