The Youth Empowerment Alliance, Inc. (YEA) was formed in 1995 as a division of Sherry Wheatley Sacino, Inc., an international marketing firm. The purpose of YEA was to work with large organizations to assist them to effectively and efficiently deliver messages of social importance to youth, often through the voices of professional and Olympic athletes and other celebrities.

In 1995, YEA’s president Sherry Sacino, wrote a best-selling children’s book (Keeping the Drive Alive) and contracted with the Walt Disney Company and ESPN to build their youth-focused website. At its launch, it was the most successful youth website in history due, in part, to its direct tie-in with the supersite, ESPN Sports Zone.

This assignment led to a senior advisor position with the White House, working with the Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. For ONDCP, Sacino brought the professional and Olympic athletes to the multi-billion-dollar campaign as spokespeople. In addition, she also forged the relationship between the White House and the Girl Scouts of the USA, Boy Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Youth Service America as well as the professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL) and the United States Olympic Committee.

In addition, with the support of several professional football players and coaches, Sacino founded Athletes News Service, Inc., which provides color commentary material for live game coverage to the major television networks and supplied stories to Kid’s Pages in many major daily newspapers.

During this time, Sacino wrote her second children’s best-seller, Spiritual Touchdowns, in cooperation with the National Football League which was released in 1998.

By early 2001, YEA had forged strong relationships with most of the largest youth-focused organizations in the United States. And, it was at this time she decided the direction of the company will move from message-driven to assisting youth in creating their own messages and utilizing their own voice to create their future. In 2002, YEA filed for 501 (c)(3) non-profit status with the IRS, which was granted in 2003.

Presently, YEA is actively working with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UN-DPI) and many non-profit organizations to create three projects (described on this website). The primary project is a youth media network which encourages youth worldwide to express their voice in public policy by creating and distributing news and feature stories for print, television and radio through mainstream media.