CREATING CHANGE THROUGH
SOCIAL INNOVATION

On this episode of Lead the Shift, Jeffery Wallace and Christina Garcia explore the meaning of community, the ongoing journey of equity, and the power of BIPOC youth to lead systemic change. Christina shares a vision of community as a space of belonging and mutual upliftment, while calling us to celebrate progress and co-create a more just world. Tune in for a powerful reminder that transformation starts with connection, courage, and shared purpose.

Black Futures Are Designed, Not Discovered. This Black History Month, I am reminded that progress has never been accidental, and that Black Futures Month demands intention. The systems we rely on today, from voting protections to workplace standards, or discovered. They were designed. They were designed through protest, through organizing, and through collective imagination.

There’s a pattern you’ll find across Black history, one that shows up in every generation. When the systems we inherit fail to see us, we build new ones. Not because we’re invited to. But because we have to. Black leaders have always made something out of necessity. Whether in business, education, health, or labor, we’ve led innovation not for recognition, but for survival.

The ways of working are constantly shifting. AI agents turn notes into polished documents. Meeting formats change from week to week. Tools multiply faster than anyone can master them. Amid all this acceleration, one question keeps us grounded: are young adults at the center of the work we produce?

Systems break down when decisions are made for a community rather than with it. That is what informs how LeadersUp operates externally and internally. Before we can invite partners, policymakers, or employers to build with the community, we must demonstrate what co-design looks like within our own organization.

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened the door for millions of families from Asia to build lives in this country. It did not emerge on its own. It was a direct product of the moral and political pressure that Black leaders and communities sustained over decades, at extraordinary personal cost. The sit-ins, the marches, the legal battles, the legislation.

The work isn’t finished—and 2026 is calling. At LeadersUp, we’re not closing chapters, we’re building momentum. Dream Sessions and Future Maker Studios are our platforms for co-creating systems that center BIPOC youth. Join us to shift from programs to power, from pilots to policy. Because systems change moves when we do.

In celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are reminded that progress is not inevitable and justice is never certain. The work remains unfinished. At LeadersUp, we don’t shy away from that truth – we build ourselves to last within it.

In the past few months, I have found myself asking a different kind of question: if young adults designed educational and workforce opportunities, what would disappear? Which norms, timelines, or assumptions would be scrapped? What parts of today’s economy would feel absurd or outdated?

At LeadersUp, we’ve moved beyond simply implementing projects. We’re designing for true impact. That means we start with the system, not the service. It means asking not just what needs to be done, but what needs to be changed.

Lauren Ly started her LeadersUp journey as an intern in 2024 and quickly made an impact. She worked across our stakeholder engagement and research teams to learn new skills while adding much needed capacity to our work at the time.

On this episode of Lead the Shift, Jeffery Wallace and Christina Garcia explore the meaning of community, the ongoing journey of equity, and the power of BIPOC youth to lead systemic change. Christina shares a vision of community as a space of belonging and mutual upliftment, while calling us to celebrate progress and co-create a more just world. Tune in for a powerful reminder that transformation starts with connection, courage, and shared purpose.

LAEEA launched this fall as a youth-powered movement to build an inclusive LA economy. Led by LeadersUp and Equity Unleashed Fellows, it centers BIPOC young adults in shaping policy around financial stability, mentorship, access, and career pathways. From real barriers to bold solutions, LAEEA turns vision into action.

Belonging fuels radical imagination. At LeadersUp, we’ve embraced safety, shared power, and equity to build a culture that drives systems change from the inside out.

Future-proofing starts with treating young adults as architects of change. At LeadersUp, we turn radical imagination into action by building systems rooted in youth power.

BIPOC young adults are carrying LA’s future—but the systems around them haven’t caught up. At LeadersUp, we’re reshaping those systems with them, not for them.

At LeadersUp, young adults like Kai and Fatima are reshaping what career success looks like—balancing wellness, equity, and impact. Their bold, community-rooted visions show how self-belief fuels radical imagination and real systems change.

Radical imagination is not fantasy—it’s the conviction that we can build what does not yet exist. At LeadersUp, that vision is powered by love: a daily, strategic practice that turns bold ideas into real change. When you support us, you’re not just funding programs—you’re affirming that young BIPOC leaders belong in the future we’re building. Choose love. Choose action. Choose a future-proof economy for all.

Kern High School District’s Regional Occupational Center (ROC) and Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) are more than classrooms and workshops; they are incubators of opportunity. With 38 programs spanning construction, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology, these centers prepare the next generation for high-demand careers.

Looking back on how much we’ve grown, I am reminded that transformation does not come all at once: it comes in layers, in moments of bravery, and when we are open to reimagining how we will work together.