Kaden Blair Chosen for ODE Youth Advisory Council

Kaden Blair at the 2026 UNITY Conference

Kaden Blair, Cow Creek Umpqua Tribal member and Vice Chairman for the Tribal Youth Council (TYC), has been selected to serve on the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) Youth Advisory Council.

Blair was chosen from more than 177 applicants from across the state of Oregon for one of 70 positions on the council, which collects data for and provides youth perspective to the ODE for education projects through monthly meetings of up to three hours in length.

“I want to give credit to Nicole Pettengill, the Youth Engagement Specialist,” said Blair. “Her letter of recommendation helped a lot in the application process.”

Blair expects to be helping develop student questionnaires that might try to inform the ODE on issues such as chronic absenteeism, safety in school, trust in education staff, and more relevant topics.

“I won’t just be thinking about the youth in my school or in my Tribe,” said Blair. “I’ll be thinking about youth in the whole state. It’s a jump in scale from being the freshman class president or the vice chairman of the TYC. I’ll do my best to bring Native representation to the council. I’m representing two worlds, the kids in my local school area and the Tribal youth. I need to do my best to represent both fairly.”

Blair also hopes to be able to engage in more hands-on duties with the ODE Youth Advisory Council, and that he can learn a lot that will help him be a leader for youth everywhere.

“I want to learn how to advocate for youth better. My dream is that someday I won’t have to advocate for youth because they’ll be able to advocate for themselves. Through this opportunity, I hope that I’ll either be able to teach youth how to advocate for themselves, or push for a change on the council that will make it easier for youth to speak and be heard. That’s my goal, that I can inspire someone to think ‘I can do that too.‘”

“You do have a voice,” emphasizes Blair. “It might be difficult in some situations, but the best way to get more comfortable is to practice; start with talking with family or a friend, then go bigger. Accept the challenge, accept the fear. It’s daunting, but you can do it.”