The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber) has announced the 47 high school students selected for the 2026 Regional Youth Leadership (RYL) class, representing 38 schools in the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.
This year’s class marks the 32nd year of the NKY Chamber’s signature youth leadership program.
Regional Youth Leadership’s mission is to cultivate local students’ community leadership skills to bolster talent retention to our region. The experiential nature of the seven-month program promotes personal growth and fosters development of leadership skills such as communication, teamwork, and decision making. Sessions occur once a month, and throughout these sessions, the students will be introduced to multiple topics including local government and economic development, arts and culture, human services, health, law, life skills, and leadership.
Students were selected through an extensive application process that included a minimum GPA of 3.0, a demonstration of leadership potential in their school and/or community, and an interest in furthering their knowledge about the region and community leadership.
“Every year, we’re inspired by the drive and talent of the students who join this program, and this class is no different,” said Ann Marie Whelan, NKY Chamber Director of Leadership. “We’re proud to offer them the chance to learn from influential leaders in our community, and we look forward to seeing how they apply the lessons they learn to create meaningful change in our region.”
Regional Youth Leadership Class of 2026:
• Molly Armstrong, Archbishop McNicholas High School
• Eleanor Barker, Villa Madonna Academy
• Kavi Bijayananda, Covington Classical Academy
• Carden Bozeman, Covington Catholic High School
• Caelan Burke, The Summit Country Day School
• Alessandro Caggioni, Madeira High School
• Madison Cárdenas Clark, Colerain High School
• Leanne Cuozzo, Anderson High School
• Grayson Davies, Dayton High School
• Charlotte Day, Randall K. Cooper High School
• Jack Dusing, Covington Catholic High School
• Layla Feinauer, Newport High School
• Elijah Ford, Beechwood High School
• Erika Harris-Foy, Western Hills University High School
• Zohaib Kalloo, Indian Hill High School
• Sofia Karacostas, Mariemont High School
• Rachael Kasipe, Mount Notre Dame High School
• Isabella Lachmann, Holy Cross High School
• Lillian Lewis, Villa Madonna Academy
• Paris Love-Adams, Colerain High School
• Madyson Lux, St. Henry District High School
• Trisha Maheshwari, Ignite Institute
• Ruth Maier, Notre Dame Academy
• William Martis, Simon Kenton High School
• Mary McIntosh, Mariemont High School
• Josiah Montalvo, Calvary Christian High School
• Kieran Nauglebaugh, Covington Latin School
• Jolay Ndiaye-Owedradgo, Oyler High School
• Madalyn Osterhage, Campbell County High School
• Sarpomaa Owusu-Boateng, Princeton High School
• Ryan Prus, Madeira High School
• Logan Purcell, Newport Central Catholic High School
• Iyana Robinson, Oyler High School
• Sarah Sakami, Lakota West High School
• Amelia Sebens, Roger Bacon High School
• Johanna Serger, Saint Ursula Academy
• Adam Tarvin, Bishop Brossart High School
• James Taylor, St. Xavier High School
• Olivia Taylor, Owen County High School
• Adler Tomeo, School for Creative and Performing Arts
• Ian Wallace, Scott High School
• Molly Wehner, Saint Ursula Academy
• Ainsley Whelan, Ursuline Academy
• Nyelle Whisby, Lloyd Memorial High School
• Alex Wuest, Covington Catholic High School
• Cailyn Youtsey, The Summit Country Day School
• Nina Zurad, Larry A. Ryle High School
Regional Youth Leadership is part of the NKY Chamber’s leadership programming alongside Leadership Northern Kentucky and Encounter NKY.
To learn more about RYL, visit NKYChamber.com.
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce