January 8, 2025
Launched in 2024, JFF’s Young Adult Leaders Council has strengthened JFF’s approach to supporting the development of youth leadership programs by giving young people an opportunity to share firsthand insights.
At Jobs for the Future (JFF), we’ve always believed that the insights and perspectives of young people play a crucial role in helping us and our partners develop and implement pathways to quality education and employment opportunities for youth. Organizations need to hear and learn from the individuals they’re looking to serve in order to do relevant and meaningful work.
In 2018, we took a concrete step to affirm our support for high-quality programs for young people when we launched the Young Adult Talent Development (YATD) Network, a nationwide coalition of organizations that serve young people who are disconnected from work and learning or otherwise face barriers to advancement. Now with more than 50 members serving almost 4.9 million young people, the network’s mission is to strengthen the young adult talent development field by working collaboratively to share lessons learned, solve problems, and build a shared evidence base of what works.
The YATD Network has always engaged young people to seek out their ideas and viewpoints, and then in 2024, JFF created a formal opportunity for youth voice to be at the center of the network’s activities by launching the Young Adult Leaders Council (YALC). Made possible by funding from the Taco Bell Foundation, the council offers yearlong engagements for young adults affiliated with organizations in the YATD Network. The 2024 YALC cohort—five young leaders who were between the ages of 19 to 24 when they were recruited—first came together for a kickoff meeting with JFF in March, marking an exciting next step for JFF’s work to advance career and education opportunities for youth.
The YALC members received stipends for their work on the council, and during their tenure, they participated in a wide range of JFF activities and had opportunities to network with and learn from leaders across the learn and work ecosystem.
For example, JFF invited them to participate in conversations on topics that included job quality and the use of artificial intelligence in career navigation, giving council members opportunities to learn about JFF’s work in these areas and provide feedback and expertise on frameworks and tools that JFF was developing. Council members also joined Young Adult Talent Development Network meetings remotely and in person. In a panel discussion during the network’s in-person meeting in July, council members shared their motivations for pursuing leadership opportunities at a young age and asked network members for advice about how to achieve their goals.
Also in July, YALC members attended JFF’s Horizons Summit in Washington, DC, which drew some 2,000 education and workforce thought leaders from across the country. Taking full advantage of this opportunity, they spent the two-day event attending sessions on topics of interest to them, including discussions of pathways to careers in the green economy, quality jobs for people with disabilities, and justice system reform and fair chance hiring for people with criminal records. Their Horizons experience also included an invitation to join a breakfast meeting where elected officials discussed trends in education and workforce policy and members of JFF’s Policy & Advocacy team reviewed the goals of our No Dead Ends policy campaign.
Being a part of the council gave me a whole new insight into where we are as young people in the job market. It definitely opened up my eyes to a whole set of opportunities.
Harison Clark, YALC Member
Reflections on learning and leadership have been a major element of this year’s YALC activities, for both the council members themselves and the JFF employees who work on young adult talent initiatives. The JFF team has learned a great deal from these young adults, who were motivated to share their insights and perspectives because they wanted to give back to the field and improve leadership and professional development opportunities for the next generation. Most important, they told us that they value authentic opportunities to participate in an organization’s operations and engage with fellow workers but often found themselves in token roles with little opportunity to make real contributions.
From left to right, YALC members Geegee Aldana, Ziany Lee, and Harison Clark at the 2024 Horizons Summit in Washington, DC.
Looking back on the areas of learning and inspiration for all parties involved in this first year of the Young Adult Leaders Council, four themes emerge:
The YALC members told us that they appreciated learning about the important challenges that JFF and other YATD Network members are addressing. Working alongside JFF experts as they discussed solutions to complex issues provided council members with an understanding of how youth-serving organizations and intermediaries are responding to a changing labor market, policy trends, the need to transform education and workforce systems, and philanthropic priorities. Council members said the knowledge they gained will play a crucial role in their own approaches to leadership. “Being a part of the council gave me a whole new insight into where we are as young people in the job market,” said Harison Clark. “It definitely opened up my eyes to a whole set of opportunities where, hey, I could actually be someone really important to helping people in my generation secure quality jobs—and quality jobs mean quality housing, which means, you know, quality life.”
Learning from leaders in the field as part of the YATD Network and working alongside seasoned professionals was a powerful experience for the council members. They said they were moved by seeing that a single organization’s ability to effect change and have a real impact increased exponentially as part of the wider YATD Network. “There are so many people trying to make the world a better place for young people, and it was just really inspiring for me,” said YALC member Angela Otto. And as member Ziany Lee observed, “A lot of people came together for a common problem and it’s creating an impact.”
Our conversations with YALC members have consistently touched on the topic of how perceptions of good leadership might be evolving to embody more reflection—for themselves, for leaders in their communities and their networks, and for members of the YATD Network. Council members believe that young adults can be effective leaders, and their ability to lead goes hand in hand with a revised definition of leadership. To them, leaders reflect on the impact of their actions and decisions, they’re humble, and they listen before they speak. The council members said they’re interested in becoming that kind of reflective leader, and they plan to seek experiences that will help them pursue that kind of growth.
One promising outcome of investing in youth leadership development programs, such as through the YALC, is that it could lead to an increase in the number of dedicated individuals who have experience as leaders entering the talent development field and continuing to make changes that positively impact the lives of young people. Some members of the council told us that the opportunity to take part in this experience inspired them to work with youth and opened career trajectories they hadn’t considered before. “I think [serving on the YALC] gave me a new area of interest,” said Otto. “ There are . . . so many different career navigation opportunities for young people, and I, personally, would really like to get into that field.” Others said they may continue to engage with youth advocacy and leadership as they pursue careers in other fields, including tech and health care. JFF believes that YATD initiatives will play a crucial role in enabling training providers, youth-serving organizations, and intermediaries to intentionally engage with young adults and support their growth and development as leaders by showing that their ideas and contributions are valued.
The primary goal of the YALC initiative was that the council members would develop a resource for employers and talent development organizations that embodied the lessons they had learned and the priorities they developed during their time on the council.
Reflecting on the months they’d spent working with JFF and YATD Network members, attending Horizons, and taking part in other events and activities, the council members decided that they wanted to offer guidance to employers and other talent development professionals to ensure that they understand that it’s of utmost importance to give young people authentic opportunities to act—and be seen—as leaders, to offer them access to networks of experienced professionals who are invested in the future, and to create experiences that give them a chance to learn about and contribute to the issues that matter most to them and their generation.
They were motivated in part by the fact that, in contrast to their time on the YALC, they had all had experiences that didn’t go well, where they felt some people “tokenized” them because they were young instead of authentically listening to them and valuing their opinions and insights.
Image caption: From left to right, Sierra Koski, Harison Clark, Angela Otto, Ziany Lee, and Geegee Aldana after their panel discussion at the July YATD meeting in Washington, DC.
There are so many people trying to make the world a better place for young people, and it was just really inspiring for me.
Angela Otto, YALC Member
As they thought about what it takes to create experiences that foster growth and enable young people to achieve their leadership potential, they identified five standards that they feel effective youth leadership programs must embody:
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Invest in a Mentorship Culture |
Facilitate Thoughtful Planning for What Comes Next |
Offer Fair Compensation and (Wide) Access to Support Services and Resources |
Cultivate Reflective Leadership |
Center Youth Voice, Experience, and Potential |
Click here to read the council’s report, Five Strategies for High Quality Youth Leadership Opportunities.
Angela Otto, 24, joined the Young Adult Leaders Council during her term of service as an AmeriCorps crew leader with Heart of Oregon Corps, a Bend-based organization that serves central Oregon. Passionate about conservation, Otto joined AmeriCorps after she left technical college because she had decided it wasn’t the right fit for her. She was initially hesitant to join the council, because she felt the experience might take her out of her comfort zone. But she now credits the experience with helping her develop networking skills, increase her confidence, and broaden her career interests. While she was initially focused on environmental conservation, she says she now feels inspired to continue working with youth and young adults in ways that combine her interest in ecological work. During her time on the council, Otto says she gained new perspectives on leadership. Specifically, the experience showed her that leadership isn’t confined to a specific role or professional milieu—it’s about community engagement, listening, and empowering others.
Geegee Aldana, 23, is a case manager at YouthWorks, a youth-serving organization in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She first became involved with YouthWorks as a program participant when she was younger, and she joined the organization as an employee because she has found a passion for working with youth and young adults, particularly individuals facing challenges like housing insecurity or legal issues. Inspired by the conversations and presentations at Horizons and her work with the YALC, Aldana is committed to addressing poverty and other systemic issues, particularly in her hometown of Santa Fe. She has reached out to local officials to draw attention to communities that lack access to vital resources like quality education and housing. Aldana says her commitment to making a difference is deeply rooted in her personal experiences and the challenges she’s faced in her own life. Her work, both as a member of the council and in her local community, is a testament to her growth as a leader and her dedication to creating a better future for others.
Ziany Lee, 20, is a native of Camden, New Jersey, who has long been involved in community-focused work, especially efforts to advocate for youth and young adults who don’t have housing. Lee is an alum of Hopeworks, a social enterprise and training program in Camden, and it was through Hopeworks that she learned about JFF and the opportunity to serve on the Young Adult Leaders Council. In her advocacy work, she emphasizes the importance of not just providing jobs but also strengthening communities and amplifying voices of youth and young adults. Lee says that her involvement with the YALC allowed her to gain a deeper understanding of the nonprofit field, helped her see issues from multiple perspectives, and enabled her to gain new skills—especially around building strong networks, writing resumes, and using social media. She says the knowledge she gained and resources she was able to access as a member of the council, especially at Horizons and other events, were directly applicable to her work in the community. A central theme in Lee’s future goals is to improve access to affordable housing for youth and young adults. She envisions creating a program for young people aged 16-24 that offers a more comprehensive solution for her community’s housing and employment challenges.
Harison Clark, 25, says he’s a committed advocate for social change to improve conditions for people and communities that lack access to vital resources and opportunities for advancement. His passion for this work grew from personal experiences, particularly his efforts to help a close friend with a genetic disease, which made him aware of the systemic barriers that people with disabilities face, especially when it comes to accessing health care and social services. He’s currently a student at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, where he started an on-campus organization to promote social change and became involved with Opportunity Youth United, a movement of young leaders dedicated to systems transformation. Clark says that his work with the council has given him insights into the challenges that young people face in the job market and the importance of quality jobs. Additionally, his experiences with JFF and the council have deepened his understanding of the power of collective action and the importance of community. He says he gained a sense of hope, empowerment, and camaraderie working alongside peers who share his commitment to making a difference. His vision for the future reflects his determination to expand access to impactful resources, through both digital platforms and community-based initiatives.
Sierra Koski, 25, is a native of Detroit and an alum of NPower, a national technology training program. She first connected with JFF in 2023 as a participant in the Horizons Ambassadors program, a newly launched initiative to give young adults an opportunity to represent the views of learners and early-career workers at the summit. She saw the opportunity to join the Young Adult Leaders Council as another chance to share her perspectives as a young adult and advocate for programs to address the challenges and needs of young people entering the workforce, particularly in competitive sectors like tech. Reflecting on her future, Koski expresses a desire to continue mentoring young people and contributing to youth development programs—even as she ages out of the “young adult” demographic. She says she’s committed to “paying it forward” and staying engaged in youth leadership work, potentially as a mentor or speaker, as she progresses in her career. Koski recognizes the importance of making leadership opportunities accessible to all young people, particularly those who may not feel they are “qualified” or may be unsure of their paths forward. She believes that everyone has the potential to be a leader if they are willing to step up and make a difference.
