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

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

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!

INVESTMENT TO SUPPORT WELL-BEING AND EQUITY

YTFG’s Fall meeting delved into an array of investment strategies philanthropy can consider to support the well-being and equity of youth and young adults. We lifted up incredible examples of amazing work underway in Detroit, notably: 

• the successful efforts to develop robust workforce systems to support youth and young adults, including summer employment;

• innovative policy and practice work to transform youth justice and child welfare systems, and 

• cross-systems efforts to support mental wellness.

In addition, we learned from leaders of the newly created Office of Research and Well Being at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, one of the first in the nation examples of a dedicated public agency that utilized YTFG's well-being framework in its design.

We had the opportunity to connect with colleagues through dedicated meetings of our Direct Cash Transfers and Policy Action Tables and in small group strategy discussions.

Angelique Power

Keynote Speaker

Angelique Power is the President & CEO of The Skillman Foundation, a Detroit-based foundation that partners with people to transform education systems, nurturing the brilliance of Detroit youth. With assets over $550 million, The Skillman Foundation provides approximately $19 million in grants annually.

Under Power’s tenure, The Skillman Foundation has led a community-rooted strategic planning process to rethink its grantmaking and metrics. She architected a racial equity audit allowing for transparency to community on all Foundation spending and elevated the role of the Youth Council to bring them to decision making tables within the Foundation and across Michigan.

Prior to The Skillman Foundation, Power was President of the Chicago-based Field Foundation and Program Director at the Joyce Foundation. She led communications and community engagement at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and community relations efforts for Target Corporation.

Plenary Sessions

Monday, September 30

Welcome & Remembering Patrice

Detroit, Sankofa, and the Futurism of Youth Power

• Keynote Address - Angelique Power, CEO, Skillman Foundation

Performances by We Are Culture Creators

Tuesday, October 1

Operationalizing the Well-Being Framework                 

The Office of Research and Well Being at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has elevated well-being as a cross-systems priority in the state, utilizing the YTFG framework.  Hear from leaders about their planning work and current priorities to center well-being in agency efforts.

• Moderator: Lyman Legters, Casey Family Programs

• Dr. Verletta Saxon, DCFS Director of Research and Child Wellbeing

• Heather Fox, Lead Researcher

• Cassandra Williams, Task Force Member and Lived Expert

Systems Reforms to Support Equity and Well-Being

Panelists discussed the implications of two significant policy developments from a cross-systems perspective: the recent passage of comprehensive juvenile justice reform package and a local collaborative convened by the Kalamazoo Community Foundation to address gun violence.

• Moderator:  Michelle Weemhoff, Founder, Next Generation Justice Consulting

• Jason Smith, Executive Director of Michigan Center for Youth Justice

• Jennifer Heymoss, Blueprint for Peace Chief Facilitator, Michigan Transformation Collective

Lessons from the Fellow Philanthropy Project 

Our Fellows shared lessons learned from the YTFG Fellow Philanthropy Project, including advice for our network members on grant making practices and strategies.

• Moderator: Jennifer Miller, YTFG Lead Consultant for Child Welfare

• Daniel Bisuano, YTFG Fellow

• Lupita Carballo, YTFG Fellow

• Fatima Juarez, YTFG Fellow

• Vannesa Santos, YTFG Fellow

Creative Youth Development:  A New Approach to Workforce Development                                                         

Creative Youth Development is a commitment to supporting young people’s stories, ideas, and dreams through creative expression and honoring their lived experience.  This panel included  two local organizations working in creative youth development: We Are Culture Creators and The Neutral Zone.

• Moderator: Stephanie Krauss, YTFG Lead Consultant, Economic Well-Being

• Michael Reyes, Co-Founder, We Are Culture Creators 

• Lori Roddy, Executive Director, The Neutral Zone 

Supporting Mental Wellness for Youth and Young Adults 

Mental wellness continues to be a critical need for youth and young adults.  This session highlighted local efforts to support mental wellness within Detroit public schools and for young people who have been impacted by the justice system.  

• Moderator: David McGhee

• Sharlonda Buckman, Assistant Superintendent of Family and Community Engagement, Detroit Public Schools

• Danielle Atkinson, National Executive Director and Founder, Mothering Justice

• Andrea M. Cole, President & CEO, Ethel & James Flinn Foundation