Youth Speaks

PUBLIC POETS SPOTLIGHT! Nathan Wallace is a poet and teaching artist based in Atlanta, originally from Hinesville, Georgia. His work centers on using poetry to address civic trauma, advocate for policy change, and reimagine the public realm as a space for healing and equity. Focusing on communities where marginalized youth—particularly BIPOC, queer, disabled, poor, and immigrant individuals—feel neglected by the government, Nathan’s poetry amplifies underrepresented voices. Each Public Poet Fellow receives an unrestricted $15,000 stipend and will take part in a 9-month fellowship that includes generative writing, performance coaching, and the professional development needed to spearhead campaigns that challenge policies, reshape social beliefs, and transform the cultural landscape. Get to know all of our Public Poets fellows this week through our social platforms and learn more about them and their work at https://lnkd.in/gYU-ykU5 #PublicPoets #Fellowship #Atlanta #YouthPoetry #NarrativeChange

Tyris Winter is a desert-raised but L.A.-based artist who uses poetry and fashion as a form of expression and connection to their community. Winter is passionate about not only uplifting themselves through expression but the many queer youth who are raised with binaries and confinements and still have dreams regardless. Each Public Poet Fellow receives an unrestricted $15,000 stipend and will take part in a 9-month fellowship that includes generative writing, performance coaching, and the professional development needed to spearhead campaigns that challenge policies, reshape social beliefs, and transform the cultural landscape. Get to know all of our Public Poets fellows this week through our social platforms and learn more about them and their work by going to https://lnkd.in/gYU-ykU5 #PublicPoets #PowerLab #LosAngeles #YouthVoices #NarrativeChange

Pte San Win Little Whiteman is an Oglala Lakota poet who uses poetry for advocacy and healing. Most of their poetry highlights mental health awareness, environmental, racial, and social justice, land/body relationships, and language revitalization. Each Public Poet Fellow receives an unrestricted $15,000 stipend and will take part in a 9-month fellowship that includes generative writing, performance coaching, and the professional development needed to spearhead campaigns that challenge policies, reshape social beliefs, and transform the cultural landscape. Get to know all of our Public Poets fellows this week through our social platforms and learn more about them and their work by going to https://lnkd.in/gYU-ykU5 #PublicPoets #Fellowship #Lakota #YouthPoetry #NarrativeChange

Ariana Lee (she/her/她) is a Taiwanese and Chinese American writer from Houston, TX. She is the 2022-2023 Houston Youth Poet Laureate and two-time member of Meta4 Houston, the #1 ranked youth slam poetry team at Brave New Voices 2023 (the first Houston team to win the title). Each Public Poet Fellow receives an unrestricted $15,000 stipend and will take part in a 9-month fellowship that includes generative writing, performance coaching, and the professional development needed to spearhead campaigns that challenge policies, reshape social beliefs, and transform the cultural landscape. Get to know all of our Public Poets fellows this week through our social platforms and learn more about them and their work by going to https://lnkd.in/gYU-ykU5 #PublicPoets #PowerLab #Houston #YouthVoices #NarrativeChange

PUBLIC POETS SPOTLIGHTS Sejah is a multidisciplinary storyteller from Chicago using his voice to uplift and advocate for underrepresented stories in film, music, theater, spoken word, and fashion. Each Public Poet Fellow receives an unrestricted $15,000 stipend and will take part in a 9-month fellowship that includes generative writing, performance coaching, and the professional development needed to spearhead campaigns that challenge policies, reshape social beliefs, and transform the cultural landscape. Get to know all of our Public Poets fellows this week through our social platforms and learn more about them and their work by going to https://lnkd.in/gYU-ykU5 #PublicPoets #Fellowship #Chicago #YouthPoetry #NarrativeChange

Youth Speaks is excited to launch an inaugural national poetry fellowship to support the next generation of artistic activists and storytellers in narrative and policy change. The Public Poet Fellowship mission prepares young poets and literary culture bearers as credible messengers and storytellers in democratic and public processes. This fellowship is vital to combating misinformation and repairing trust, while also addressing lasting historical harms perpetuated by oppressive practices, policies, and places. Join us in welcoming the first-ever cohort of fellows representing BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and immigrant communities – selected from a talented pool of nationally recognized young poets and writers across the nation ranging in ages 19 to 26. Public Poets Fellowship 2024 Cohort Tyris Winter - Los Angeles, CA Nathan Wallace - Atlanta, GA Pte San Win - Kyle, SD Sejah - Chicago, IL Ariana Lee - Houston, TX Stay tuned and follow @powerlab.global on IG for each Public Poet feature or if you want up-to-date information on our latest narrative change campaign work. #PublicPoets #Fellowship

Love seeing Youth Speaks poets light up rooms everywhere! ??

Youth Speaks Shines with #SanFranciscoFoundation and Takes #SOCAP24! We're celebrating our phenomenal partnerships with San Francisco Foundationand SOCAP Global—champions who understand that support means more than funding. Through their vision, our poets find powerful platforms where their voices shape real change, where art transforms community well-being, and where youth wisdom influences decision-makers. Next up, we get ready for our poets to light up #SOCAP24 this Monday (Oct. 28)! When young artists speak their truth, systems listen. Calling all changemakers, funders, and visionaries – come witness how the next generation is reimagining social impact through the power of public stories! This isn't just a presentation. This is poetry as catalyst, art as action, youth as public leaders. Follow us ??to experience the journey and see what's ahead! #YouthSpeaks #SpeakYourTruth #YouthVoice #Poetry #GenAlpha #GenZStorytellers #NextGenLeaders #BayAreaArts

Thanks Fred Blackwell and San Francisco Foundation for gathering community in a Bay Area Together celebration. The powerful words of these young artist from Youth Speaks left me feeling hopeful and inspired. Times like these, coming together gives us the strength and grounding to continue the important work organizing for justice. Forgot to take pics but so nice to see Zoe Polk Ellen Wu Judith Bell Guillermo Mayer Anand Subramanian Bob Uyeki Jennifer Alejo Lucila Ortiz Monique Berlanga Alex T. Celi Tamayo-Lee

Congratulations to two of our very own Yosimar Reyes and Joan Osato (The Living Word Project) for receiving The National Performance Network (NPN) 2024 Creation Fund award to develop Si Dios Quiere, Regreso (God Willing, I’ll Return), a 90-minute solo show that tells a multi-generational tale of resilience amidst the uncertainties of living without legal status in America. Our staff is proud to not only provide services for youth around the Bay, but also continue to hone their arts practice and allow others to deepen their work in the arts alongside us.?