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Crafting a New Vision of Youth Well-Being
YTFG’s Fall meeting focused on the the question: what’s the next horizon for youth well-being given the tumultuous climate in which we're operating. Our meeting was chock full of opportunities to strategize, learn, connect, and refuel!
Plenary Sessions
We lifted up and learned from incredible leaders in Oakland to support this conversation, notably:
Visionary leaders working on cross-system and cross-sector strategies to improve the well-being of youth, including Sandy Valenciano from the All Youth Are Sacred Campaign, Josh Lee from the Youth Power Fund and Jennifer Rodriguez from the Youth Law Center
Leaders working on youth mental health and well-being, including Alex Briscoe from the Public Works Alliance and Dr. Bernie Lim from the Freedom Community Clinic
Leaders working in the field of community-based violence prevention and health, including Holly Joshi, the Director of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention and Joe Griffin from Youth Alive
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Shawn Ginwright
Leading in Times of Uncertainty
We were thrilled to welcome back Dr. Ginwright to our network to share new insights on how the Four Pivots can fuel and support you in leading during difficult times.
Dr. Shawn Ginwright is the Jerome T. Murphy Professor of Practice at Harvard Graduate School of Education. His groundbreaking work on trauma, healing, and the empowerment of African American youth has earned him a reputation as an innovator, provocateur, and thought leader in the field of education.
Dr. Ginwright's research has been instrumental in reshaping the discourse surrounding youth development. His concept of "healing-centered engagement" in 2018 has revolutionized the field. He is a seasoned non-profit leader, serving as the co-founder and chief executive officer of Flourish Agenda, Inc., a research lab dedicated to unlocking the power of healing and empowering youth of color, as well as their adult allies, to drive transformative change in their schools and communities.
Featured Speaker:
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee was elected Mayor of Oakland in a historic Special Election this past April. Prior to her election, Mayor Lee served as a California State Assembly Member, California State Senator, and U.S. Congressional representative for over three decades. She is the first Black woman to be elected Mayor of Oakland. Mayor Lee has historically been a strong advocate for common sense gun reform, the expansion of home ownership opportunities, and effective solutions to homelessness.
Featured Speaker:
Representative Lateefah Simon
Congresswoman Simon represents California’s 12th Congressional District. With over three decades of experience in organizing, advocacy, and philanthropy, Congresswoman Simon has deep roots as a Bay Area leader and activist. In Congress, Congresswoman Simon is focused on addressing the housing affordability crisis, tackling the mental health and homelessness epidemic, lowering everyday costs for working families, protecting women’s rights, standing up for immigrant communities, and more.
System-Specific Break Outs
In addition to our plenary conversations on cross-systems issues, we also built in time for work group conversations to go deep on system-specific challenges. Attendees joined the Youth Justice, Foster Care or Economic Well-Being Work Groups to break down critical issues and connect with and learn from local leaders working on the front lines of transformation.
We were also excited to have noted author Nell Bernstein join us, who also hosted a lunchtime discussion of the forthcoming book, In Our Future, We Are Free.
Agenda Overview:
Monday, October 13
Network Meeting and Dinner
Tuesday, October 14
Welcomes
Leslie Gross, Annie E. Casey Foundation, YTFG Co-Chair
Amanda Majail-Blanco, YTFG Fellow
Amy Price, Zellerbach Family Foundation, YTFG Steering Committee Member
KEYNOTE
Dr. Shawn Ginwright – Leading Through Chaos and Uncertainty
Remarks
Mayor Barbara Lee
Performance and Panel Conversation
Beats, Rhymes & Life
Wednesday, October 15
Crafting a New Vision to Support Youth Well-Being
During this plenary session, local leaders shared their next-generation vision for supporting youth well-being by lifting up innovative efforts throughout Oakland.
Ray Colmenar, President, Akonandi Foundation
Sandy Valenciano, Project Director, All Youth Are Sacred
Josh Lee, Director, Youth Power Fund
Jennifer Rodriguez, Executive Director, Youth Law Center
Youth Mental Health and Well-Being: Creating Healing Health Care Systems
Leaders in Oakland shared how they are transforming health care systems into healing spaces through a range of strategies that center lived experience and are rooted in cultural practices.
Moderator: Amanda Majail-Blanco, YTFG Fellow
Alex Briscoe, Principal, Public Works Alliance
Dr. Bernie Lim, Founder, Freedom Community Clinic
Community-Based Violence Prevention and Intervention
This closing session explored a variety of innovative approaches for community- based violence prevention and intervention.
Moderator: Jamie Shenker, Program Director, Violence Prevention and Healing Justice,California Wellness Foundation
Holly Joshi, Director of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention
Joe Griffin, Executive Director, Youth Alive
Celebration of Our Fellows
Check out our Fellows' accomplishments and connect with them on LinkedIn!