Keith Hefner is the founder and Executive Director of
Youth Communication, an influential
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
publishing magazines and books by and for youth. The magazines are ''YCteen'' (formerly known as New Youth Connections), written by New York City teens, and ''Represent'' (formerly known as ''Foster Care Youth United'' or ''FCYU''), by and for
foster youth
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family m ...
. He is also a founder of
Youth Liberation of Ann Arbor, a
youth rights organization in
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
.
Biography
After growing up in Ann Arbor, in eleventh grade Hefner was inspired to become involved in the
youth-led media
Youth-led media is any effort created, planned, implemented, and reflected upon by young people in the form of media, including websites, newspapers, television shows and publications.
Movement
These efforts form the basis of an international mov ...
field after seeing a
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
principal censor the
school newspaper. Soon after he started a magazine for local
youth activists
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...
called ''FPS''.
From 1971–1979 Hefner ran
Youth Liberation, a