Youth Leaders on Economic Justice
PAST EVENT
On June 19, GTY and the National Collaborative for Transformative Youth Policy had an essential conversation with young people and field leaders about the impact of current economic and workforce policies, how they can be reimagined toward economic justice for all, and what roles philanthropy can play.
Top Takeaway
Recording
More Takeaways
- Youth leadership and agency are essential. Young people must actively shape policies and programs that affect their economic futures, ensuring solutions reflect their lived experiences.
- Paid opportunities and culturally responsive support matter. Providing paid internships and support that respects diverse backgrounds helps make economic pathways more accessible and meaningful.
- The current economic and political climate heightens urgency. Rising costs, limited job opportunities, and reduced social support make accelerating youth-driven advocacy for systemic economic change critical.
Resources
Not Working, Out-of-School Young Adults in the US by Race and Geography. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Employment and Youth with Foster Care Experience: Understanding Barriers and Supporting Success
What Can Philanthropy Do?
Philanthropy can invest in youth-led initiatives, support paid internships and culturally responsive programs, fund advocacy for equitable policies, and help create flexible, accessible opportunities that reflect the real lives and aspirations of young people.
Memorable Quotes
My work is focused on helping young people, specifically inner-city young people, with building skills, accessing opportunities and creating their own definition of success—not living based on anyone else’s definition of success.
—MaKaila Eddings, Griot Sisters
A lot of economic policies have resulted in stagnating economic mobility and wealth concentration among older generations. Our generation is bearing the brunt of that. We have been sold this idea that homeownership is part of the American Dream, but it is out of reach for so many young people. Affordability is a massive crisis for our generation—so we are focused on increasing opportunities like apprenticeships and internships and reducing unnecessary barriers to good jobs, so young people can actually build economic security.
—Alex Dray, Young People’s Alliance
I would love to see a workforce development ecosystem that centers intergenerational collaboration and is youth-designed and youth-sustained; where training, mentorship, and career access aren’t reserved for a few but are designed around the realities of young people’s lives.
—Hayat Hassan, Youthprise
Contact the Speakers
If you’d like to follow up with any of these speakers, please reach out to GTY.
Speakers
Juan De Los Santos
New Deal for Youth Changemaker
Juan De Los Santos is a graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills, with a Bachelor’s degree in History. He is a New Deal for Youth Changemaker and has worked with California Youth Connection (CYC) for over two years, serving in various roles, including as a commissioner on the Member Executive Commission—and holding critical positions within the LA chapter. He has also been a part of the LA Foster Power Coalition, which comprises four member organizations, including CYC.
Juan’s motivation to be part of these spaces of change stems largely from his lived experience within the foster care system and his drive to transform it for the better.
Alex Dray
Director of Organizing, Young People’s Alliance
Young People’s Alliance is an organization engaging and activating young people across the country to form a bipartisan youth movement aimed at getting policy solutions to our generation’s toughest problems. As Director of Organizing, Alex currently manages YPA’s grassroots mobilization arm across university campuses, community colleges, and high schools primarily in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Through conversations and activities with thousands of young people, YPA has gained insightful knowledge about the real economic and democratic problems facing our generation and the best ways to mobilize young people to be active in solving these issues.
MaKaila Eddings
Founder, Griot Sisters
MaKaila Eddings is a passionate youth advocate, community organizer, and founder of Griot Sisters, an emerging organization focused on uplifting inner-city girls through mentorship, storytelling, and holistic empowerment. Raised in Southeast Washington, DC, MaKaila’s work is rooted in lived experience and a deep commitment to creating safe, supportive spaces for young women navigating systemic challenges.
She serves on multiple youth advisory boards, including DC Action and the DC Girls Coalition, where she helps lead conversations around housing justice, education access, and youth economic opportunity. Known for her leadership, MaKaila bridges policy and grassroots organizing to ensure that the voices of young people, especially Black girls, are not just heard, but centered.
Currently studying Human Relations at Trinity Washington University, MaKaila balances her advocacy with caregiving responsibilities and continued work to build Griot Sisters into a lasting force for sisterhood, leadership, and generational healing. Her mission is clear: to transform cycles of trauma into pathways for resilience, representation, and radical change.
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