NYRA is more than just a fancy webpage and a fresh take on civil rights. NYRA is the largest, most effective Youth Rights organization in the country. Here are some of our accomplishments:

2008

• The first television ad supporting a lower voting age is created by NYRA-Southeast Florida and run on Washington, DC cable.
• Over 100 college presidents join the Amethyst Initiative, gaining publicity for NYRA and a lower drinking age.
• NYRA launches a new action-based Facebook Application
• NYRA-Southeast Florida is formed.
• NYRA gains a YouTube channel
  
  2007
  
• Executive Director Alex Koroknay-Palicz featured in the Washington Post
• NYRA's lower the drinking age Facebook cause grows to over 25,000 supporters
• Executive Director, Alex Koroknay-Palicz, interviewed on CNN's Situation Room about lowering the drinking age
• Launch of comprehensive new YouthRights.org Download Section
• NYRA Vice President, Stefan Muller, succeeds in repealing curfew law in Port Washington, NY
• The campaign to lower the drinking age - and NYRA - experiences a burst of media attention
• Allstate comes under fire from NYRA for ageist advertising campaign
• NYRA-Watkins Glen founded
• NYRA helps defeat a bill in Washington, DC that would criminalize underage drinking and ban youth from clubs
• NYRA helps defeat a Washington, DC bill to lower curfew time to 10 p.m.
• NYRA joins student free speech rally in front of Supreme Court during Frederick v. Morse
• NYRA rents first real office
  
  2006
  
• NYRA Executive Director, Alex Koroknay-Palicz, speaks at the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators in New Orleans
• NYRA staff and members appear in BBC radio program about youth rights
• North Carolina HOSA reduces age requirement for state officers in response to effort by NYRA Vice-President, Adam King
• The Babson Foundation awards NYRA an $8,000 grant
• NYRA-Bergen County in NJ is approved
• NYRA-Paterson works to fight the curfew in their city
• The NYRA Book Club is started to discuss different youth rights books
• NYC Councilmember Gale Brewer introduced a bill to lower the voting age to 16 in municipal elections
• NYRA Members in California meet to try to convince Democratic Party to support a lower voting age
• NYRA member, Adam King, works to add a student advisor onto his local board of education
• NYRA releases driving study with Dr. Mike Males showing that teen drivers are safer than what many think
• NYRA-Vermont Commons holds "Know Your Rights Day"
• NYRA appears on Voice America Radio with Dr. Mike Males
• Several articles cover NYRA's fight to stop Myspace restrictions
• NYRA-Berkeley holds a voting age debate
• Time Warner awards NYRA its first grant for $1000
  
  2005
  
• NYRA-Vermont holds first meeting
• First Florida chapter is formed
• West Wing episode seriously discussed whether to lower the voting age
• Vermont Campaign to lower the drinking age began
• Alexis Grant speaks on teen driving panel hosted by USA Today
• Alex Koroknay-Palicz appeared on Fox News discussing the driving age
• NYRA representatives, including executive director Alex Koroknay-Palicz, and NYRA-NYC president Ana Hevesi speak at New York City Councilmember Gale Brewer's press conference proposing a voting age of 16 for local elections
• NYRA hires Executive Director full time
• NYRA-Orange County begins operation, with a strong focus on lowering the voting age
• Koroknay-Palicz gets an office, provided by the Center for Voting and Democracy in Takoma Park
• NYRA's first intern, Vera Zolotaryova, begins work at Takoma Park office
• The organization's newsletter staff is joined by Adam King
• NYRA reaches 6000 members
• NYRA-Monroe County (Rochester, NY) starts up
  
  2004
  
• NYRA gets 501c3 status from IRS
• NYRA President appears on Wisconsin Public Radio about voting age
• Press release sent in advance of NYRA-Berkeley voting age protest
• NYRA President testifies in favor of bill to lower voting age in California
• Earns fantastic media coverage in Boston Globe, LA Times, Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle and many more
• NYRA President discusses voting age on ABC's jumbotron in Times Square
• Earns college newspaper coverage regarding drinking age at Georgetown, American University, and George Washington University
• New chapter in Berkeley, CA stages voting age protest outside of polls on March 2
• Los Angeles and New York City chapters approved
• Alex Koroknay-Palicz appeared on Fox News to discuss lowering the voting age
• NYRA reaches 5000 members
• Brad White appeared on Fox News to discuss lowering the drinking age
  
  2003
  
• NYRA-DC relaunched with support from Youth Venture
• Assisted Anchorage, Alaska campaign to lower the city voting age
• NYRA President appeared on the John McMullen show on Sirius satelite radio
• NYRA launches drinking age and voting age resource pages
• Appeared in Raleigh News Observer regarding youth councils
• NYRA President quoted in Education Week on student due process rights
• Featured in Dallas Morning News article on youth rights
• More stores reverse ageist policies in response to NYRA's anti-age discrimination campaign
• Press release sent in support of Florida campaign to lower the voting age
• Letter writing campaign in support of Maine voting age bill launched
• NYRA Representative testifies in support of Texas bill to lower the voting age
• A press release sent in reaction to youth competence study
• NYRA-High Point formed in Beltsville, Maryland
• DC students protest ageist policy at a 7-11
• Campaign to lower voting age in Takoma Park, MD begun
• NYRA interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor about high school due process rights
• NYRA-DC's Takoma Park voting age campaign highlighted in Gazette
• Quoted by Voice of America
• North Carolina chapter works to lower age to run for office in state
• NYRA-Montgomery County formed
• Quoted by Montreal Mirror
• NYRA-Mizzou helps to defeat curfew in Columbia, MO
• Curfew resource page launched
• NYRA President speaks at International Democratic Education Conference
• AOL news spotlights NYRA on welcome screen
• Featured in Boston Globe article on voting age
• NYRA President speaks at the Claim Democracy conference at Washington Convention Center
• Appeared on RNN about lowering voting age
• NYRA plugged on NPR
• ABCnews.com featured NYRA in voting age article
• NYRA President speaks at NYLC conferences
  
  2002
  
• NYRA President spoke at a Washington Close-Up Conference
• NYRA President spoke at a Junior State of America conference in US Senate Building
• NYRA Members attend Youth Violence March in Virginia
• Press release widely circulated on anti-youth portion of campaign finance
• Chapters for Middle Georgia College and Tennessee Valley are formed
• NYRA President featured on CNN International to discuss Youth Rights
• Chapter for Madison, Wisconsin approved
• NYRA President & NYRA Vice-President spoke at three NYLF Conferences
• NYRA-AU Brings Dr. David Hanson to speak on drinking age
• TCS Founder Sarah Lawrence spoke at AU about "Taking Children Seriously"
• NYRA's first state chapter, NYRA - Mississippi is approved
• North Dakota chapter approved
  
• Stopped age discrimination in 15 stores from Michigan, Virginia, and Maryland
  
• Appeared in LA Times article
• NYRA President in two drinking age debates hosted by CYLC
• NYRA Member testified against smoking age bill in California
• Press release sent regarding drug testing in schools
• NYRA participated in anti-drug testing protest
• NYRA President spoke to Close-Up conference
• Mike Males spoke at SSDP/MPP Conference
• NYRA Member founds Youth Advisory Council in Durham, NC
  
• Michigan chapter approved
• Quoted in Jackson Free Press
  
• NYRA-Mizzou appeared in two campus articles: 1, 2


2001

• NYRA Director appeared on an Oregon radio station in response to Santee school shooting
• NYRA Director appeared on a San Diego radio station in response to Santee school shooting
• NYRA President appeared on radio station WKZO in Kalamazoo, MI to discuss age discrimination campaign
• NYRA President featured on CNN Sunday to debate lowering the Drinking Age
• NYRA President featured on RNN in New York to advocate lowering the Drinking Age
• Won campaign against four Michigan businesses that discriminated based on age
• NYRA President appeared on Michigan Talk Radio regarding age discrimination campaign
• Featured in Grand Rapids Press and Holland Sentinel newspapers regarding age discrimination campaign
• Appeared in SFGate.com article
• Recruited 500 new members in 3 months
• NYRA President facilitated a break-out session at an ACLU conference on school violence
• NYRA President spoke at a joint ABA and NCSS Conference
• NYRA President & NYRA Vice-President spoke at three NYLF Conferences
• NYRA President spoke at ACLU-National Capitol Area Conference on Zero-Tolerance
• NYRA Members in Augusta, GA overturned anti-free expression policy at school
• Tabled at SSDP Conference
  
  2000
  
• Chapter formed for Washington, DC area
• Alex Koroknay-Palicz was keynote speaker at Hewlett Model Congress in Long Island, New York
• Organized petition campaign that succeeded in rewriting Hudsonville, MI curfew law
• Chapter formed in Ottawa County, Michigan
• NYRA-OC Chapter featured in the Holland Sentinel
• Helped organize nationwide Lower the Vote 2000 protests
• NYRA President appeared on radio station WMAL in Washington, DC to discuss lowering the Voting Age
• NYRA President appeared on radio station WJR in Detroit to discuss lowering the Voting Age
• NYRA featured in Fort Worth Star-Telegram regarding lowering the Voting Age
• NYRA featured in article on Slate.com
  
  
  1999
  
• Assembled prestigious Board of Advisors
• Participated in two Washington, DC curfew protests
• Chapter formed at American University in Washington, DC
  
  1998
  
• NYRA Director testified on bills in Maryland legislature
• NYRA is officially incorporated