Silvia Young
Executive Director & Board President
FemTruth Youth
Silvia Young serves as the Executive Director and Board President of FemTruth Youth (FTY), a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls. With a deep commitment to gender equity and education, Young has cultivated an organization that provides essential resources, sustainable personal products, and educational workshops and performances on health, wellness, sustainability, and financial literacy.
Under her leadership, FTY’s signature Green Kit initiative provides essential items for girls facing period poverty in Contra Costa County, California. These kits, designed to last more than ten years, contain menstrual cups, period panties, cloth pads, laundry wet bags, eco-detergent, a hot water bottle, an educational brochure, and a health and wellness book, in a canvas tote. This initiative not only relieves the financial burden on girls and their families but also promotes sustainability and better health outcomes, providing an eco-solution for uninterrupted education from puberty through college.
Young’s leadership has driven FemTruth Youth to significant milestones, such as launching the FTY Goes Green program, (a sustainability-focused workshop by youth for youth), establishing its first high school club and youth advisory board, and successfully organizing fundraising initiatives like the "Shine Like a Star" gala. Her strategic vision has forged partnerships with local businesses to fundraise with Pop-Up Shops, and she enhances the organization's reach and impact through student-centered community presentations, workshops, and performances.
A seasoned Women's Studies scholar and educator, Young has authored and published several influential books, including Good Girl, Bad Period and Flo’s Friends, A Wellness Guide Beyond Menstruation. Her works, now featured in academic settings globally, address silenced and stigmatized topics, sparking crucial dialogues, and drawing parallels between women’s literature, women’s rights movements, and narrative medicine. Her impactful advocacy is further amplified through her play GASLIT, A 3-Act Play, which has been significant in normalizing conversations about women's health in schools and communities, and debuted at UC Davis by its leading Period chapter. She was also honored to have her play produced by The Pad Project, creators of OSCAR®-winning documentary Period End of Sentence.
In the legislative arena, Young has been instrumental in leading and mentoring coalitions toward historic California wins in equity bills such as the tax exemption for menstrual products, new and expanded ingredient disclosure requirements in menstrual products, and requirements for public schools to stock restrooms with free menstrual products. Proclamations from the City and County of San Francisco and Contra Costa County recognized September as FemTruth Youth Women’s Health Awareness Month. Currently, Young is working in collaboration with advocacy partners, CA-Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and Nevada National Organization for Women (NOW), on securing legislative sponsors for her proposed bill, "Empower Pupils: Women's Health Training," aiming to further advance education on women’s health.
Beyond her work with FemTruth Youth, Young is deeply involved in education. She teaches and mentors in her local school district, fostering the next generation of leaders. She also hosts and produces the podcast She Opened a Door, interviewing and celebrating women who have paved the way for others including the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Equal Pay, and Title IX advocates Zoe Nicholson and Jeri Burton.
A sought-after speaker, Young has presented at numerous prestigious institutions, including Cambridge University, University of Graz, Columbia University, and UC Berkeley. Her presentations at major conferences like the National Organization for Women, the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, the National Association of Commissions on Women, and the Women's March Foundation, highlight her expertise and dedication to advancing gender equity.
Young brings her biracial and multicultural life experience to her work. She lives in the Bay Area with her family, where she continues to lead FemTruth Youth with dedication and vision.
Under her leadership, FTY’s signature Green Kit initiative provides essential items for girls facing period poverty in Contra Costa County, California. These kits, designed to last more than ten years, contain menstrual cups, period panties, cloth pads, laundry wet bags, eco-detergent, a hot water bottle, an educational brochure, and a health and wellness book, in a canvas tote. This initiative not only relieves the financial burden on girls and their families but also promotes sustainability and better health outcomes, providing an eco-solution for uninterrupted education from puberty through college.
Young’s leadership has driven FemTruth Youth to significant milestones, such as launching the FTY Goes Green program, (a sustainability-focused workshop by youth for youth), establishing its first high school club and youth advisory board, and successfully organizing fundraising initiatives like the "Shine Like a Star" gala. Her strategic vision has forged partnerships with local businesses to fundraise with Pop-Up Shops, and she enhances the organization's reach and impact through student-centered community presentations, workshops, and performances.
A seasoned Women's Studies scholar and educator, Young has authored and published several influential books, including Good Girl, Bad Period and Flo’s Friends, A Wellness Guide Beyond Menstruation. Her works, now featured in academic settings globally, address silenced and stigmatized topics, sparking crucial dialogues, and drawing parallels between women’s literature, women’s rights movements, and narrative medicine. Her impactful advocacy is further amplified through her play GASLIT, A 3-Act Play, which has been significant in normalizing conversations about women's health in schools and communities, and debuted at UC Davis by its leading Period chapter. She was also honored to have her play produced by The Pad Project, creators of OSCAR®-winning documentary Period End of Sentence.
In the legislative arena, Young has been instrumental in leading and mentoring coalitions toward historic California wins in equity bills such as the tax exemption for menstrual products, new and expanded ingredient disclosure requirements in menstrual products, and requirements for public schools to stock restrooms with free menstrual products. Proclamations from the City and County of San Francisco and Contra Costa County recognized September as FemTruth Youth Women’s Health Awareness Month. Currently, Young is working in collaboration with advocacy partners, CA-Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and Nevada National Organization for Women (NOW), on securing legislative sponsors for her proposed bill, "Empower Pupils: Women's Health Training," aiming to further advance education on women’s health.
Beyond her work with FemTruth Youth, Young is deeply involved in education. She teaches and mentors in her local school district, fostering the next generation of leaders. She also hosts and produces the podcast She Opened a Door, interviewing and celebrating women who have paved the way for others including the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Equal Pay, and Title IX advocates Zoe Nicholson and Jeri Burton.
A sought-after speaker, Young has presented at numerous prestigious institutions, including Cambridge University, University of Graz, Columbia University, and UC Berkeley. Her presentations at major conferences like the National Organization for Women, the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, the National Association of Commissions on Women, and the Women's March Foundation, highlight her expertise and dedication to advancing gender equity.
Young brings her biracial and multicultural life experience to her work. She lives in the Bay Area with her family, where she continues to lead FemTruth Youth with dedication and vision.
TAX ID 86-3378586
