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Poppy Potter’s life work is rooted in American Youth Foundation programs. She started as an AYF intern in St. Louis, eventually supporting the work of the International Leadership Conference.

That early experience showed her the transformative power of outdoor education and youth development. It was also foundational to the work she does today.

Poppy operates Spark Potential, a leadership coaching service for nonprofit, education, and youth development organizations. She is also currently assisting AYF as we diversify our funding sources, helping us expand our grant and foundation support.

“This work has felt like a homecoming, and I am so grateful for it,” Poppy says. “AYF changed my life. I am honored to help ensure it can do the same for others.”

Poppy’s work will help acquire additional funds for scholarship support and ongoing infrastructure needs. It will also help grow and expand specific programs, like the Michigan Middle School Leadership Initiative.

Here, Poppy shares why AYF means so much to her and how this work fills her cup.

How did you first encounter AYF?

“My relationship with AYF began with an internship through STREAM — the St. Louis Experiential Adventure Movement — that was part of AYF’s work in St. Louis. That experience led me to Miniwanca for the first time, where I supported the adventure-education components of the International Leadership Conference.

“The internship, ILC, and Miniwanca itself left a deep imprint on me. Three years later, I returned to serve as Program Director for Miniwanca’s year-round Community and School Programs and stayed for seven great years.”

How did your time with AYF affect your life today?

“Along with the people, two gifts from my time with AYF stay with me. The first is the Four Folds framework, a commitment to balanced living that continues to shape how I show up in every dimension of my life. It is a lifelong practice and an enduring one.

“The second is the motto: My own self, at my very best, all the time. These words have been a quiet compass for me for decades. What I love most is the grace they offer. On the days when my ‘best’ doesn’t look the way I hoped, the motto doesn’t judge. It just invites me back.

“These principles guided me as a teacher, as a nonprofit leader at Outward Bound, and continue to guide me now as a leadership and life coach. They remind me that I must lead myself first before I can truly lead or support anyone else. AYF gave me that language and that framework early in my career, and it has rippled outward into everything I’ve done.”

You’re currently serving as a grant writing consultant for AYF. How do grants support the work of AYF?

“Grants expand the circle. AYF programs at Miniwanca and Merrowvista are extraordinary, and every dollar of funding is an invitation for one more young person to step into them. But the impact doesn’t stop there.

“An AYF alum doesn’t just change their own life; they go on to lead change in their families, schools, workplaces, and communities. The Four Folds ripple outward in ways we can’t always see or measure, but we know are real. Securing grants means more ripples, reaching further, touching more lives.”

Why do you do this work?

“I do this because I know what these programs offer a person. I have seen firsthand what happens when young people from under-resourced communities stand on the shores of Lake Michigan or in the White Mountains, lead their peers through a challenge, and discover, perhaps for the very first time, that they have something truly special to offer the world.

“I believe every person has a birthright to believe in themselves. AYF makes that belief real and tangible. I want to help more young people have that experience, and grant funding is one of the most direct ways I can give back to an organization that gave so much to me.”