The newest director of Oregon's Salem Electric doesn't pay an electric bill and isn't old enough to vote.

Yet 17-year-old Andrea Prince, a rising senior at West Salem High School, will take a seat in the boardroom with seven directors this fall at the Salem-based electric cooperative. As the co-op's first student director, Prince will learn about the co-op business model, electric utilities and board governance while building confidence and leadership skills.

“I'm looking forward to working in a professional setting and building practical skills like time management, problem-solving and communication that I can't fully learn in a classroom," says Prince, who will earn a college scholarship at the end of her service next year.

Developed by Salem Electric directors and Executive Assistant Randi Johnson, the program immerses young members in the world of electric cooperatives and encourages them to consider co-op careers. The program is open to high school students whose parents are co-op members.

“Co-ops are great places to work," says Johnson, who designed much of the program. “We have a lot of talented youth in our community, but how can we make them aware of the value of a co-op?"

On a smaller scale, the co-op program fills a void left when a citywide youth leadership program run for two decades by the local chamber of commerce ended after the COVID-19 pandemic. The co-op had sponsored a delegate, but Director Joe Van Meter said limited resources prevented it from restarting a similar program.

Van Meter missed the energy and fresh perspectives that only a young person can bring. “Youth engagement was always part of my upbringing," he says.

Van Meter started thinking after seeing a presentation on NRECA's Electric Cooperative Youth Tour by Lindsey Moulder from Midstate Electric Cooperative, the 2024 Youth Leadership Council Oregon delegate.

“She talked about the impact the program had on her life," Van Meter says. “That, plus presentations by [YLC] participants at PowerXchange in Atlanta, got my creative juices flowing. How do we build the next generation of board leadership?"

Inspired, the director of 24 years brought the notion of a youth director program to his colleagues. They liked the idea, and the group then tapped the co-op network's treasure trove of knowledge.

NRECA Youth Programs Manager Cale McCall connected Van Meter to several Indiana co-ops with their own youth director programs.

At least four Indiana co-ops offer youth director boards, and a similar program exists in Oklahoma for college students.

Fulton County REMC's youth director program is starting its 11th year. Juniors and seniors commit for two years and meet 11 times a year at its headquarters in Rochester, Indiana. Each month covers a topic, department or co-op principle.

Students take field trips, learn about budgeting and even build a mock line and pole in the pole yard.

“Creating a student board is hard work, but then it flourishes into something wonderful over time," says Carissa Ziemek, Fulton County REMC marketing and communications specialist.

The Indiana co-ops emphasized the importance of setting student expectations at the outset, says Johnson, who details them in a handbook and curriculum she developed.

“The application covers eligibility, business ethics and conduct," she says. “We expect 100% attendance at the board meetings throughout the academic year, but we also understand that students are incredibly busy and things come up."

Prince said she's ready for the commitment. The varsity tennis player and avid nature group volunteer always keeps her calendar written out and relies on lists to stay organized.

The curriculum's six modules cover the seven cooperative principles, the origins of rural electrification, the Bonneville Power Administration, the co-op itself, director duties and parliamentary procedures.

Organizers also made sure to carve out an element of personal development, with an onboarding session and a personal mentor—a board director—for Prince. It's all part of co-ops' growing efforts to invest in local young people.

“What's in it for us is a new perspective and paying it forward," Van Meter says. “How do you get people interested in the co-op world and particularly board involvement if you don't expose people to it? We don't have a younger generation on our board. We're all gray hairs."