In 1996, Christa Gannon, then a Stanford Law School student, started a volunteer program to teach incarcerated youth how to avoid the negative consequences of poor life decisions. After this beginning, the teens who benefited from the program helped her design other services and programs to prevent juvenile crime. They recommended developing a course to help troubled youth consciously follow the law, provide role models, and create opportunities to do something positive in their communities.

Two years later, Gannon was one of 10 nationwide Open Society Institute recipients of the Soros Justice Fellowship, a resource that allowed her to create a fully fledged pilot program based on the youth's suggestions.

The pilot was so successful that, in 2000, FLY was incorporated as a permanent nonprofit organization for youth. Since then, the program has continued to grow and evolve with strong support from local government and the community. It has helped thousands of young people and, accordingly, has earned its reputation as one of the best organizations of its kind in the country.