In 1976, The NRECA board of directors created the Youth Consulting Board. In 1998, the structure of the Youth Consulting Board was redesigned and is now known as the NRECA Youth Leadership Council.
The Youth Leadership Council (YLC) is a joint effort of local electric co-ops, statewides and NRECA that was created to provide an extension of youth activities available to states participating in the Youth Tour program. Each state is entitled to have one representative on the Youth Leadership Council. The representatives are selected by statewide Youth Tour directors through a variety of of methods. The new Youth Leadership Council members are announced each year during the Youth Day program in Washington, D.C.
The YLC is designed to develop the participants' leadership and presentation skills and provide a broader understanding of electric cooperatives. All YLC members attend the NRECA Youth Leadership Conference and the NRECA Annual Meeting. In addition, YLC members are selected from NRECA Regional Meeting host states to speak before the membership about their Youth Tour experiences.
The NRECA Youth Leadership Conference is held each summer following the Youth Tour. The Conference provides hands-on activities that promote individual leadership development. During the conference, participants select a spokesperson to address the membership of the NRECA Annual Meeting and the Youth Tour delegates the following summer.