As part of the American Philatelic Society’s efforts to foster and grow a new generation of philatelists, the Young Philatelic Leaders Fellowship program seeks out up-and-coming philatelists and guides them through a year-long project.

The age range of YPLF participants is 16 to 24, with a direct focus on students in high school and college.

At the beginning of the program, each Fellow chooses a track to follow. There are currently six separate tracks: author, curator, exhibitor, dealer, designer and analyst. These tracks each require different assignments to be completed and one final project. As an example, the ultimate goal of the author track is to write and publish multiple philatelic articles. 

The YPLF Class of 2023 is (from left) Bethany Hunter, Victor Livesay, Trevor Bills and Silas Ernst.

For Fellows, expenses are covered for traveling to, lodging for, and attending two Great American Stamp Shows (learn more about the exerience at GASS 2022 here), a trip to the National Postal Museum, and Summer Seminar at the American Philatelic Center at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Fellows are also paired with a mentor, an expert in their specific field, who will support and help bring them into the philatelic community. You may have seen YPLF members at the 2022 Great American Stamp Show as they managed their own booth, sold first day covers and walked around the show floor, interacting with and interviewing other dealers and collectors.

The YPLF started back in 2009 and has since produced 29 graduates of the program. The graduates came from a variety of backgrounds and philatelic interests, such as graphic design, engineering, and entrepreneurship. 

Due to COVID-19, YPLF was put on hold for a few years. The Class of 2023 is the first class since the Class of 2019, which had made it halfway through the program before it was put on hiatus. Members of the Class of 2019, Trevor Bills and Victor Livesay, have returned and joined the Class of 2023 to complete their projects. They join Silas Ernst and Bethany Hunter, both high school students who have been collectors from a young age. 

Each Fellow brings a unique set of skills, background, and collecting interests that have made them perfect for the YPLF program. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the individuals in the Class of 2023!

Trevor Bills is the Donald and Bonnie Lee Fellow, sponsored by Jim Lee in memory of his parents. Trevor is a collector of U.S. and worldwide stamps, first day and special event covers, and postal stationery, and is also a cachet and postcard designer.

This budding postmark expert began collecting interesting postmarks as a young child.  Trevor attends Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, where he is double majoring in marketing and management and is active in more than 20 student organizations. He serves as the student body president. 

Within the YPLF program, Trevor is on the Designer Track, where he will focus on designing postcards, cachets, and postmarks postmarks, with his mentor, Alex Haimann. He is currently interested in creating an exhibit frame about interesting postmarks.

Victor Livesay is the Alfredo Frohlich Fellow, sponsored by Alex Haimann. He attends Ohio State University, where he is majoring in mechanical engineering.

Intrigued by the designs and images observed during evenings spent looking through albums with his father, Victor began his own philatelic journey at a very young age. U.S. classics and private die proprietary stamps are the focal points of his collection. He loves the feelings he gets when he finds a scarcely seen, attractive item, and especially enjoys when a unique item jumps off of an album page. 

Victor is on the Dealer Track, which focuses on an entrepreneurial philatelic career. Currently, Victor buys and sells stamps through online sources like eBay and HipStamp and also in person at stamp shows and stores. So far, he has continued his dealings with the help of his mentor, Richard Friedberg. His final project will be to create a solidified business plan.

Bethany Hunter, the U.S. Philatelic Classics Society Fellow, is a senior in high school who is on the Author Track. She is the second of her family to be a part of the YPLF program as her brother, Ian, was in the Class of 2018.

Bethany describes her collection as “a small treasure trove of cool stamps.” Her collection includes stamps from all over the world, with her favorites being the ones that depict an interesting moment in history. She considers stamp collecting to be a way to connect with the past and learn from people long forgotten.  

Bethany is primarily interested in postal history and is focusing her work on American V-Mail. Ultimately, her final project will consist of publishing a philatelic article based around her research, as well as a presentation of her topic and research. So far, she has been continuing research on V-Mail with the help of her mentor, Cheryl Ganz, and is gathering resources for future use.

Silas Ernst is a high school junior who is on the Analyst Track. His interest in philately started when he discovered a potato chip can full of stamps and covers in his grandmother’s attic. Afterwards, his visit to the 2014 St. Louis Stamp Expo helped solidify and expand his collecting interests. 

Mixing his love for engineering with his love of philately, Silas enjoys delving into expertizing and the scientific analysis of stamps. For his project, he is interested in the use of color on stamps and how we can use forensics to gain a deeper understanding of stamp identification, with the help of his mentor, Richard Judge. He has been researching and analyzing data related to color and stamp identification.

The fellows will continue their work throughout 2023, coming to a conclusion at the Great American Stamp Show in Cleveland, Ohio. At the show, the fellows will showcase their completed works and projects. 

Thank you to everyone who supports this program and thank you to our fellows for their hard work. I am excited to see their final projects and I hope you are, too. If you have any questions about the YPLF program, please email me at education@stamps.org.