Please note: this is an in-depth reflection on this year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) by Camp Director Todd St Vrain. RYLA is a tradition of nearly four decades within District 5150 that involves dozens of volunteers from our district year-round and has impacted thousands of youth across our three counties over many years. We invite you to take a journey into RYLA’s significance through this post. You can also watch this video of Todd’s remarks about RYLA at a recent Rotary club meeting that echo the sentiments expressed here.
The 39th annual RYLA was held July 28 to August 1, 2025 at the Redwood Glen Camp & Conference Center in Scotts Valley. This year RYLA hosted 122 students from a record 48 high schools across District 5150. RYLA was supported by an all-volunteer staff of 88, including 65 at camp (22 alumni, 28 facilitators, 11 admin and support staff and four guest speakers). Our staff included 50 Rotarians from 19 Rotary clubs across four districts, and 38 additional staff. (Please see the end of this post for a complete list of RYLA volunteers).
RYLA alumni are high school or college students who undertake a six-month training program and lead many of the activities at camp, providing an opportunity to build upon the leadership skills they developed as first-time campers. Facilitators ranged in age from 19 to 83, working in pairs to guide a team of students through RYLA. Our support staff included a nurse, a wellness coach and administrative staff.
Students experienced the five days in one of fourteen teams, with the camp’s theme of a hero’s journey. Team names such as Barbie and Curious George reflect characters in movies who do not think of themselves as heroes. But they undertake a quest to successfully resolve a challenge to their world, and in doing so are transformed. Just as our high school students at RYLA are also on a journey to believe in themselves more and to transform into confident leaders in development.
RYLA does not train leaders but rather fosters the five practices of exemplary leadership. At camp we also teach that there is more than one way to be a leader, represented by lions, peacocks, koalas and owls. Learn more about RYLA’s leadership approach here. You can see RYLA’s schedule at a glance here to understand the program that develops our youth. Days, evenings and nights at RYLA are always very full, but it makes for a very fulfilling experience.
This year we introduced a Wellness Creativity Space led by Robin Pence, a Rotarian who is a certified Youth Wellness Coach, to complement our longstanding nurse’s station. RYLA recognizes the importance of tending to campers’ physical and emotional well-being as part of their leadership development. The Wellness Creativity Space offered arts and crafts-related activities known to help calm and focus. Robin also worked individually with many RYLA campers (as well as some RYLA staff) facing emotionally challenging situations that camp brought to the forefront. Thanks to Robin and others in the RYLA team, campers who might have otherwise gone home stayed and shined at camp. Such as the young woman who was so anxious the first day and night she became physically ill. But the next night she was the very first student to give a testimonial of appreciation at our nightly campfires. She radiated hope and joy that night and for the rest of RYLA.
There are countless stories of the meaningful growth that RYLA inspires. Sometimes the effect is immediate. Students who arrive shy and withdrawn on Monday are smiling, confident and chatting with new friends just a day or two later. Sometimes RYLA’s impact takes a few years or more to percolate. RYLA transforms lives and on several occasions has even saved the lives of youth on the brink of despair.
Alumni Amaya B. shared at one of the campfires that growing up she was so anxious that she could not tie her own shoes and needed someone to hold her hand to take a shower. This year at camp Amaya helped oversee one of the girls’ cabins. When I raised a concern with her about a situation in her cabin, she firmly responded, “Todd, I’m on it! I’ve got your back!” Small in stature, Amaya is fierce beyond her teenage years.
Johnny C. is an exuberant alumni who won an award this year for his leadership bringing the alumni team together. Bob Hermann, former president of the Rotary Club of San Francisco and Mary Bates, former District Governor from the Rotary Club of Foster City, can testify that two years ago Johnny was a shy and reserved kid in their team Bob the Builder. They unleashed Johnny’s spirit and today he is unstoppable, like so many others who have gone to RYLA. Bob, Mary and all our staff truly have been builders of young leaders.
Karen Kam went to RYLA scared and nervous as a Lowell High School student when David Dye from the Rotary Club of San Francisco served as her Interact club’s advisor. This year Karen celebrated her tenth RYLA! Karen has served as a facilitator many times and for the past several years has built a dynamic alumni program with fellow Alumni Coordinator Kevin Angeles.
This year at RYLA we amplified our youth’s understanding of Rotary’s work and values. We gave an overview of Rotary at the opening ceremony and led the camp through spirited cheers of ‘Unite for Good!’ at the closing ceremony. We introduced the beautiful Rotary tradition of presenting guest speakers with certificates to inoculate 100 children against polio. Thank you to Frank Yoke, president of the Rotary Club of San Francisco for the club generously sponsoring this new initiative! Our speakers were deeply touched by this gesture and it provided an opportunity to teach our youth about the power of Rotary.
For Thursday’s RYLA Visit Day we welcomed nearly two dozen Rotarians and friends of Rotary. We were honored to have Rotary 5150 District Governor Mitione Griffiths share inspiring remarks at Thursday’s lunch. Mitone noted that her own daughter attributes the confidence she has developed to engage with adults to her participation in RYLA. Watch the video of the RYLA campers at lunch shouting the RYLA cheer and expressing their gratitude to Rotary.
The 39th annual RYLA concluded with a joyful rendition of our camp song It’s fun to stay at the R-Y-L-A, set to the tune of the Village People’s YMCA, composed by facilitator Linda Birnbaum from the Rotary Club of Mission San Rafael. Watch the video here. All 187 campers and staff departed RYLA forever changed, our hearts bursting with the many friendships and memories made. We hope that RYLA is the start of a lifelong connection to Rotary for RYLA campers and their families. (The parents of this year’s campers will soon receive an email inviting them to explore Rotary and join us. RYLA is proud to support efforts to grow our membership).
RYLA turns 40 next year! Watch this space to commemorate and celebrate RYLA’s impact.
RYLA is a Rotary Club of San Francisco project that benefits and involves many people from District 5150 and is generously supported by clubs and individuals throughout our district.
It may take a village to raise a child but it takes a tribe to host a RYLA. We would like to recognize and express our deep thanks to the 88 volunteer staff working at camp and behind the scenes over the past year.
Thank you to the fourteen volunteers from the Rotary Club of San Francisco: Todd St Vrain, Camp Director, Mary Liu, Facilitator, Housing Coordinator, Admin Support, and Workshop Presenter, Sunny Singh, Facilitator and Workshop Presenter, David Dye, Treasurer, Youth Protection Officer, and Admin Support, Dora Dye, Admin Support, Frank Yoke, Transport Co-Coordinator and Bus Greeter, Steve Lindstrom, Webmaster and Operations, Alisha Marfatia, Webmaster Assistant, Bob Hermann, Bus Greeter and Chaperon, Dan Joraanstad, Bus Greeter, Ruth Wenzel, Bus Greeter, Izzy Rudolph, Bus Greeter, David Folk, Bus Greeter and Scholarship Fund technical support, Scott Plakun, Scholarship Fund technical support.
Thank you to the 36 Rotarians from 18 other Rotary clubs from four Rotary districts: Rotary Club of Burlingame and Hillsborough: Marc Friedman, District 5150 Youth Exchange Coordinator and Workshop Presenter; Rotary Club of Chinatown: Rich Swart, Nurse, Johnny Wong, Facilitator and Bus Chaperone; Rotary Club of Foster City: Mary Bates, Youth Protection Advisor, Workshop Presenter and Admin Support; Rotary Club of Ignacio: Melissa Rinck, Facilitator; Rotary Club of Los Gatos: Chris Miller, Wellness Committee Co-Chair; Rotary Club of Menlo Park: Steve Milender, Facilitator; Rotary Club of Millbrae: Kristine Baltsasar, Transport Co-Coordinator and Bus Greeter, Mike Sung, Bus Greeter, Colleen Rocks, Bus Greeter, Rachel Heck, Bus Greeter; Rotary Club of Mission San Rafael: Linda Birnbaum, Facilitator Trainer, Facilitator and Camp Song Composer, Marijane Guy, Facilitator, Nancie Bottmeyer, Bus Greeter; Rotary Club of Novato: Maggie Shao, Facilitator, Christina Stroeh, Program Committee Co-Chair, Peian Harness, Bus Greeter; Rotary Club of Ross Valley: Kathy Hagee, Facilitator, Workshop Presenter and Bus Chaperone; Rotary Club San Francisco Evening: Howard Kahan, Facilitator; Rotary Club of San Francisco West: Frank Moreman, Youth Protection Case Manager; Rotary Club of San Mateo: Gary White, Facilitator Recruitment Co-Coordinator, Facilitator, and Keynote Speaker, Liam Friel, Facilitator and Workshop Presenter; Rotary Club of San Rafael Evening: Allen Ng, Admin Support; Rotary Club of Sausalito: Michael Rex, Facilitator and Workshop Presenter; Rotary Club of South San Francisco: Ceres Dela Paz and James Calacal, Bus Greeters and Chaperones; Rotary Club of Sunrise Novato: Sylvia Chang Barry, District 5150 Youth Coordinator, Sue Royce, Bus Chaperone, Judy Johnson, Facilitator and Admin Support, Robin Pence, Youth Wellness Coach, Carol-Joy Harris, Facilitator and Workshop Presenter, Bill Davis, Facilitator, Harry Thomas, Facilitator; Rotary Club of Reno: Patrick Dunn, Keynote Speaker; Rotaract Club of UC Berkeley: Selina Tran, Facilitator and Workshop Presenter, Talia Nguyen, Facilitator and Workshop Presenter.
Thank you to our 38 other volunteers: Kevin Angeles, Alumni Coordinator; Josh Hafter, Facilitator Recruiter Co-Coordinator, Facilitator, Workshop Presenter, and Bus Chaperone; Karen Kam, Alumni Coordinator; Art Kauffman and Harmony Ma, Admin Support; Reese Anderson and Ashby Remak, Facilitators and Workshop Presenters; TJ Rodriguez, Facilitator, Stargazing Coordinator, and Bus Chaperone; Rhaeven Pilazar, Kaela Patron, Kathy Diaz, Jenny Campbell, Ashley Seto, Facilitators. Mike Walsh, Keynote Speaker; Maria Barrera, Keynote Speaker; Julia Zeitlin, Keynote Speaker; Lia A., Elyssa A., Wayne A., Alvina B., Amaya B., Myla B., Johnny C., Ila D., Jackson G., Cheryl L., Evelyn L., Jackson N-P., Kai P., Olivia P., Xin Bei Q., Agnes Q., Hannah Q., Geovanna R., Eva T., Madison W., Andie W., Michelle Y., Alumni.
RYLA is also grateful to the 36 Rotary clubs and individuals in District 5150 who donated to RYLA this year. RYLA appreciates that participating clubs vary in their capacity to give. Every donation makes a difference to what RYLA can achieve. We would also like to recognize Mary Liu Realtor for her company’s in-kind donation of printing services for RYLA, valued at $2,500. And thank you to Costco and Trader Joe’s for the gift certificates that Mary Liu secured which helped underwrite the cost for daily snack breaks at camp.
It is an honor to serve as RYLA’s Camp Director. I stand on the shoulders of giants: Jim Patrick who started RYLA’s predecessor Camp Enterprise, Jim Murray, David Dye, Sue Rakow, Lynn Luckow and all the others who have served previously as RYLA’s director.
RYLA would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all who have supported the camp in so many ways. Our youth are not the leaders of tomorrow. They are leaders of today into tomorrow. Thank you for believing in our them and providing the opportunity for the transformative power that is RYLA. As this year’s RYLA cheer expresses, lead with your heart, make your mark!
In service above self,
Todd St Vrain
RYLA Camp Director