Our Story

How MTYA Began

At the heart of our story is a belief in a better Montana, and that’s what we’re fighting for.

Montana Youth Action was founded in early 2019 by Isaac Nehring, a then freshman in high school from Helena. This organization was created out of an absence in truly youth-run civic engagement efforts at a statewide level in Montana. Our state needed an organized community of middle and high school students affecting change all over Big Sky Country.

We began operating in Helena with meetings every few weeks at a local Starbucks Coffee. Montana Youth Action started small with just six high schoolers sitting around a table thinking about what kinds of civic engagement opportunities for youth are lacking in this state and what we could do about it. Over that Summer, the new Board of Directors filed the organization as 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, receiving confirmation from the IRS in October 2019. Montana Youth Action had now been brought to life and it was time to get to work.

Over the course of the next school year, Montana Youth Action expanded our membership program, hosted several events, engaged in advocacy efforts, and created a community of youth from Billings to Bigfork, all in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, we launched our local chapter program, establishing chapters in cities across the state. We are now present in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, the Flathead Valley, Great Falls, Helena, Livingston, and Missoula through local chapters led by dedicated local staff making change in their communities.

As a nonpartisan organization, we have been a community welcoming of youth from all political backgrounds and beliefs. We stand up against injustice through advocacy, spreading awareness, and mutual aid. Montana Youth Action members have made their voices heard through our organization in city halls and capitol hill.

We are now proud to be the largest youth-run nonprofit organization in Montana, serving hundreds of youth annually through a variety of civic engagement programs and opportunities. Our statewide working Board of Directors and local chapter staff are now no longer just six high schoolers sitting around a coffee table; we’re a politically powerful coalition of youth on the frontlines in Montana fighting for a better future for the state we love.

Keep the energy and the work going! Donate today here.