SXSW 2020 PanelPicker – Cast Your Vote by August 23!

Posted on August 8, 2019August 20, 2019 by Case Foundation

Each year, the Case Foundation looks forward to discussing exciting ideas from changemakers across the country at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive stage. This past March, we joined in the conversation at SXSW with a packed room for an author talk from our CEO Jean Case on her new book Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose, and led sessions on building more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and helping founders—particularly women and founders of color—learn to tell their stories.

This year, we submitted a number of ideas for the SXSW PanelPicker to allow for discussion around critical topics like the importance of fostering diversity in entrepreneurship, millennial engagement and providing an opportunity to shine a light on social movement and philanthropy leaders who often do not get the chance to tell their stories.

We need your help to get these panels to SXSW 2020. Below, you can learn more about the panels we submitted and how you can cast your vote for them. Not registered for SXSW 2020 yet? That’s okay! You don’t need to register to attend SXSW to vote. To vote, all you have to do is sign into, or create, a PanelPicker account. In addition to casting your vote, we would appreciate your help in elevating the conversation around these important topics by spreading the word on your social media accounts and encouraging your friends to participate in the voting process.

See our panels below and be sure to vote before SXSW PanelPicker voting closes on August 23rd!

Unicorns of Color: Where are they?

Everyone is searching for this year’s unicorns, startups that are valued over $1 billion. While they come from a wide range of industries, unicorns are overwhelmingly founded by white men. So, where are the unicorns of color? How can we break down the barriers that hold back founders of color from finding this kind of success? Unicorns of color shouldn’t be so rare. Join representatives from venture capital firms and ecosystem builders that focus on finding these future unicorns and igniting pathways to capital.

Speakers:

Sarah Koch, VP of Social Innovation, The Case Foundation
Renee Wittemyer, Sr Lead for Tech Innovation, Pivotal Ventures
Kathryn Finney, CEO, digitalundivided

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Where are the unicorns of color & how can we break down the barriers that hold back founders of color from finding this kind of success? @sarahtkoch @reneewittemyer & @KathrynFinney want to bring this discussion to SXSW. Vote for it now! https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/103019

Female Founders Breaking out of the Beauty Aisle

Female-founded companies receive only 2.2 percent of VC funding, and it’s even worse for those starting gender-neutral businesses. Many famous female-led unicorns from 2018 and 2019 were companies like Glossier, Rent the Runway and Third Love, all of which cater mostly to women. Crunchbase found gender-neutral businesses get 54 percent less funding than female-founded businesses that are female-focused. In a discussion moderated by Sarah Koch of the Case Foundation, Renee Wittemyer of Pivotal Ventures, Kristen Sonday of Paladin, and Sky Kelley of Avisare explore how women can find big success in building businesses outside of traditionally female-focused fields.

Speakers:

Sarah Koch, VP of Social Innovation, The Case Foundation
Sky Kelley, CEO/Founder, Avisare
Renee Wittemyer, Sr. Lead for Tech Innovation, Pivotal Ventures
Kristen Sonday, Co-Founder, Paladin

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Gender-neutral businesses get 54% less funding than female-founded businesses that are female-focused. Vote for @sarahtkoch @reneewittemyer @SkyKelley1 & @kristensonday’s SXSW panel on female founders breaking out of the beauty aisle. https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/103017

Millennials: The New Philanthropy Champions

10 years of research on the Millennial Generation from the Case Foundation has shown that Millennials are changing the way change is made. Millennials are more likely to give than generations before them, even with lower earnings and student debt. And with young Americans poised to inherit an estimated $30 trillion of wealth from baby boomers over the next 30 years, it’s not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ they start to change how they think about philanthropy and investing. Already we see young philanthropists and investors trying new ways of giving and making a social impact through day-to-day interactions and where they divert their resources. Learn how Millennials are changing the social impact sector and why your organization can’t afford to ignore this cohort, 80 million strong.

Speakers:

Jessica Zetzman, VP of Marketing and Communications, The Case Foundation
Steph Stephenson, Cordes Foundation
Derrick Feldmann, Ad Council/Cause and Social Influence Summit
Rachel Gerrol, Nexus Global

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Millennials are changing the how change is made & orgs can’t afford to ignore this cohort (80 million strong!). Uplift this conversation at SXSW by voting for a panel featuring @_stephxsteph, @derrickfeldmann, @RachelGerrol & @ActuallyJZ! https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/104412

It Takes a Village to Raise an Entrepreneur

It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur. When there are so many different actors within an entrepreneurship ecosystem, what is the best way to work together to create opportunities and wealth for an entire community? Unlikely allies have joined together in cities like Minneapolis, Cleveland and Kansas City to create networks, move capital and expand inclusive ecosystems. Investors, accelerators and foundations are finding their unique roles in their cities to create conditions for success for their entrepreneurs. Learn from the Case Foundation, Jumpstart, Center for Economic Inclusion and the Kauffman Foundation about their efforts to support ecosystems that will support entrepreneurs who live all across the country.

Speakers:

Sarah Koch, VP of Social Innovation, The Case Foundation
Cathy Belk, President, JumpStart Inc
Tawanna Black, Founder & CEO, Center for Economic Inclusion
Andy Stoll, Senior Program Officer, The Kauffman Foundation

Vote Here

Tweet your support: It takes a village to raise an entrepreneur. @sarahtkoch, @CathyBelk, @TawannaABlack & @andystoll are joining forces at #SXSW to share efforts to support ecosystems that will support entrepreneurs who live all across the country. Vote! 👇https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/103192

DIY: Women Starting their own VC Funds

It’s well known that female founders face discrimination raising venture capital funding (raising only 2.2 percent of all VC funding in 2018). What’s worse, only 8 percent of the top 100 venture capital firms have women partners. Women are choosing to break out of firms that are male-dominated and start raising their own funds, so they have power. When more women are on the other side of the table, yielding the power and influence, more female-founders will get their shot. However, female venture capitalists face tremendous obstacles when starting their own funds. Sutian Dong and Kimmy Paluch discuss their experience raising money and offer insight to those looking to jump into the arena; moderated by Sarah Koch from the Case Foundation.

Speakers:

Sarah Koch, VP of Social Innovation, The Case Foundation
Sutian Dong, Co-founder, Global Women in VC Directory
Kimmy Paluch, Managing Partner, Beta Boom

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Female VCs face tremendous obstacles when starting their own funds. On this proposed #SXSW panel, @sutiandong & @kimmypaluch share their experience raising money and offer insight to those looking to jump into the arena. Vote plz! https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/103673

Do This, Not That: How to Tell Your Startup Story

Take a deep dive during this interactive panel on how to tell your startup story and shine in front of reporters. Three seasoned journalists and experts in storytelling will share their tips for what makes an effective and compelling pitch, how to prepare for interviews both on-air and in person, fatal flaws to avoid when speaking with reporters and how to build effective relationships with media outlets. At the conclusion of the session, we will invite attendees to share their pitches with the journalists for feedback in real-time. Come to this session with your media pitch in hand.

Speakers:

Jade Floyd, VP of Communications, The Case Foundation
Kate Clark, Reporter, TechCrunch
Morgan Clendaniel, Senior Editor, Fast Company

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Interested in learning tips and tricks to successfully tell your #startup story and shine in front of reporters? Vote on #PanelPicker for this interactive #SXSW panel featuring @KateClarkTweets, @MClendaniel & @JadeFloydDC! https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/102490

Movement Makers: How Movements Drive Social Change

What makes a social movement? Successful movements are citizen-centered and formed from the grassroots up. Philanthropy has an important role to play in driving social change through movement building. These organizations breakthrough, capturing the interest and action of the masses. Learn how they inspire, educate and activate people to action – from social citizens who penned and passed 27 pieces of legislation for sexual assault survivors, to a public health organization that has reduced teen smoking to single digits and national group of coastal defenders who transform their passion to protect our oceans. Meet the movement makers.

Speakers:

Eric Asche, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, Truth Initiative
Chad Nelson, CEO, Surfrider Foundation
Amanda Nguyen, CEO and Founder of Rise
Jessica Zetzman, VP of Marketing and Communications, The Case Foundation

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Movement makers inspire, educate and activate people to action and @nguyen_amanda, @chadenelsen, @easche & @ActuallyJZ want to highlight them at #SXSW. Vote for their panel on #PanelPicker here! 👇https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/102610

The Million Dollar Club is Getting Less White

Why should the startup world care about what we call, the Million Dollar Club? Well, the median seed round raised by companies is approximately $600,000, so $1 million raised would indicate the startup has been able to raise additional funding after their seed round. Harlem Capital found 117 founders of color that raised over $1 million and Digitalundivided’s research found 34 Black women founders raised over $1 million in 2017—up from only 12 in 2015. That number continues to grow. By the end of 2017, 58 Latinx Women have raised over $1 million in venture funding. Hear from founders of color that accomplished this great achievement, how they did it and how we can support other founders to raise over $1 million in capital.

Speakers:

Sarah Koch, VP of Social Innovation, The Case Foundation
Carolyn Rodz, Co-founder, Hello Alice
Sky Kelley, Founder & CEO, Avisare

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Interested in a #SXSW panel featuring founders of color who made it into the Million Dollar Club? Vote here on #PanelPicker to get @carolynrodz & @SkyKelley1 on the stage for a discussion moderated by @sarahtkoch! https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/102199

When Women Hold the Wealth

Women are set to inherit $41 trillion of wealth over the next 40 years, and they are emerging as a driving force as investors, entrepreneurs and leaders of the impact investing movement. Women have also demonstrated that they often make purchasing decisions based on their personal values. So what happens when women hold the pocketbook? This panel will explore how leading female venture capitalists, female founders and investors are taking the reins in a male-dominated world.

Speakers:

Jean Case of The Case Foundation in conversation with other investors.

Vote Here

Tweet your support: Vote for this #SXSW panel on #PanelPicker that will explore how leading female venture capitalists, female founders and investors are taking the reins in a male-dominated world! @JeanCase, CEO of @CaseFoundation will lead the discussion: https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/103693

No, Millennials Aren’t Ruining Everything

Even though headlines say Millennials are ruining the housing market, brick and mortar stores, and even marriage, Millennials have actually wielded their influence for social good over the past decade. During the past 10 years, the Case Foundation researched how Millennials interact with the world around them, seeking out possibilities across all aspects of their lives, pushing social movements forward and disrupting antiquated practices.

Speakers:

Matrika Bailey-Turner, Director of Social Innovation, The Case Foundation
Steven Olikara, Founder & President, Millennial Action Project
Derrick Feldmann, Managing Director, Principle Researcher, Cause and Social Influence
Jessica Clancy, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, NBCUniversal

Vote Here

Tweet your support: No, millennials aren’t ruining everything. In fact, research says the opposite. Help bring this important conversation to the stage by voting for a #SXSW panel featuring @StevenOlikara, @derrickfeldmann, @jsultzer, & @MatrikaBT! https://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/102562

Every year, we are impressed with the conversations we are able to have at SXSW and the way we leave inspired to continue to make an impact. With your help, we will be able to ensure that these important topics are front and center at SXSW 2020 and that we use every possible tool in the toolbox to drive these important conversations forward.

Key Takeaways from a Decade of Millennial Research

Posted on July 26, 2019August 21, 2019 by Case Foundation

The release of the Millennial Impact Report: 10 Years Looking Back celebrates over a decade of research the Case Foundation led focused on increasing our understanding of how millennials connect, give and involve themselves with social and political causes. More than ten years ago, millennials were branded as “Generation Q”–a quiet, inactive, insular group that did not engage with social causes and were often considered self-centered, lazy and too concerned with their devices to think about anyone else. Yet, as a parent of millennials and with a staff largely comprised of engaged members of the generation, this stereotype didn’t ring true. Wasn’t this also the generation that brought us game-changing companies like Airbnb, Instagram and Lyft, and helping to power movements like Giving Tuesday? It was clear we needed to take action to search for ways to ensure that this 80 million strong cohort could be motivated to make a positive impact on the world.

With this in mind, we launched the Millennial Impact Project to learn more about this generation and how they thought about doing good. Together with our partners at Achieve, we surveyed more than 150,000 millennials over the decade, generating one of the most robust data sets on millennials to date. The release of today’s report is the culmination of this decade-long focus on millennials and their attitudes toward social change.

We learned a lot. In particular, we found that millennials are thinking, acting and living their lives like no other generation before them, bringing a more holistic approach to using their time and resources to make a difference. They think about making change across a continuum from the purchasing decisions they make at the supermarket to the petitions they support on social media and the social good opportunities they incorporate into their work. And, in a counterpoint to the “Generation Q” stereotype that sparked the Case Foundation’s interest in learning more about this impactful generation, the research shows a commitment to partnerships and working together, with respondents saying they are more likely to donate if a coworker asks, more likely to volunteer if a coworker also is volunteering. Indeed such as in movement-building, they see their actions, even if they are small, having an impact if they are in concert with a larger active group. These changes in behavior and the breaking down of traditional barriers, coupled with the technological tools that are commonplace, requires everyone–from the social sector seeking their donations, to employers who want to attract and retain talent, and companies that count on millennial consumers to purchase their products–to be nimble, curious and constantly open to revising and improving approaches. As I said when we released our 2014 report on millennials in the workplace, “Millennials are in the business of doing good.”

After a decade of research on millennials, it is clear that the generation is not a monolith, with many different groups in different stages of life, coming from wide-ranging of points of view and interests in activism. And it is important to remember that the oldest millennials are now coming up on 40 — a good reminder that the oldest segment of this generation is raising families now, owning homes and building serious careers. One of the key learnings we take away from this work is to be very wary of those who seek to characterize all of the sentiments and intentions of a generation of over 80 million individuals, particularly with the millennial generation, in a few broad statements or phrases. With that in mind, the decade of research the Case Foundation has led provides important insights into how many in the generation view social change and can provide key guidance to those–millennial or not–who want to engage more people in their efforts to make an impact on the world. Here are a few of the key takeaways:

Millennials Believe All Assets are Equal: They believe their time, skills, talent, money, voice, purchasing power and ability to network all have equal value, and they offer them as such. This generation does not prize being a financial donor above being a volunteer or activating their peer network as more valuable than signing a petition. When they are inspired to do something, they see their behavior (no matter what it is) as significant support.
Millennials are Passionate About Issues, Not Institutions: “Millennial donors are not committed to one single organization; they are more committed to a cause,” according to Justin Wheeler, Funraise CEO. “So, their loyalty is to an issue they care about or are passionate about. And whether they give money or volunteer, it’s not necessarily directed at one organization.” More than 90 percent of millennials said they would stop giving to an organization if they began distrusting it. In a reflection of that trust, more than three-fourths would stop giving if they aren’t told how their contributions help.
Millennials are Influenced by Their Peers: This trend has been seen across many years of our millennial research as millennials have consistently reported that they often invite friends to join their volunteer and fundraising efforts and are more likely to engage in a cause if their peers are already participating.
Millennials Support the Greater Good, Not Partisan Politicking: Millennials are both empathetic to the needs of others and discontented with the status quo. They want situations and conditions that are worsening peoples’ lives to be fixed, but they distrust the government to address social ills effectively. In particular, they expressed no trust at all in the government’s ability to address key social issues like poverty (33%), race and culture (32%) and student loans (30%). Millennials are also impatient with bipartisanship and politicking–a major reason they are developing their own ways to inspire and affect public policy change.
Millennials Believe in Activism: While millennials often come to activism from a different starting point, they continue to believe in tools of traditional activism, such as voting, petitions, protests and marches. In 2017, voting topped the list of the most actions taken by millennials and the action they deemed most likely to be influential; 71 percent responded with voting as activism.
Millennials Believe All Actions Matter–Big and Small: Millennials have engaged in causes back and forth across the spectrum–some remain at the micro-level of involvement, some move to leadership roles and many move within the space in between. One significant, unique notion supported by 10 years of research is that millennials acting in small ways individually often create leverage as a large, active group capable of influencing great change.

As you can see, many of our findings show that millennials are not just trying to change the world, they are actually changing the way that social change is made. Some of these changes may make traditional players uneasy and raise questions about effectiveness, but by acting as force multipliers for the world of cause engagement and social good, and by matching their actions with the times, millennials are changing the communities around them. The nonprofits and companies that successfully engage this group and respond effectively to this new way of pushing for social change will ultimately be better positioned to harness the energy and passion of this large generation. We hope that the summary of insights that we have learned over the past decade will help leaders from all generations work together to make a real impact. You can read the full report here.

David Litt of Funny or Die Shares How He Uses Humor to Encourage Civic Participation

Posted on November 6, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

This interview is the ninth of nine in a series of Q and A’s with leading changemakers, representing the Millennial generation who are working across sectors to be the force for change on the issues they care about most.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work

I used to write speeches and jokes for President Obama. Then I wrote a book, called Thanks, Obama, about my experiences writing speeches and jokes for President Obama. Now I’m writing a TV show based on that book. I’m also working with Funny Or Die to encourage young people to vote. 

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

Nothing too big, just democracy under constant attack. I think the solution is a mix of more engagement from citizens and an understanding from policy makers that we need to fix our institutions or we’ll lose them.  

With technology, the barriers to sharing your message and galvanize networks for action have continued to come down—how do you think that has influenced the way you and others take part in social movements and causes?

We saw this at the White House. You can bypass the traditional back and forth and speak directly to your audience. I think that has tremendous potential—but it also means audiences have fragmented and have shorter attention spans.  

Why do you think it’s important that causes use the right language and tools to meet young people where they are to engage with social issues today?

In the Obama White House we used the phrase “meet people where they live.” It doesn’t matter what you’re saying if you’re not giving your audience a chance to hear you.  

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

It’s not easy to balance being funny with making a point—which I guess is good because if it were easy I wouldn’t have any of my jobs. 

What has been your favorite success story?

We brought the actor Keegan Michael Key to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to play “Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator” next to the real-life president. And we included a message about climate change. That was a win. 

Who are some fellow next generation leaders you admire?

Oh, man, there’s so many. With the midterms today, I’m going to give a shout out to the incredible young people running for office. There are so many amazing stories from candidates this year, and what unites them all is a sense that we can’t wait for someone else to solve our problems. We have to step up.  

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

I think a lot of coverage of my generation focuses on the people who were most able to recover personally from the Great Recession. But for lots of people my age or a little younger (or older) the recession is still shaping our lives—and leaving us with a profound sense that something or someone failed us.  

What’s next for you? What are some of your dreams and goals?

I’ve learned that public service doesn’t always have to be a full-time job, but it does have to be a part-time job. So, I’m hoping to keep writing things that speak to me, while at the same time making America a little bit better.  

How can people interested in your cause learn more?

I complain on Twitter @davidlitt and I post vacation photos on Instagram, also @davidlitt.

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Check out the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

Michael Smith of My Brother’s Keeper Shares How He’s Helping Build a National Movement

Posted on October 30, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

This interview is the eighth of nine in a series of Q and A’s with leading changemakers, representing the Millennial generation who are working across sectors to be the force for change on the issues they care about most.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.

My name is Michael Smith. I’m a proud brother, uncle, God parent, partner, son of teen parents from a low-income neighborhood, cross-sector activist from the inside out and Case Foundation alumni. Currently I’m Executive Director of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Alliance and Director of Youth Opportunity Programs at the Obama Foundation. I have the privilege to work every day to help build a national movement to ensure nothing stands in the way of boys and young men of color from achieving their dreams.

Prior to the Obama Foundation I had the honor to serve in President Obama’s White House as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Cabinet Affairs for the MBK Initiative. I helped create MBK when I was Director of the Social Innovation Fund at the federal agency that runs AmeriCorps. Before joining the Obama Administration, I spent nearly eight amazing years at the Case Foundation, most recently as SVP of Social Innovation. While there we helped launch a new age of democratized philanthropy, new approaches to civic engagement, international public private partnerships, a national initiative to spark high growth entrepreneurship and the Be Fearless initiative to encourage more innovation and risk taking in the social sector. My colleague Kari Dunn Saratovsky launched our Social Citizen work at that time, which was the beginning of more than 10 years of exciting campaigns and research helping to understand and engage the amazing millennial generation. And just like then, I continue to argue with Kari and others that since I was born in December of ‘79 I’m not really a Millennial! I’m right on the cusp but definitely identify more with the concept of the Oregon Trail generation! Either way, what an exciting time to be part of social change movements when technology, sector conversions, rapid changes in demographics and an ever-shrinking globe is giving us the ability to tackle old challenges in all sorts of new and exciting ways!

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

Systemic problems require systemic solutions. Innovation and evidence are the gold standard in today’s social sector. They are buzzwords and sacred goals you’ll hear a thousand times at any nonprofit or foundation gathering, and you’ve likely heard both from me ad nauseum over the years as well. We need to focus on both as we work to focus on what’s really working and disrupt the status quo. However, as budgets get smaller, attention spans shorter and challenges larger, I worry that we are focusing more on programs and campaigns that can get people excited for their novelty or are easy to measure in the near term.

The challenges boys and young men of color face in this country, for example, are byproducts of hundreds of years of slavery, systemic racism, white supremacy, Jim Crow, redlining, failing schools and over-policed and underfunded communities. These acts of oppression and hegemony live within every system that poor, black and brown children interact with every day. Solving them requires more than an innovative program that can claim thousands served. It requires an unwavering commitment to balance meeting the serious needs our kids and communities have today, while also having a long-term view and strategies rooted in organizing, power-building, data mining, public-policy review and reform and more. It’s those hard, hard to fund, hard to measure (in the near term) tactics that have led to liberation kept our moral arc bending towards justice.

With technology, there are more opportunities for individuals and communities to share their story and recruit more support for their causes – how do you think that has influenced the way you engage young people in social movements and causes?

The shift in social technology has had seismic effects on the way we learn about and approach solution challenges and solutions—good and bad. I remember in high school history classes learning how television played such a crucial role in the civil rights movement, bringing horrific images of dogs, hoses, burning crosses and police brutality to living rooms across the country and around the world. Today, that power does not just lie with network news or cable TV but with every person who carries a smartphone. With just a couple taps, everyday citizens can now be investigative reporters, philanthropists, organizers, campaign leaders.

While that’s exciting, the proliferation of cellular activists has also created a lot of noise, competition for attention, amplification of hate speech, vast ideological echo chambers or even numbness or callousness as images of atrocious acts show up on a daily basis. My good friend Rashad Robinson, President of Color of Change, talks about the concept that we can’t mistake presence for power. Just because smartphones give everyone presence and access, doesn’t mean everyone has it. Power still comes from the tactics our grandparents used to create the changes we benefit from today…

Organizing,
Relationship building,
Communications,
Collaboration,
Goal setting and
Unyielding focus on success.

When we combine 21^st century technology with hundreds of years of lessons on mobilizing for action, that’s when we see true transformation.

What has been your favorite success story?

The work of My Brother’s Keeper has been the most challenging effort I’ve ever been part of but also the most rewarding. I’ve been proud to see the initiative flourish with hundreds of communities responding to President Obama’s call to action, scores of companies making meaningful investments and changing unfair or inequitable practices, and a wide range of federal, state and local policy reforms underway. These programs range from MBK’s Success Mentors that will reach 250,000 6th and 9th graders as part of a sweeping effort to tackle chronic absenteeism, to Second Chance Pell that is providing thousands of incarcerated individuals the opportunity to earn a degree.

What moves me the most is the lives I have seen personally change. We’ve worked with young men through our White House Mentorship and Leadership Program and in MBK Communities who have had the odds stacked against them—youth detention, foster care, failing schools, violent neighborhoods, lack of resources to name a few. But as we approach five years of MBK, those same young men we were supporting in fighting through a tough system are flourishing:

Derrick just sent me photos with his West Point class.
Noah and Jerron are about to graduate from Morehouse and Howard. Both have studied abroad, interned on Capitol Hill, become college student leaders and are applying for graduate school.
Malachi is now a Torch Scholar at Northeastern University, spent the summer in London, is working at nonprofit that focuses on second chances and is on our MBK Alliance Advisory Council.

These young men inspire me and keep me going—not only because of their intelligence and perseverance, but also their commitment to reaching back and creating opportunities for everyone around them.

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

I’m a cusper—on the line between Generation X and Millennial, and I like to believe that gives me the best traits of both (I love social media and smartphones but am so grateful neither of them was really a thing when I was in school or a young adult)! In addition to the millennial love for new technologies and social media, I think what will be the most impactful for the social sector is our abandonment of traditional social boundaries and concepts. We mix work and play better than most. Our social identities are no longer barred from the workplace and the causes we care about are no longer relegated to an annual check we write or a charity gala. We are all full selves all day, every day, combining the best of who we are—our skills, our friends, our families, our networks – to create change and joy in remarkable ways. We also don’t have any preconceived notions that social change is something that only happens in the nonprofit sector, in schools, or in churches. Millennials are boycotting and buy-cotting, we’re merging business interests with social interests and we’re forcing good to happen wherever we show up—whether that’s school, work, church or even on vacations.

What’s next for you and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance?

MBK Alliance is leading a cross-sector national call to action focused on building safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color (BYMOC) where they feel valued and have clear pathways to opportunity. With that, we’re working to unleash the power of communities working together to solve problems for BYMOC, at a level to improve real life outcomes. We believe that existing leadership at the local level is powerful enough to address barriers facing BYMOC in communities, but the local ecosystem needs our unique convening power, voice, and support to help activate change.

While we’ll continue to advance cradle to career milestones and building collective impact infrastructure that leads to lasting results, our team will also primarily work with MBK Communities to prioritize solutions in two specific areas: youth violence prevention, and growing the mentor pipeline for evidence-based mentorship programs for BYMOC.

How can people interested in your cause learn more?

obama.org/mbka @MBK_Alliance

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Stay tuned for the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

Genevieve Ryan Shares How She’s Helping Young Adults Get Real World Ready

Posted on October 23, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

This interview is the seventh of nine in a series of Q and A’s with leading changemakers, representing the Millennial generation who are working across sectors to be the force for change on the issues they care about most.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work

I’m the founder and CEO of Real World Playbook, a tech startup focused on simplifying the transition into adulthood. We provide tools and trusted resources to navigate the real world, and work with universities and employers to educate twenty-somethings on everything from personal finance and signing a lease to health insurance and retirement savings. I’m a lawyer by background and started the company after experiencing the problem of feeling unprepared when I started working, and realized that nearly every twenty-something around me was in the same boat!

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

Twenty-somethings are flying blind when it comes to the “real world”, and often make uninformed yet significant decisions. We think that providing education, actionable tools and resources, and a sense of community around this life stage will help solve this problem and make the next generation “real world ready”.

With technology, the barriers to information have continued to come down—how are you using technology to empower young people in their lives?

Our educational and resources platform is fully tech-driven and allows us to scale our ability to share information with our users. By allowing us to provide actionable tools and critical information in an easy-to-understand (and enjoyable) way, technology has empowered us to engage with twenty-somethings on topics that are often considered “boring” or not relatable.

Why do you think it’s important that entrepreneurs meet young people where they are, using their tools and language, to engage with issues that impact them today?

We are huge believers in the need to meet our users where they are! When it comes to real world decision-making, half the battle for young people is understanding the vocabulary, context and significance of the decisions they are making. At Real World Playbook, we strive to take even the most complicated topics and break them down into relatable, digestible (and often humorous!) terms for young people to understand. No matter the industry, it’s so important to meet young people where they are because of the amount of content and options available to them—if you aren’t able to connect, their attention will likely be drawn to something else!

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

One of the major reasons this problem exists is that twenty-somethings often don’t know what they don’t know (until it’s too late). This can be tricky as we build a solution, as we have to show our users not only that we have built something exciting for them, but that they have the problem we are addressing.

What has been your favorite success story?

We love hearing from twenty-somethings who have benefitted from our platform—whether it’s feeling more confident about the transition into adulthood or actually figuring out a frustrating “real world” issue, we are most excited when our work creates meaningful change in someone’s life. One success story that comes to mind is from a first-generation college student who was very nervous about how to find health care coverage after graduating from college. Her parents were unfamiliar with the health care system and did not speak English, and she was unclear of the options available to her. Through Real World Playbook, she told us she felt confident that she could not only understand health insurance terms more clearly, but had a better sense as to how to navigate the process and select the right health insurance plan.

Who are some fellow next generation leaders you admire?

I admire social entrepreneurs—leaders who are creating meaningful change through their work, and focused not just on building successful companies but on creating sustainable solutions to real problems. Lauren Bush Lauren, Alexa von Tobel, Kathryn Minshew, Ty Haney, Alexandra Cole, and Nellie Morris come to mind!

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

We care deeply about making the world a better place.

What’s next for you? What are some of your dreams and goals?

Disrupting adulthood is a full time job! Our goal is to help every twenty-something feel confident and informed when making real world decisions, and spread the “real world ready” movement across the country.

How can people interested in your cause learn more?

Please visit www.realworldplaybook.com to learn more!

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Stay tuned for the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

Daniela Fernandez Shares How She’s Helping Accelerate Solutions to Protect the Oceans

Posted on October 16, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

This interview is the sixth of nine in a series of Q and A’s with leading changemakers, representing the Millennial generation who are working across sectors to be the force for change on the issues they care about most.

Tell as a little bit about yourself and your work

I founded Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) as a college-room idea, spurred from a UN convening on oceans that I had been invited to as a college freshman. Five years later, I’ve built SOA as a global organization that cultivates and accelerates innovative solutions to protect and sustain the health of the ocean. SOA has created the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders—through establishing a presence in over 50 countries; launching the first-ever Ocean Solutions Accelerator to support ocean start-ups; and partnering with corporations such as Lindblad Expeditions and The Economist, NGOs and governments, including Indonesia and the European Union, to develop technological solutions that can address the greatest threats facing our planet.

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

The ocean is dying, to put it simply. The degradation to our ocean and the limited time we have to curve permanent changes to our climate and our ocean keeps me up endlessly. It will take diversity and inclusion across a variety of stakeholders and multiple sectors, not only civil servants making decisions, but business, technology, government and populations, to create long-lasting sustainable solutions.

With technology, the barriers to access information and stories, and move to taking action have continued to come down—how do you think that has influenced the way you and others take part in the environmental protection movement?

Young people now have unlimited access and connectivity across every corner of the world, allowing them to share their ideas and projects, and to help each other to protect the environment, and specifically in our case, the ocean. With Millennials being the most technologically-savvy and connected generation. It’s a generation that believes in transparency and social media has played an even bigger role in allowing young people to raise their voices to be heard. The conversation is no longer behind closed doors at high-level meetings, but out in the open for all to participate.

Why do you think it’s important and how do you think that causes can meet young people where they are in understanding their unique perspectives on the role of businesses to protect the planet?

Our model is unique in the sense that we ask young people about their passions, skill-sets and interests, as opposed to dictating what the solution is. They are the ones who come up with their ideas locally, and we support their efforts on a local and global scale.

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

Raising funds has been a challenge, especially being in a niche like the ocean space, but also with having a different model of how we should approach ocean sustainability – one that focuses on youth engagement and entrepreneurship. It’s been hard to find funders that understand the value and importance of engaging young people, and empowering them to develop their projects whether it is through the arts, humanities or entrepreneurship.

What has been your favorite success story?

My favorite success story has been taking an idea and building it into a global organization. There was so much risk associated with taking this leap of faith because it had not been done before through this avenue. Now with the creation of the organization, we have seen how 5 different ocean technology startups have been able to create a product in the marketplace that will strongly benefit the ocean.

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

Millennials grew up with climate change as a constant reminder of what the world will look like if we don’t act with urgency. It is because we’ve grown up in this ecosystem – seeing the world change before our eyes – that we as a generation understand that we have to be bold, innovative and build communities around our ideas in order to make them come to life.

What’s next for you? What are some of your dreams and goals?

We are continuing to build SOA into a global organization, with dreams of opening various regional offices, expanding our team, increasing our number of youth leaders and accelerating more ocean technology companies.

How can people interested in your cause learn more?

Visit www.soalliance.org for more information, and join us as a youth leader!

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Stay tuned for the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

Fagan Harris of Baltimore Corps Shares how He and the Organization are Investing in Baltimore’s Innovators

Posted on September 25, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

This interview is the third of nine in a series of Q and As with leading changemakers, representing the Millennial generation who are working across sectors to be the force for change on the issues they care about most.

Tell as a little bit about yourself and your work.

I grew up in the Baltimore area and attended local public schools. Even in my earliest memories of the city, Baltimore’s story was always one of two cities: many of our neighborhoods enjoy tremendous affluence; yet, an even greater proportion are locked into and suffer from the daily grind of intergenerational poverty. The city’s hyper-segregation, fundamental inequity and chronic disinvestment play out in racial terms because its predominantly Black neighborhoods and communities struggle disproportionately.

When I returned home at 26, I started my work in Baltimore as an organizer, building infrastructure in communities that need it most. My early professional experiences made clear to me that we had the energy, talent and enthusiasm, but not necessarily the organization or institutional capacity necessary to address the city’s systemic challenges. As a social entrepreneur, I work to simply connect the talented individuals and leaders living in our communities to opportunities to make the biggest difference in the city, from tackling issues of addiction to addressing long-term unemployment to eliminating chronic absenteeism. Ultimately, Baltimore Corps represents a massive investment in our city’s talent base. The organization is tireless in its efforts to recruit talented people into the careers and projects that move the needle furthest on our toughest problems.

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

What keeps me up at night is that we still struggle to see one another, which unconsciously blinds us to genius and talent right in front of us. Yesterday’s barriers of legal separation of people have begun to fall away, but new obstacles like the de facto barricades of race, class, privilege, education and access to social networks compromise our ability to empower people to propel their own lives and improve their communities. Dreams continue to be deferred, which is a loss to the individual and larger society, alike. In what ways would the world, our nation, our individual cities and communities be different, if we more fully experienced the talents of all of our peoples?

It’s essential we acknowledge our shared humanity and create bridges for discourse that involves more voices, recognizing historical trauma and oppression and beginning to move us together to solve critically urgent challenges plaguing our communities. Systemically, we must name, interrogate and dismantle unjust systems, and ensure that no one is locked out of opportunity or internalizes messages of inadequacy. We must learn to appreciate and leverage talents manifested in people who do not look like us and who bring to bear different life experiences. We must realize—and act upon—the fact that our future is tied up in one another.

With technology, the barriers to act have continued to come down – how has that powered Baltimore Corps and your efforts to bring more young people to meaningful work in Baltimore?

At the core of our organization is infrastructure: we leverage CRM and other technological tools to connect, at scale, passionate and talented individuals to one-year placements, career opportunities, internships, apprenticeships, as well as capital for their small business or social venture. We track and qualify hundreds of these opportunities for our talent pools. Without technology, it’s impossible to scale our platform to achieve citywide scale. With technology, Baltimore Corps can execute efficiently, effectively and responsively to serve all of Baltimore.

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

I want people to know that our generation is frequently underestimated, misunderstood, and discounted as a force for good. Millennials are frequently stereotyped in the workplace as entitled, impatient or unsettled, hopping from job to job. Our research, data, and direct experience contradicts these claims.

I find that our generation is so hungry to contribute to their communities and larger world and, if invested in, will wholly devote themselves to important causes and struggles (often in spite of enormous personal costs). We live in consequential times and confront massive challenges in our democracy and throughout our communities; now, more than ever, we need young people to lead us boldly into the future.

When I look at the network of leaders that we’ve deployed at Baltimore Corps, I observe Millennial leaders architecting campaigns to stem the tide of heroin addiction in Baltimore, building durable workforce pipelines for the long-term unemployed, organizing their communities to inform and direct conscious community development, and much more. These leaders drive change with immense savvy—leveraging technology, online and offline organizing and strategic insight that’s actually up to the task of confronting our challenges. Our generation personifies the opportunity to tackle our challenges in a different way to achieve a fundamentally different result.

Why do you think it’s important to meet young people where they are to galvanize their support for causes and how have you been able to achieve that through Baltimore Corps?

We are witnessing something of a perfect storm as it pertains to engaging and working with young people to change the world. The largest generations in American history are aging into the workforce, building and leading institutions and innovating at a rate we have never seen before. To boot, they are highly mobile, extremely capable and deeply driven by values. They badly want the world to be different—they expect a world that is fairer, more equitable and achieves better results and life outcomes for everyone—and won’t stop until that vision is realized. And they are up for grabs. The cities, causes and industries that can harness the passion and leadership of young people will be in an amazing position to succeed moving forward. Those that miss it, will miss a profound opportunity to change their future for the better. That’s why it’s critically important that cities like Baltimore go above and beyond to engage, empower and enlist the next generation in the hard work of building stronger communities. This opportunity to bring different people to the table to achieve a different result won’t last forever. The time is now.

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

There are always challenges when building organizations and next-generation institutions that operate differently in terms of their values and who they enlist in the work. Building and aligning diverse teams is incredibly hard but essential; creating and leveraging technology in a sector that rarely invests in infrastructure is challenging. However, I have found that the biggest challenge is sustaining oneself in the work when the work, by definition, exacts a high, personal cost. For me, terms like self-care are no longer kitchy or theoretical—they represent an essential set of practices, habits and boundaries that are critical to driving ongoing success in the work.

What has been your favorite success story?

My favorite success story is every time an individual connects to their high calling through our platform. It has been gratifying to witness hundreds of individuals accelerate careers in social change and public service, launch new models of impact and build community with another as we endeavor to change Baltimore for the better, together.

Who are some fellow next generation leaders you admire?

Laura Weidman Powers, Chris Wilson, Wes Moore, Brittany Young, Sarah Hemminger, Sam Novey.

What’s next for you? What are some of your dreams and goals?

I recently had an opportunity to serve as executive producer on a film called Charm City, and it was fascinating to observe how the power of media can shift behaviors and mindsets at a global scale. It’s really fun to learn about and try to pull different levers for change. Ultimately, my bottom line is Baltimore and my community. I’d love to build several different kinds of organizations and institutions that all embrace the challenge of building equitable communities. We need so many different kinds of solutions to so many problems. I would, for example, be very interested in driving comprehensive community development as a complement to our work at Baltimore Corps (that builds diverse and equitable talent pipelines into the economy). We work hard to invest in the workforce potential of people living in our communities and neighborhoods; how can we further shape and strengthen those communities? What assets are now in evidence that we can leverage to bring more affordable housing, healthcare or education to a place that needs it? I am fascinated by these opportunities.

Interested in learning more about Baltimore Corps? Check out their website at baltimorecorps.org and follow them on social media at @baltimorecorps.

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Stay tuned for the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

The Next Phase of Be Fearless: The Book

Posted on September 20, 2018October 25, 2018 by Case Foundation

It’s an exciting day at the Case Foundation! Today Simon & Schuster announced the upcoming publication of Be Fearless: Five Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose, a book I’ve written to inform and inspire everyone who wants to a make a difference in their work, their community and in their lives. The book will be released January 8, 2019 and available for presale today.

It wasn’t long ago that we at the Case Foundation engaged a team of experts to determine the “secret sauce” that propelled those rare individuals, organizations, and movements to breakthrough and achieve extraordinary impact. What we discovered would become known as the Be Fearless principles—five principles that are consistently present when transformational breakthroughs take place—across sectors and across the world. With a mix of storytelling and strategy, practical tips and lessons, this book makes clear that fearlessness is not the lack of fear, but rather the strength and courage to overcome it.

When we first introduced the research, we engaged hundreds of partners to help us spread the word, including many of you, and we have remained committed to encouraging changemakers everywhere to Be Fearless in their endeavors to make the world a better place. Since the founding of the Case Foundation, I’ve had the privilege of engaging with thousands of individuals and organizations across the world who are making big bets, taking risks, applying lessons of failure, building unlikely partnerships, and letting urgency conquer fear. The people and stories I have witnessed have greatly inspired our work, and now I am excited to share some of them with the world. In addition, this book reaches back to other stories from leaders and changemakers over the last hundred years that demonstrate the power of the Be Fearless principles at work. This book even includes your stories! Through Finding Fearless, people across the world wrote in and shared their stories of fearlessness, both their own and the stories they admire. You’ll find some of their stories throughout the chapters. It is truly my hope that you’ll find inspiration as you learn about ordinary people who ended up doing extraordinary things.

Be Fearless is deeply personal for me too. In it, I share my own Be Fearless journey—highlighting those moments that have transformed my life and my work, including some of my own big bets, risks I took, and yes, my own failures.

We know many of you have worked hand-in-hand with us on Be Fearless before, and we hope that you will continue to embrace these principles and help spread the word to a larger audience—working alongside us to build a fearless movement of changemakers who will boldly work to change the world. If you’d like to work together with us in this mission, here’s how you can help:

Pre-order your copy of Be Fearless today for yourself or someone you know;
Identify ways to work Be Fearless into an upcoming event and reach out to BeFearlessBook@CaseFoundation.org so we can be of assistance with your planning;
Help us spread the word about the Be Fearless message. Sign up to receive emails on how you can become part of our Be Fearless community, with updates and resources to keep you inspired.

It is with immense gratitude to our partners and larger Be Fearless community, as well as all of those whose stories have inspired us, that we bring this book to life in 2019. When we set out to share the Be Fearless principles in 2012, we could not have imagined the incredible outpouring of support and engagement in this work. We are grateful that you have taken this journey with us so far, and are excited to take this next step.

Together, we can change the world.

…

Be Fearless: Five Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose will hit shelves at a bookstore near you on January 8, 2019. In the meantime, learn more by visiting the book website, watching inspiring stories on our Be Fearless Facebook Show, or downloading resources on the Be Fearless Hub. All proceeds will be driven back into the Case Foundation’s core work: Investing in People and Ideas That Can Change the World.

Shane Feldman of Count Me In Shares How He Inspires Youth to Unlock Their Potential

Posted on September 18, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

This interview is the first of nine in a series of Q and As with leading changemakers, representing the Millennial generation who are working across sectors to be the force for change on the issues they care about most.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work

My driving purpose is helping others uncover their courage, value and potential. When I started Count Me In as a small project back in high school, I had no idea it would grow to be a global brand impacting millions. In fact, I still have a hard time believing it to be true today! Count Me In is now the largest youth-led organization in the world, inspiring students to be positive change-agents in their communities.

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

Youth (and anyone for that matter) not seeing their own innate value. So many people genuinely don’t believe that they matter, and it breaks my heart. That’s why I’m so passionate about the mentorship programs my team and I have designed at Count Me In. From national school tours to global leadership training camps, Count Me In offers world-class youth empowerment programs infused with emotional intelligence.

With technology, the barriers to communication, sharing of stories and even taking action in support of a cause have continued to come down – how do you think that has influenced the way you and others take part in social movements today?

The fact that someone in a remote fly-in community can seamlessly learn from, partner with or work for an organization on the other side of the world is incredible. When used thoughtfully, technology is a powerful vehicle for empowerment and grassroots social movements. Count Me In would have never grown at the rate it did without technology and social media. Our first global broadcast reached 2.2 million people around the world. That’s 2.1 million more people than what we could have impacted without technology.

How do you meet young people where they are to encourage engagement with social issues today, and why is that approach so important?

Listen. Teens desperately want to feel seen and heard. Meet teens where they’re at, invest time with them and practice listening. It sounds simple but I promise it is one of the most powerful practices when used intentionally and consistently.

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

Over the past decade of leading Count Me In, I’ve experienced imposter syndrome, burnout and a period of high stress and serious anxiety. I remember going to sleep with my laptop, having little-to-no social life and even losing weight during one particularly stressful chapter. I have since become way more intentional about where I invest my time, the people I surround myself with, spending very limited amounts of time on social media, and dedicated hours for friends, family, and me time

What has been your favorite success story?

Instead of writing it, I’d love to show you:

https://www.facebook.com/cmiCountMeIn/videos/1605866282815613/

Who are some fellow next generation leaders you admire?

The entire Count Me In Leadership Team is comprised of young leaders I admire. Count Me In is their movement as much as it is mine. They are the team behind the Count Me In Leadership Summit (https://CountMeInSummit.com) which is our most recognized global program, uniting young leaders aged 11-23 for advanced leadership training and community building.

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

Millennials care very deeply, and we’re the most talented BS detectors. People and brands who are wholehearted and unapologetically authentic win every time

What’s next for you? What are some of your dreams and goals?

In addition to speaking at companies, conferences and schools, I have started consulting for other companies and organizations, helping them increase their impact and think of their brand as a “movement.” That’s a core focus for me right now and has me very excited.

How can people interested in your cause learn more?

Check out https://CountMeInSummit.com for more information on our global leadership program. Other program info and updates can be found at https://cmimovement.com and https://ShaneFeldman.com 🙂

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Stay tuned for the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

Maya Enista Smith of Born This Way Foundation Shares How She’s Helping Spread Kindness

Posted on September 11, 2018December 5, 2018 by Case Foundation

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work

My name is Maya. I’m almost 35. I am married to my favorite person ever, Dave, and we have two wonderful kids and a black lab named Hudson. I have the privilege of serving as Executive Director of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, where I work with an incredible team of kind, funny people. Our joint mission is to build a kinder and braver world by focusing on the power and potential of young people. We are working to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health and to prove the transformative impact that kindness has in our lives and our communities.

I also have very, very nice handwriting. And I love very few things as much as I love New York City, sushi and receiving an old fashioned card or letter in the mail.

What problem keeps you up at night? What do you think it will take to solve it?

The widening gap between what people do have and don’t have, in every sense. I felt this first when I was growing up in an affluent suburb of New York City and I volunteered with a nonprofit in Newark, NJ. The school in which I volunteered was two miles away from my house, but it felt like it was in a different world—the classroom, the textbooks, the playgrounds, everything. It didn’t seem fair because my parents didn’t love me any more than the parents of the kids in that school loved them, but what we could access and expect was completely different.

Ten years after that experience, when I was starting my own family, I had postpartum depression. I was now living in affluent San Francisco suburb with access to care, resources, community and anything else I could have needed and still, I was sick. I came to the Foundation in part because I couldn’t fathom getting through it —with all of the resources and help—and I began to understand the importance of prioritizing mental health, the healing power of kindness and the responsibility that we all have to—when we have more than we need—build a longer table, not a higher fence.

I think that kindness is a great equalizer, it gently points to injustice and takes action to right it and when we act out of kindness, in the spirit of an inclusive community, we begin to solve so many of the problems that we face.

With technology, the barriers to taking action have continued to come down – how do you think that has influenced the way you and others take part in social movements and causes?

The way we live our lives isn’t separate from social movements and causes. We don’t go to the gym, surf social media, spend 30 minutes on a cause and then end the day with happy hour – it’s interrelated and it’s just how we do life.

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

Young people are ready for a change that institutions aren’t yet embracing; why aren’t we talking about mental health in schools when young people want to do just that? That disconnect is our biggest challenge, and is one we’re working to overcome.

Why do you think it’s important that causes meet young people where they are to engage with social issues today?

What other choice do we have?

What has been your favorite success story?

I have never given this answer before, but today, it’s the ones that I’ll never hear. Our work spans the cute and kind feel good memes on social media to active, one-on-one suicide prevention work. I’m deep in the statistics around mental health and back to school season and the increasing suicide rate (especially among young women of color) and I’m obsessed with what we can do about it. As a parent, it’s hard and important information to know so well and so intimately and unfortunately, I will continue to get the emails from families setting up In Honorarium pages for a child they lost to suicide or personal notes from teachers coping with a suicide in their classroom, searching for resources. I hope that one day those emails don’t come because young people are surviving and thriving but for now, my favorite success story is the one that I don’t get to hear often but I have to believe they exist – of the young person that because of an interaction, an invitation, an act of kindness, a conversation on mental health, a resource that exists, did not give up.

Who are some fellow next generation leaders you admire?

I admire Kirsten Lodal, the founder and CEO of LIFT. She was one of the first people I told when I was leading a national nonprofit that I was pregnant. I couldn’t imagine a world in which I could be the type of mother and type of leader I so desperately wanted to be, and she calmly reassured me that it was possible. By watching her life, I saw an example of someone continue to have a profound impact on her community and still be fully present in her family. She’s an incredible wife and mother.

I admire Khloe Thompson from Khloe Kares. When I first met her, she was a spunky nine year old who was on a mission to make homeless people feel dignity, warmth and care. I’ve met her family and I can see where this deep affection for the world comes from, but I was blown away by her clarity, focus and steadfast belief that she was put on this earth to help people. I’ve served alongside her a couple of times and encourage everyone to visit her website and if possible, get in the same room with her. If you’ve lost it, you’ll restore your faith in the world after getting to know Khloe. She is the embodiment of the future that I want my children to live in.

I admire my husband, David Smith. He leads X-Sector Labs, a cross-sector solution consultancy and he’s running for City Council in our town. I’ve never met anyone more destined for public service than he, and I’m so proud that he’s made the brave decision to run for public office. I’m grateful for his example, partnership and vision for the world and while I don’t him this enough in person, I’m happy to write it in a blog – I admire him. He’s also very dreamy.

I admire Amber Goodwin. Amber is leading the Community Justice Reform Coalition and I’ve had the privilege of watching Amber from near and far over the past 15+ years! She is a fierce advocate, an unapologetically strong woman and a movement leader. She is not afraid of disagreement and I’ve learned so much from her about how to sit in the discomfort of my privilege and let it guide me toward action. She is also hilarious.

What is one thing you think everyone should know about your generation?

We are not the “future” X, Y or Z. We are not the “next” A, B or C. We are leading, we are changing the world and we are doing so with urgency and with idealism.

What’s next for you? What are some of your dreams and goals?

An old friend and I caught up lately and as I told her about my job, she remarked that she couldn’t imagine a better fit for my personality, strengths and passion and that she imagined it didn’t even feel like a job most days. She is absolutely right. I can’t believe I have this job, this opportunity, this responsibility. We have SO much more work to do and because of the generosity, passion and commitment of Lady Gaga, we can make the impossible possible. I want to write more, I’d love to convince my husband to have another baby, I wish I was disciplined enough to stop scrolling social media aimlessly and my biggest dream is to have to kind, healthy, funny and caring children who are proud of me.

How can people interested in your cause learn more?

Please connect with us on social media @btwfoundation on Twitter and Instagram and @BornThisWayFoundation on Facebook; and @channelkindness on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Check out our website at bornthisway.foundation. To get a balance of kindness, babies and my handwriting, you can follow me at @MEnista (Twitter) or @MayaBTWF (Instagram).  

I’m also really proud of our #BeKind21 challenge, and I’d love for everyone to check it out and hopefully, sign up: bornthisway.foundation/bekind21

We will be featuring interviews from each of the leaders representing the Millennial generation on key movements and issues today who participated in our recent 10-day Instagram takeover. Stay tuned for the rest of this series and see their stories as part of an infographic detailing ten key traits about how Millennials engage with causes, based on our ten years of research, here.

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