All Episodes

September 6, 2024 52 mins

We’re hard at work creating Season 3 of A Flourishing Start. In the meantime, we’re excited to share this BONUS episode with you!

In this conversation, Dana, Fiona, and Esme explore what it means to be a youth advocate, the different ways a young person can engage in advocacy, how advocacy experiences differ as a youth versus as an adult, and how adults can support youth advocates. They discuss their experiences with youth commissions, challenges they have faced in their advocacy work, the importance of redefining what qualifies as experience in the professional world, and how they are each using advocacy to create a more inclusive and equitable world in which young people can thrive.

Esmeralda Cortez Rosales is a Community Policy Associate at the National Center for Youth Law and leads the organization's efforts to improve infant and early childhood mental health (or IECMH) for children zero to five years old across California. Esme works with parents, caregivers, community leaders, and advocates to develop and implement community-based work that centers children and families. 

Fiona Lu is a second-year student at University of California, Los Angeles studying Public Affairs and Labor Studies. Fiona has been a youth advocate since high school, where she led K-12 education policy work in Generation Up (GENup), a youth-led organization dedicated to educational equity. Now, Fiona co-leads a youth advocacy movement called What We All Deserve, which propels young people to engage in policymaking for basic needs access and economic justice. She’s passionate about bettering the lives for children and families in California and across the nation through equity-centered policymaking. 

Dana Paycao, who facilitates this conversation, is Senior Policy Coordinator at the National Center for Youth Law. Dana’s role includes partnering with young people to advance policies impacting youth mental health.

Highlights:

Defining Advocacy

Youth Commissions

Navigating an Adult-Led System

Tokenization and Genuine Youth Inclusion

Supporting and Listening to Youth Advocates

Building Relationships and Unity

Compensation and Immediate Needs

The Role of Adult Allies

Challenges Faced by Young Advocates

Redefining Experience

Resources:

www.youthlaw.org The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) works to center youth voices to transform child serving systems, such as education, health, and the justice system, to reach a world in which every child thrives.

www.whatwealldeserve.carrd.co What We All Deserve is a youth-led movement to expand basic needs, the social safety net, and broader economic justice and liberation for a future in which everyone is able to fulfill their aspirations.

www.generationup.net GenerationUp (GENup) is a nationwide student-led social justice organization and coalition that advocates for education through community organizing and policy reform. 

www.ignitenational.org Ignite National harnesses the political power of young women and non-binary people through community building, cultivating leadership skills, and celebrating ambitions.

Interested in sharing your story or suggesting a topic? Reach out to us at health@youthlaw.org. We'd love to hear from you.

This episode is brought to you by the National Center for Youth Law, with support from the Resilience Effect initiative by Genentech, a Roche Group member.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.