Twenty teens from Dorchester and Mattapan were named to the 2018 Mayor’s Youth Council on Thursday, Dec. 14. The council includes 85 high school-aged youth from Boston who will counsel Mayor Walsh and the members of his administration on policy and programming, according to the mayor’s office.

The council meets year-round and members dedicate 8-13 hours a month to meetings, events, projects, and outreach. The council leads a participatory budgeting process called “Youth Lead the Change,” which engages the community in how the City spends $1,000,000 of the budget.

The 85 selected council members are overseen by Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) Division of Youth Engagement & Employment. The students come from all over the City of Boston and attend a variety of public, private, parochial and alternative high schools. They were chosen after an extensive application and interview process.

The Dorchester and Mattapan council members include: Ameer Muhammad, Ardo Ali, Ashawn Dabney-Small, Bishop Edwards, Dennis Wu, Emma Tobin, Fiona Weir, Ifrah Guhan, Joan Dotruong, Jenny Ngo, Malika Cruickshank, Matthew Wang, Megan Malkemes, Sebastian Cayo, Shayna C. Morales-Soto, Stevenson Elianor, Tin (Ian) Yau Lee, Bethsaida Antoine, Nikkia Jean-Charles and Rose Koumbassa.

Council representatives form six different issue-centric subcommittees with a chosen director and deputy director, including Arts & Culture, Civic Engagement, Education & Engagement, Public Health and Safety, “Youth Lead the Change” and Workforce & Economic Development.