Youth for Western Civilization (YWC) is led by a small group of dedicated leaders who work to organize chapters throughout the United States. The most visible and vocal leaders of the group play a key role in publicizing YWC.

The founder and president of the group is Kevin DeAnna, a graduate student at American University's School of International Service.  He moves between the mainstream conservative movement and the extremist world, maintaining ties to both well-established conservative organizations and white supremacists. DeAnna received training from the Leadership Institute, a mainstream conservative organization whose mission is "to increase the number and effectiveness of conservative activists and leaders in the public policy process." He is currently a regional coordinator for the organization. DeAnna also has strong ties to the H.L. Mencken Club, a far-right group that provides a forum for academic racists at its yearly conferences.  DeAnna is scheduled to speak at the H.L. Mencken Club's conference in Baltimore in November 2011.

Devin Saucier, the vice-president of YWC, heads the YWC chapter at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Like DeAnna, he also has ties to the Leadership Institute. Saucier attended a two-day "boot camp" run by the organization in December 2009. Saucier also has ties to racists. He invited white supremacist Richard Spencer, who has called Saucier a friend, to speak at Vanderbilt in October 2010.

William Houston, who describes himself as the social media director for YWC, is a graduate of the University of Alabama and has also studied International Relations at Auburn University in Alabama. Houston writes many of the YWC articles that focus explicitly on racial issues and, unlike some of his fellow members, uses more extreme rhetoric to express his views.