The Office of President of the Continental Youth Assembly was held for the 2017-2019 session by Elijah D. Manley, CYA Member for Florida. After deciding not to stand for re-election in 2018 in order to run for Floor Leader, Manley's term ended on January 9th, 2019. Manley went on to hold the office of Floor Leader in the 2019-2021 session.

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Elijah D. Manley was born on January 6th, 1999 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He attends Broward College to study political science and will pursue law. He is best known for his controversial candidacy for President of the United States in 2016 at the age of 16/17. He now serves as Vice President of the National Youth Rights Association, a black lives matter organizer, and he founded the Continental Youth Assembly in 2015. He is also the Publisher of Holt Press, a digital news service. Manley currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Manley was first elected to the Presidency of the Continental Youth Assembly on July 18th, 2015. He has served proudly ever since. Manley seeks to transform and expand the Continental Youth Assembly to establish a Youth Government to represent young people. In his term, he plans to expand the CYA membership, protect youth rights, fight for increased funding for schools, and establish youth legislatures in each state. Under Manley's leadership, the CYA has grown as well as begun to organize and work towards expansion.