Youth in Focus (Seattle)

YIF is a Seattle-based nonprofit with a mission to equip youth to share their ideas and values with the world through photography and art. As the only photography-specific youth development organization in Seattle, YIF provides free and pay-what-you-can programs for youth ages 13-19, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and career-connected learning. Through after school classes, mentorship, and hands-on training, students gain technical skills while developing confidence and self-expression. YIF prioritizes equitable access, ensuring historically underserved youth have the tools, resources, and opportunities to explore artistic and professional pathways.

With a 30-year history, YIF has empowered thousands of youth through accessible arts education, fostering personal and artistic growth. In 2024 alone, we served 457 students with over 850 hours of instruction and awarded $26,770 in youth stipends across our Creative Career Cohort, Job Training Program, and Youth Advisory Board.

We center teens who are disproportionately impacted by historical and current inequities. 70% of young people in our programs are BIPOC, more than 50% experience poverty, 15% are English language learners, and 43% identify as LGBTQ+ - all of whom have disproportionate access to educational justice and accessible arts programming.

At Youth in Focus we value art as a powerful medium of change to create a healthy, vibrant, equitable and just society for all.

As we look to our future, Youth in Focus is committed to serving even more students furthest from education justice and continuing our work to become an anti-racist organization. Our supportive and inclusive community provides a sense of belonging and safety for youth, fostering positive connections between youth and caring adults.

We’re looking for individuals who are excited to be a part of our mission! We value talents as much as skills and lived experience as much as education. Consider applying if you can:

• Champion and live out our values of: centering youth, equity, creativity, welcoming, learning, and joy.
• Approach the need for growth with curiosity and possibility.
• Enthusiastically share our story in a variety of ways.
• Communicate both personal and programmatic needs and decision-making processes effectively with a variety of stakeholders.
• Lead with the need, offer grace, assume best intentions, and hold self and others accountable.
• Build and maintain relationships with staff, students, and program partners.
• Adapt to change, work through set-backs/challenges, and creatively solve problems as they arise.
• Commit to arts education and youth development as a means to educational justice and creating a healthy, vibrant, and just society.