About
Why I Started YCB
I watched my friends in Bellevue pour their energy into bake sales and fundraisers to help our schools. But our district was facing a real funding crisis, and nobody was talking about why. The problem wasn't generosity. It was that none of us understood how school funding actually worked.
When a single policy decision changes in Olympia, it affects 295 school districts and over 1.1 million students across Washington State. That felt too important for students to ignore. We should understand the system that shapes our own education.
So I built Youth Civic Bridge to teach students how to understand funding models, analyze policy, and take real civic action for their communities. Not just raise money, but change the conversation.
William Yoon, Founder
Our Mission
Youth Civic Bridge equips young people, especially those from immigrant families, with the skills to understand civic systems, read public data, analyze policy, and act on what they learn.
Our Vision
Empowering immigrant youth to become informed civic leaders who understand the systems that shape their lives, bridging the gap between their communities and civic institutions.
Our Team
YCB is built by students and passed on to students. Each year, new leaders step up to carry the mission forward.
William Yoon
Founder
William is a senior at Interlake High School in the Bellevue School District. Advocates for equal access to quality education for all students. Focuses on closing achievement gaps and resource disparities. Serves as ASB Co-President at Interlake, leads the school's debate team, and is a 2026 Presidential AI Challenge state winner for his K-12 funding analysis work.
Hyeonseo Ah
Technical Lead
Pushes for the development of more efficient transportation infrastructure. Ensuring equitable public transit access for all communities.
Jed Kim
Arts Access & Equity Leader
Advocates for funding and diversity of the arts, and promoting diversity in education. Improving accessibility for disadvantaged and rural students.
Mark Yu
Gun Violence Prevention Leader
Advocates to reduce gun violence. Led a project featured on the Bellevue School District's Instagram, and has given public comments at a BSD board meeting and a Bellevue City Council meeting.
Stanley Song
Research Leader
A junior at Interlake High School on YCB's research team, helping members with research and Python. Ranked top 60 nationally in badminton, and also competes in Public Forum debate and builds rockets.
Andrew Wang
Coding Program Leader
A senior at Skyline High School who teaches the aspects of coding that make it useful. Started in Python and C++ before picking up Java, and spends his free time on photography, violin, Raspberry Pi projects, and public transit.
Our Work
Workshops, presentations, and community engagement.
Why Data and Policy?
You can't change a system you don't understand. We teach students how civic systems work, so they can make them work better.
Understand the System First
We teach students how government funding, policy decisions, and civic processes actually work, so they can engage with evidence, not just opinions.
Bilingual Bridge-Building
Students translate complex civic information into their home languages, helping families navigate government systems and participate in democracy.
Evidence-Based Advocacy
From city budgets to policy documents, students learn to read, analyze, and present evidence to advocate for real community change.
Real-World Impact
Every workshop ends with a community action project. Students don't just learn. They do.