teen employment opportunities
We offer two teen employment tracks for teens with valid working papers.
Social Justice Leadership Academy (SJLA) - Transformative political education, arts, and community organizing. Help run and participate in an open studio arts lab for BIPOC youth. Express yourself while mentoring younger teens in practicing freedom through art-making.
ReGen Teens - Hands on gardening, compost management, and creative, environmentally-focused entrepreneurship!
Each of these programs include paid work opportunities for teens of working age with valid working papers. Applications are currently open for SJLA Fall 2024. The ReGen program is currently full.
If you’re looking for paid and unpaid program opportunities for youth ages 13+ this summer, learn more about our free summer SJLA program and apply.
SJLA FELLOWSHIP (fall 2024)
Sep 16-Nov 15 | Teens with working papers
Mondays & Fridays | 3:30 - 7pm
Learning leadership through art, music, personal transformation, and community organizing!
A space for teens to practice personal transformation for the sake of collective liberation. Through regular creative practice, play, and action, we will deepen our understanding of ourselves and build strong and loving relationships with each other. SJLA youth learn to tend to themselves and one another through mentorship, reflection, and even hosting intergenerational gatherings. SJLA youth staff learn to connect personal passions with communal responsibility, helping to maintain our physical space, guiding younger teens in feeling seen and cared for, and bringing community events and activities to life. SJLA youth also spend dedicated time organizing for education justice and other causes that are meaningful to the group based on lived experience.
In addition to working on their own projects, SJLA Fellows will be expected to attend all sessions and support our program team with setting up, cleaning up, and providing support for younger program attendees.
This is a paid employment opportunity for teens with valid working papers. Fellows working in the Fall may be invited back to work as paid staff during Spring and our summer SJLA intensive.
If you’re looking for a free Summer program for teens, apply for SJLA Summer 2024.
ReGen Teens (2024)
A 9-month Teen Employment Program*
Mar-Nov 2024 | Tuesdays and Thursdays | 3:30 - 6:30pm | 14+
Mandatory staff training date: Saturday, March 25 (time TBD)
This program is currently full.
ReGen Teens work as a team to build meaningful relationships with nature and the Hudson community, and operate their own environmentally conscious businesses, including a bike-powered smoothie stand, drop-off compost business, and neighborhood greenhouse nursery! ReGen work sessions are a mix of hands-on activities in gardening, herbal medicine making, outdoor nature activities, cooking, and creative art & music making at Kite’s Nest’s greenhouse and gardens. ReGen teens deepen their land stewardship skills by visiting local farms, meeting other teens engaged in food justice initiatives around the Hudson Valley, and hosting educational community workshops and market events at Kite’s Nest’s greenhouse and garden. ReGen is a paid employment opportunity that prioritizes teens ages 14-18 who are interested in building independent workforce skills and experience with a focus on the natural world and social justice.
This is a paid employment opportunity for teens with valid working papers.
*Summer dates and hours will differ.
See our Classes Archive to view past semester offerings.
Additional Programs
DAYTIME
TEEN FELLOWSHIPS + EMPLOYMENT
SUMMER
Kite’s Nest programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.