Emerging Voices: The Influence of Young Leaders in Society
I am a learner. I love reading social research, leadership books, and podcasts. So, a title recently captivated me: ‘Young People are Better at Leading Revolutions’. I stopped to ponder what I thought about it–is this really true? Part of me agrees, and part of me rebels because each generation has its specific strengths and gaps. What I can’t deny is the power of young leaders throughout history to mobilize and unite others behind their ideology and values, resulting in historical shifts in the behaviors and mindsets of whole generations and cultures. This is what we are all witnessing happening across the nation on our college campuses, whether you agree with their stand or not.
As we see thousands of students graduate from high school and colleges in Idaho, I believe we need to create space for young people to stir things up the right way so we don’t become complacent and settle into our comfort zone. Many professionals have too much on their plate to question or push back against what they see as injustice, but many young leaders are driven by a deep sense of responsibility for their world. As professionals, we need to create space for them to lead while guiding and supporting them. Some of the world’s current and historical greatest leaders and activists were young when they entered the global stage.
Jesus was 30 years old when he began his work, and those effects are still felt worldwide,
Martin Luther King was 26 years old when he began his civil rights work that set a foundation of equality and justice for people of all colors and backgrounds,
Malala Yousafzai was a Pakistani teenager when she was shot for writing about the right girls had to be educated and upon recovery continued to lead this movement
Greta Thunberg was fifteen when she began challenging world leaders to take concrete steps to battle climate change.
While the young leaders of Idaho Partners for Good may not be leaders on the world stage (yet), they are contributing in very real ways for the benefit of us all. They are education, policy, technology, data, business, and mental health leaders who care deeply about Idaho’s communities and families. We make room for young leaders and surround them with other experts to help hone their skills and provide opportunities for real-time experience in making an impact in our nonprofit sector. Ours is a multi-generational approach because it has always worked regardless of the culture, time, or environment. Let's celebrate our young leaders because they are the heart and soul of what we do and how we do it.
Bethany Schultz, EdD, is an education and technology leader at Northwest Nazarene University and was recently featured in this KTVB on the Use of AI in K-12 story,
Lantz McKinnis-Brown, PhD is a policy and research leader at the Idaho Policy Institute at Boise State University and his research on homelessness and is featured here.
Trevor Allen, LPC, MA Counseling has set up his counseling practice specializing in treating those with anxiety, religious trauma, relational issues, and self-esteem issues.
VenkataKaushik Gadekari is a BSU student who is working with us to analyze all the impact data we’ve collected over the past 4 years so we can tell a compelling story about our work.
Ben Blythe is at junior at BSU focused on the intersection of Information Technology Management, Economics, Math, and Statistics. He is part of the Bronco Corps and is our summer intern. He will be helping us with Salesforce and Google Workspace administration projects.