Youth Rising: Fellows & Future Architects of Equity (Vol. 2, No. 1)

By Dr. Shane Nelson

The Shift | Vol. 2, No. 1 — The Unfinished Work: Pushing Forward to a Collective Future

From intern to fellow to future policy leader

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. Now, she continues her impact with us as an Equity Unleashed Fellow. Her capstone research served as a crucial lens in our policy agenda.

This is Lauren's final semester of undergraduate study at the University of The Redlands. Her goal is to combine her passion for technology, design, and advocacy as a UX/UI designer to help create more equitable pathways for young women in tech. LeadersUp has been meeting with her to plan out her future career moves. She plans on meeting with members of our broader network, and LA Economic Empowerment Alliance to ensure the smoothest transition possible.

Her story with LeadersUp is on track to transition into a future policy leader who advocates for high school students' right to learn as many career development pathways as possible on their own terms. Lauren is working with our communities of practice in business and technology to ensure that there are tangible assets any high school can incorporate to their curriculum.

Lauren wants to keep pushing in making the tech space more equitable for young women and supporting them through access, representation, and opportunity, a mission she has already brought to life by founding the Girls Who Code club at her university and building a community where young women are empowered to belong, lead, and thrive in tech.

There is the broader societal trend that young adults are not as engaged as previous generations in creating policy change. We have headlines shouting at us about a lack of hope, missing opportunities, and general dread. This certainly exists across communities where resources are slim and where there appears to be abundance. LeadersUp is responding to these challenges by bringing all members of the broader economy together to center young adults. Our alliance work, convening efforts, employer engagement, strategic partnerships, and fellowship programs all converge at a central point - ensuring those that inherit the future understand what is coming and that it will be lived on their terms.

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Dr. Shane Nelson is the Director of Youth Engagement and Economic Empowerment at LeadersUp, merging critical research with practical actions for our portfolio of young adult programming.