CREATING CHANGE THROUGH
SOCIAL INNOVATION

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 What parts of today’s economy would feel absurd or outdated?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.

Future-proofing communities is the starting point for future-proofing the economy. When local systems are adaptive, equitable, and interconnected, they generate the talent, trust, and innovation needed for shared prosperity.

When you ask a young person what economic empowerment really means, they’re not talking about GDP or policy frameworks. They’re talking about choice and being able to imagine a future that isn’t predetermined by zip code, financial status, or family background. They’re talking about seeing themselves in the opportunities being offered, and belonging to the future they’re being asked to build.

Picture this: suicide rates among young Black men in California have surged 22%. First-gen college students face crushing isolation. 52% of Gen Z workers fear being replaced by AI.

In this latest episode of Lead the Shift, I sit with Derek Steele, Executive Director of the Social Justice Learning Institute, to reflect on what it means to future-proof our communities.

Too often, organizations treat transformation as the work of a single department or leader. At LeadersUp, we see it differently. Transformation is a discipline that we practice both internally with our team and externally in our role as an intermediary across the state of California.

At LeadersUp, Shared Power begins with the young people we serve and our broader community; it’s about expanding economic opportunities and voices to people who have historically been left behind. For young people, Shared Power means having the power to shape their future, access equal opportunities, and create a life embodying their purpose and potential. This outside-in lens informs how we design our culture and how we show up every day.