Advocating for a
Healthier California
The California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN) advocates with and for youth and young adults to create equitable, sustainable change to advance overall community health.
What’s New
Statewide Youth Advocacy Conference - July 13 - 16, 2026
Registration for the 2026 Statewide Youth Advocacy Conference is open through Friday, June 5. This year’s conference will be held at the Happy Valley Conference Center in Santa Cruz County. The multi-day event is designed for high school youth and their adult partners working on policy, systems, and environmental change activities in their local community. The conference offers a unique learning opportunity for young people to learn about current smoke and commercial tobacco-free policy initiatives and utilizes Live Action Roleplay activities for participants to practice new learned advocacy skills.
An informational webinar will be held on Thursday, May 7 at 1:00pm for adult coordinators interested in learning more about the event. The webinar will include an overview of the conference, who is elidible to attend, and answer frequently asked questions about the annual event. Those interested in attending the webinar can register here. A recording of the webinar will be posted shortly after the live event.
New Resources
A Guide to Community Circles
Developed in Partnership with the Tribal Coordinating Center of California, a project of ETR, this resource provides guidance on how to create and facilitate community circles to deepen connections wth community partners.
Youth Cannabis Use: Products and Trends
Designed for adult audiences, including public health professionals, parents, educators, and decision makers, this fact sheet highlights cannabis products most commonly used by young people as well as language used to discuss cannabis.
2025-2026 Youth Strategy Exchange Call Schedule
The Youth Strategy Exchange Calls (Youth SEC) are a great way for Youth Coordinators and other partners who engage young people in commercial tobacco prevention and advocacy initiatives to network with the youth-focused community. Each Strategy Exchange will involve a living agenda to keep discussions relevant to buzzworthy news from our communities and new or ongoing challenges.
Each session will take place on the 4th Monday of each month at 1:00pm - 2:00pm.
Supporting engagement and advocacy.
youth and young adult
Supporting youth and young adult engagement in public health advocacy initiatives. CYAN’s Youth and Young Adult Program supports the development of youth-adult partnerships and building the capacity of young people to to effectively advocate for positive social norm change in local communities.
college
Through training, education, and support, CYAN is partnering with student and public health advocates to eliminate tobacco and tobacco industry presence on California college and university campuses.
emerging tobacco and cannabis
Youth and young adults are more likely to use new and emerging tobacco, nicotine, and cannabis products than any other age group population. In order to combat this reality, CYAN provides support and resources to organizations striving to prevent young people from substance use.
Resources
CYAN supports tobacco-free prevention and advocacy throughout the California. We provide resources such as program-specific educational materials, tools, and fact sheets as well as web-based trainings to increase knowledge and capacity of tobacco control advocates.
Educational Materials
CYAN’s educational materials are designed for youth and young adults. The goal of these materials is to increase awareness of the realities of new and emerging tobacco products, prevent tobacco use, and encourage quit attempt among young people.
Fact Sheets & tools
A variety of fact sheets, tools, and materials are available for youth, young adult, and tobacco control advocates working to limit tobacco in local communities. The resources range from informational fact sheets to tools to support community engagement and advocacy activities.
online Trainings
CYAN utilizes web-based technology to provide a range of training opportunities for individuals advocating for smoke/tobacco-free policies as well as those promoting quit attempts. Trainings are available for youth advocates, college students and staff, and military health professionals.