2021 Summit

Youth Ethics Table: From Passion to Action

The People

Learn about our incredible guests and partner organizations who joined our 2021 summit.

Guests

Andy Cullison (Sessions 1 & 2 Ethics Expert) is the director of the Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University in Indiana. At Prindle, Andy, and the staff not only teach the DePauw community, but communities across the country about ethics. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester in 2006, and most of his scholarly work focuses on questions about how we can have moral knowledge. He also probably knows more about 90’s hip-hop than you do. https://www.prindleinstitute.org/

Alvin Irby (Session 1 Keynote Speaker) is a former teacher turned award-winning social entrepreneur, international speaker, comedian, and author. He is Founder and Chief Reading Inspirer at Barbershop Books, a literacy program that creates child-friendly reading spaces in barbershops and provides early literacy training to barbers. His work earned him the National Book Foundation’s 2017 Innovations in Reading Prize, and his TED Talk "How to inspire every child to be a lifelong reader," has been viewed over 1 million times. https://www.alvinirby.com/

Lauren Patten (Session 1 Performer) is a Broadway performer who is best known for originating the role of Jo in the hit show, Jagged Little Pill. She’s received a Tony Award nomination, a Grammy Award and several other accolades for her performance. Lauren made her Broadway debut as Medium Alison in the Tony Award-winning musical Fun Home and is also known for her work on stage in The Wolves and on television in “Blue Bloods.” She’s an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and uses her platform to speak out about queerness. http://www.laurenpatten.com/

Rachel Janfaza (Session 3 Panel Moderator) is an Associate Writer for CNN Politics with a focus on young voters and political culture. (Fun fact: She was an intern at WNET a few years ago when Youth Collective was just starting out.) https://twitter.com/racheljanfaza

Nia White (Session 3 Panelist) is a political, civil and social justice activist. She’s a first year student at Hampton University majoring in political science, as well as a proud lead organizer of a youth led organization called Freedom March NYC, which works on policy reform, civic engagement and community mobilization. As the youngest on the team, Nia focuses on advocating for youth and other black women. Nia works with organizations like Black Women’s Blueprint and WeBelieve Inc. and spreads her message through organizing nonviolent protests throughout NYC.

Changemakers Marley Dias, Jason Y. Lee, Dustin Liu, Nupol Kiazolu, and Meera Dasgupta (Sessions 1, 2, and 3 Speakers).

“Taking Action” Partner Organizations

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall's mission is to present extraordinary music and musicians, to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience, to provide visionary education programs, and to foster the future of music through the cultivation of new works, artists, and audiences. Youth Truth is an initiative led by youth with the purpose of engaging their peers to increase social awareness and use the arts as a vehicle to prompt social change, with teaching artists and music professionals joining participants to share their insights into how music drives, supports, and gives voice to social change during oppressive times.

Diversify Our Narrative

Diversify Our Narrative is an organization of over five thousand students fighting for racial justice through our education systems. Our mission is to fight to be anti-racist and encourage a productive dialogue on race and identity among our student bodies through the inclusion of racially diverse, anti-racist texts in USA Schools; to work towards racial justice, educational equity, and community power.

ERASE Racism NY

ERASE Racism is a regional organization that leads public policy advocacy campaigns and related initiatives to promote racial equity in areas such as housing, public school education, and community development. We engage in a variety of research, education and consulting activities to address institutional and structural racism. Long Island, New York was the site of ERASE Racism's initial work and at present, ERASE Racism's work is expanding to encompass statewide and tri-state regional activities with related national work as needed.

Films BYkids

Films BYkids, a collaboration between THIRTEEN and the non-profit organization, BYkids, gives voice to youth from around the world. The series pairs teenagers from diverse cultures with accomplished filmmakers to create short personal documentaries that educate and encourage understanding about global issues. Ashley Judd serves as series narrator, introducing each 30-minute film in the series.

Games For Change

Founded in 2004, Games for Change is a nonprofit organization that empowers game creators and social innovators to drive real-world impact through games and immersive media. We inspire youth to explore civic issues and build key 21st Century and STEAM skills through our Student Challenge, convene industry experts through our annual Festival and showcase leading impact-focused games and immersive experiences through live Arcades for the public.

JUV Consulting

JUV is the brainchild of three 16-year-olds who found themselves in rooms with politicians, leaders, and “youth experts” who were constantly talking about how to capture the attention of Gen Z. There was just one problem: nobody was talking to young people — just at them. Established in 2016, JUV is a diverse team of about 100 strategic consultants and creative freelancers, all between the ages of 14-23. As students, creators, mobilizers and more, we strive to make a real impact in the marketing world with our purpose-driven work.

NYC Votes

NYC Votes is the outreach and engagement arm of the New York City Campaign Finance Board. NYC Votes promotes civic engagement through community outreach, voter registration and engagement programs, and educational resources.

Peril and Promise

Peril and Promise is a multiplatform public media initiative from The WNET Group reporting on the human impact of climate change, designed to provide context, scientifically sound information, and fact-based journalism to audiences across every platform of public media. It also focuses on stories of exciting new frontiers of scientific innovation in resilience, mitigation, and clean energy. Since 2017, Peril and Promise has produced hundreds of stories across every PBS platform, on-air and online. You can learn more at www.pbs.org/perilandpromise and follow along on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the world's largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people. The Trevor Project offers a suite of 24/7 crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the world’s largest safe space social networking site for LGBTQ youth, TrevorSpace. Trevor also operates an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, an advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and a research team to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide.

If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project's trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386 via chat TheTrevorProject.org/Help, or by texting 678-678.

UNA-USA

The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) is a movement of Americans dedicated to supporting the United Nations. With over 20,000 members (60% under the age of 26) and more than 200 chapters across the country, UNA-USA members are united in their commitment to global engagement and their belief that each of us can play a part in advancing the UN’s mission and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. We are dedicated to educating, inspiring, and mobilizing Americans to support the principles and vital work of the United Nations and its agencies.