Chicago Youth of the Year 2026 at Navy Pier: Five Teens Take the Stage to Shape the City’s Future

On March 5, beneath the glittering chandeliers of the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, five Chicago teens will step into a spotlight large enough to hold the hopes of a city.

The occasion is the 2026 Youth of the Year competition, the highest honor awarded by Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago. It is less a pageant and more a proving ground. Here, leadership is not a buzzword. It is lived experience. Academic grit. Community commitment. Long afternoons at the Club that quietly bend a life toward possibility.

More than 700 civic leaders, CEOs and philanthropists are expected to fill the ballroom. But the night belongs to the young people.

The 2026 Youth of the Year Finalists Representing neighborhoods across Chicago, the finalists are:

• Mekhi, 17, from the James R. Jordan Club on the West Side
• Karina, 18, from the Bartlett J. McCartin Club in Bridgeport
• Olivia, 16, from the True Value Club in Little Village
• Naeemah, 15, from the Rusu-McCartin Club in Austin
• Demario, 17, from the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Club in East Garfield Park

Each finalist will deliver a personal speech before the crowd, reflecting on leadership journeys forged through challenge, mentorship and ambition. For months, they have prepared. On this night, preparation gives way to testimony.

The competition is co-chaired by Nuveen CEO Bill Huffman, Deloitte Global Deputy CEO Stacy Janiak and Great Day Improvements CFO Mike Coyne. The honorary chair, Les Coney, brings a full-circle narrative, having earned the award himself 50 years ago when it was known as Boy of the Year. Why Youth of the Year Matters in Chicago

For more than 120 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago has operated as a second home for thousands of young people across the city. In neighborhoods often defined by headlines about hardship, BGCC builds different narratives. Ones rooted in mentorship. Academic support. Safe spaces after school.

Youth of the Year is the organization’s pinnacle recognition. It amplifies voices that might otherwise remain local and introduces them to a citywide audience. It also reminds Chicago’s business and civic leadership that the future workforce, the next entrepreneurs, educators and public servants, are already here. They just need investment.

Event Details Date: Thursday, March 5

Location: Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, 840 E Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60611

By the end of the evening, one teen will carry the 2026 Youth of the Year title. But in truth, five neighborhoods will see themselves reflected on that stage. And Chicago will be reminded that its most powerful asset is not steel or skyline, but young people who refuse to let circumstance write their story.

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