Member Insights: Young Leaders Are Speaking. Are You Listening?

Young Leaders Are Speaking. Are You Listening?

By Katrina D. Mitchell, Director, Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Atlanta Civic Site; Board Member, Grantmakers for Education

We all know what it’s like to feel unheard at some point in our lives. But nobody knows that feeling better than young people between the ages of 18 and 24, who may be legally considered adults but are so often unfairly dismissed as too inexperienced to lead. Ella Baker, one of the nation’s greatest civil rights organizers, challenged that kind of thinking. She believed that meaningful change requires us to confront systems that do not serve people’s needs and to trust ordinary people — especially young people — to help transform them.

I have incredible empathy for today’s young adults; once upon a time, I stood in their shoes as a young woman developing my own leadership skills. Years later, as a mother, I’ve watched my 17-year-old son begin to find his own voice. I’ve watched him speak up about issues that are important to him and his friends, like the need for “third spaces” for teens that are separate from school or home.

Today, young people are not only facing the same challenges I can remember – like the stress of graduating from high school or college and trying to start a career – they’re also finding their place in a society that often undervalues their labor, ignores their ideas and even treats them with suspicion. Like so many of us, young adults are trying to figure out where they fit within their communities and the world at large.

I think about this often when I watch my son and his friends look for places where they can simply be themselves — places that are safe, welcoming and not defined by school assignments, structured programs or adult expectations. Their search reminds me that young people are not waiting to become leaders someday; they are already naming what they need, noticing what is missing and helping adults understand what community should feel like.

This is why The Annie E. Casey Foundation is committed to improving the well-being and long-term success of young people. Thrive by 25® supports youth ages 14 through 24, so they can continue to thrive during their journey into adulthood. The work focuses on the young people experiencing this pivotal time of their lives in the cities of Baltimore, Albuquerque and Atlanta. One key pillar of Thrive by 25 is the commitment to nurturing and uplifting young adults’ voice. Simply put, young people are the architects of change. And we’ve seen that programs designed to serve youth and young adults aren’t successful without young people at the table, passionately sharing their bold ideas and lived experiences.

The Atlanta Civic Site, where I serve as director, has long supported youth voice and continues to look for ways to create space for young people to be heard as they build crucial leadership skills and experiences. Through the ongoing partnership with Atlanta Public Schools, Casey’s investments have strengthened and institutionalized student voice through structured leadership pathways that connect students directly to district governance, board engagement and system-level decisions.

Our Work with Young Leaders at a Glance

The Atlanta Civic Site was an early investor in the Atlanta Public Schools’ Student Advisory Council (SAC), whose members are high school students that serve as members of the Student Government Association and apply their experiences to district decision making.

One of the most powerful parts of watching the Student Advisory Council grow has been seeing students step into rooms where decisions are made and speak with a clarity that adults do not always expect.

The SAC’s work to establish and sustain a student voice infrastructure has endured beyond Casey’s initial funding. With the Casey Foundation’s help, the Atlanta Public Schools system shifted from accepting one-time student feedback to fully participating in ongoing youth-adult partnerships. Together, students work alongside district leaders to develop actionable recommendations and implementation strategies.

These students also translated their leadership into policy change. SAC members successfully advocated for revisions to Atlanta Public Schools' student engagement policy, resulting in a student representative selected by their peers serving in an advisory capacity during Board work sessions and embedding student voice more deeply into district governance. To date, student-informed recommendations from the SAC have shaped the district's approach to issues like academic success, school culture, safety and wellness, college and career readiness and transportation access.

At events like Future.ATL.Now and the annual Student Leaders Symposium, Atlanta students gained real-world leadership experience and shared their perspectives alongside other young people, community members and policymakers. At Future.ATL.Now, students elevated youth-generated solutions on issues such as workforce readiness, affordability and youth-centered community spaces. Their recommendations helped secure a $50,000 commitment from the City of Atlanta to explore the development of youth third spaces, illustrating the power of youth voice to shape civic priorities and catalyze public investment.

The lessons from this work extend beyond our schools. As communities seek solutions to challenges facing young people – including the growing need for safe and engaging spaces where youth can connect and belong – we should look to young people as partners in designing those solutions. Our experience shows that when youth are involved in shaping the spaces, programs and policies intended to serve them, communities are more likely to create solutions that are both relevant and sustainable.

Growing our Work Beyond Atlanta

Building on the success of the SAC model in Atlanta, Casey has expanded its approach to youth voice beyond the Atlanta Public School district. Through our investment in Learn4Life’s regional youth council — a youth-led initiative that empowers students to shape educational policy, combat systemic inequities and advise regional leaders on school-related issues — Casey has extended its commitment to youth voice across the metro Atlanta education ecosystem. As a result, more young people across Georgia are positioned to help shape priorities and strategies tied to educational equity, student success and systems change across the region.

Change Begins with Us

As I’ve collaborated with young leaders, I’ve witnessed firsthand the incredible value of incorporating youth voice into our work. I remember one conversation with students where they were informing the design of CareerReady ATL, a youth apprenticeship model that helps young people achieve their education and career goals by reducing barriers to postsecondary opportunities, supporting employment pathways, strengthening skills and coordinating comprehensive support services. They moved almost immediately from naming what was not working to offering practical ideas for what could change. They were not waiting for adults to define the problem for them; they were already bringing insight, urgency and solutions rooted in their own lived experience. These investments demonstrate that young people are not simply the beneficiaries of educational systems; they are essential partners in reimagining them. Ella Baker understood that strong communities are built when people have a real role in shaping the decisions that affect their lives. That lesson still matters. Young people bring lived experience, urgency, creativity and a willingness to ask harder questions about what is working, what is not and what must change.

If we want systems that truly work for everyone, young people must have a permanent seat at the table — not as a gesture, but as a source of leadership, insight and accountability. And philanthropy, in its role as the intermediary between systems and the people they serve, must be intentional about opening the door and sharing power with our young leaders.

For my colleagues reading this, I want you to keep asking yourself one question: “When was the last time I listened to a young person?” If you can’t remember, that’s okay. But if we are serious about building stronger communities and a more just future, then we must do more than invite young people into the conversation. We must recognize them as leaders now, invest in their development and create the conditions for them to help shape the systems that govern their lives. And we must keep listening.

About Member Insights

This article represents the opinion of the author; it is not intended to represent the views of Grantmakers for Education or its employees.

Are you interested in sharing insights from your work with the EdFunders grantmaking community? We invite you to write a feature article for Grantmakers for Education. As a member benefit, we publish articles on a quarterly basis on our website and feature them in our newsletter. If you work for an organization that is an EdFunders member, we welcome submissions from you. This is an opportunity to share ideas, successes, challenges or lessons that can build knowledge, grow your community and strengthen the field of education philanthropy. Contact communications[at]edfunders.org to learn more.