In all of our programs, we prioritize engaging diverse populations, with the end goal of reaching youth who are marginalized and furthest from opportunity.
OUR Creative Empowerment MODEL
All PYE programming is based in the Creative Empowerment Model (CEM); it is what sets us apart from other facilitation training programs. The CEM combines EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING, GROUP FACILITATION and ARTS-BASED PRACTICE into a framework for designing and leading transformative programs for youth and adults. Through program activities, participants develop self-confidence, motivation, social and emotional competence, and leadership – proven predictors of well-being. The resulting EMPOWERMENT provides participants the ability to imagine and enact the life one wants to lead.
Experential Learning
Arts-Based Practice
Leading Edge Facilitation
OUR APPROACH
We achieve exponential impact by working with individuals and organizations that work directly with youth. We engage with local organizations and schools who adapt and spread the Creative Empowerment Model in their own work. This leads to a multiplier effect that increases impact
Our Values
Our Impact
Power of Hope Camp
Our PEOPLE
- All
- Advisory Board
- Founders
- Staff
- Trainers
- All
- Advisory Board
- Founders
- Staff
- Trainers
Erina Mitich
Charlie Murphy
Stephanie Turner
Peggy Taylor
Maurits Schouten
Ian Watson
Charles D. Terry, JD
Lucinda Watson
Connie Chung
Cassandra Vieten
Mark Cheng
Katia Peterson
OUR BEGINNINGS
Partners for Youth Empowerment began with a single youth gathering called Power of Hope in 1996 on Whidbey Island, near Seattle, Washington, US. Charlie Murphy and Peggy Taylor then founded a non-profit organization called Power of Hope: Youth Empowerment Through the Arts. In 2008, international businessman Ian Watson joined Peggy and Charlie to found Partners for Youth Empowerment to take the work to a global audience.Twenty-five years later, camps based on Power of Hope’s Creative Empowerment Model have taken place in Canada, British Columbia First Nations, the US (Washington State, Oregon, and California), Jamaica, Brazil, South Africa, Uganda, the UK, and India. PYE and it’s partners train thousands of youth workers, teachers, and social service professionals each year in the Creative Empowerment Model. This in turn impacts the lives of over 220,000 youth each year. And the movement is still growing!
Our Company Name
Our name is Partners for Youth Empowerment, or PYE for short, pronounced as ‘pie’, like apple pie. PYE was formerly known as PYE Global and was rebranded to Partners for Youth Empowerment in 2018.
Our Dandelion Logo
The PYE logo is a dandelion; a fitting metaphor for our collective youth empowerment efforts. The dandelion represents resilience, strength, healing and youthful joy. What’s more, each seed has the ability to create a whole new field of dandelions that can grow anywhere, even in the most difficult conditions.
