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catalystforsystemschange

@catalystforsystemschange

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What would you change about Minnesota? Bring it to the Capitol. Your experiences. Your ideas. A chance to help shape what comes next. Join young people from across Minnesota at our 4th Annual Changemakers Youth Policy Forum Kickoff. Meet other youth leaders, talk about issues affecting your community, and help identify priorities for the 2027 legislative session. No policy experience needed. Your perspective is where we start. November 14 | 10 AM to 3 PM Minnesota House Chamber, State Capitol, St. Paul Ages 14–24 • $50 stipend for eligible participants • Lunch provided • Transportation support for eligible participants traveling 25 miles or more From rural towns and cities to suburbs and Native nations, we want your community represented. Register through the link in our bio, Click it!🗣️ Bring a friend. Share this with someone whose voice belongs in the room. Hosted by @catalystforsystemschange #Changemakers #MinnesotaYouth #YouthLeadership #YouthVoice
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An opportunity can change your life. But first, you have to know it exists. PSEO changed mine. It lets eligible high school students earn college credit tuition-free, yet too many never hear about it. When schools, colleges, employers, and communities work together, we can connect young people to their strengths, meaningful careers, and Minnesota’s future. My latest article is out in @minnpost . Link in bio. Did someone open this door for you? Pass it on to a student or parent who needs to know. there’s a link in my bio, click it!🗣️👇🏾
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How do you make a dollar out of 15 cents?🫴🏾👇🏾 You get creative. You draw on what you know. You connect with people, share resources, and figure things out together. There’s intelligence in that. Financial education can build on it. Last Friday at Bethel University, I brought “How Are You Smart With Money?” to MBITE’s panel on “Preparing High School Students for Financial and Career Success.” Building on my “How Are You Smart?” framework, we explored how lived experience, values, and community connections shape our relationship with money. Somebody brings time. Somebody brings knowledge. Somebody brings resources or a connection that opens a door. Social capital is the trust and relationships that help us put those strengths to work together. That’s central to my work as a cultural broker: sharing and listening to build belonging, recognize strengths, and connect people to opportunity. Thank you to Steve Lear, fellow panelists Jeanna Fifer and Jason Kley, Justin Wittrock and the MBITE team. Who taught you how to make a dollar out of 15 cents? Share a lesson they passed on in the comment section? #HowAreYouSmart #CulturalBroker #FinancialEducation
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Front-row seats to history being made!
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We spend a lot of time asking people, “How smart are you?” I’m more interested in asking, “How are you smart?” That question creates space to recognize the gifts, experiences, passions, and perspectives people already carry. What began as a way for me to better understand young people is becoming something much bigger. I believe this question can translate across generations, communities, classrooms, boardrooms, and cultures. Maybe we’ve been asking the wrong question. We spend a lot of time asking people, “How smart are you?” I’m more interested in asking, “How are you smart?” That question creates space to recognize the gifts, experiences, passions, and perspectives people already carry. I shared this idea recently during my Beyond Youth Voice session at the Are We There Yet? Summit, hosted by @cghere_usa What began for me as a way to better understand young people is becoming something much bigger. I believe this question translates across generations, communities, classrooms, boardrooms, and cultures. How are you smart, and who helped you recognize it? As always, dreams don’t work until you do! 🎥 @dantescraft
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Kinda chic what can I say?
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Capture Everything !
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july meant business!
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What if we’ve been asking young people the wrong question all along? For generations, we’ve asked, “How smart are you?” At @catalystforsystemschange , we ask a different question: “How are you smart?” That shift changes everything. The greatest barrier to lasting change isn’t a lack of potential. It’s a lack of meaningful responsibility. Too often, we ask young people to wait their turn. We tell them they’re the leaders of tomorrow while excluding them from the decisions that shape today. We believe there’s a better way. At Catalyst for Systems Change, we don’t simply help young people find their voices. We help them use those voices to write legislation, influence public policy, build partnerships across communities, and solve real problems alongside adults. This year’s legislative victories didn’t happen by accident. They happened because young people weren’t invited to observe democracy. They were trusted to shape it. Our work is rooted in an intergenerational framework where wisdom is shared, lived experience is honored, and leadership is transferred through meaningful responsibility. When generations work together, we don’t just prepare young people for the future. We build a better future together. Potential doesn’t change the world. Meaningful responsibility does. As Denzel Washington once said, “Use what you have to help others. You can’t take it with you, but you can leave it here.” That is the legacy we’re working to build. The next generation doesn’t need another seat at the kids’ table. They need a seat where decisions are made. So I’ll leave you with one question: Who are you trusting with meaningful responsibility today?
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Young people don’t need another seat at the kids’ table. They need a seat where decisions are made. Because democracy isn’t something young people should inherit. It’s something they should help build. At Catalyst for Systems Change, we believe young people must inherit our wisdom, but never our limitations. Too often, community organizing is measured by the number of meetings held. We believe it should be measured by the lives changed and the systems transformed. Our work begins with listening to young people from rural, suburban, and urban communities. Then we help them turn their priorities into action by researching issues, meeting with legislators, building coalitions, testifying before committees, and helping shape the policies that affect their lives. That is what real world learning looks like. Our goal isn’t simply to pass legislation. It’s to develop people, not just programs. Every policy victory is also a leadership victory because a young person walks away knowing their voice matters and that they have the power to create change today. This work is possible because of the partnerships we’ve built with youth, educators, legislators, community leaders, and organizations across Minnesota. Systems change happens when we choose to lead together. Thank you to the Minnesota Spokesman Recorder for highlighting the incredible young leaders who continue to show us what’s possible. The future isn’t waiting. It’s already leading. There’s a link in my bio, click it! #YouthLeadership #SystemsChange #PublicPolicy #CommunityOrganizing #Education Leadership CivicEngagement Minnesota CatalystForSystemsChange
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They don't need a voice. They need adults to listen. Catalyst for Systems Change celebrated a year of youth-driven policy wins, from PSEO reform to overdose prevention education. Follow: @catalystforsystemschange "When you fail to quit, that's when you will rise." — Samia Mohamud Full story at the link in bio. #CatalystForSystemsChange #YouthLeadership #MSRNews
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Some nights stay with you long after the room empties. Last Thursday was one of those nights. Looking around the room, I saw something I’ll never forget. Legislators from both sides of the aisle standing beside young people they have mentored, encouraged, and worked alongside over the past several years. Not because these young people are the leaders of tomorrow. Because they’re leading today. One lesson has shaped how I approach this work: Inherit adult wisdom, but never their limitations. When we trust young people with meaningful responsibility, they rise to the occasion. They strengthen communities. They shape policy. They remind us that leadership isn’t about age. It’s about service. Watching our Changemakers stand shoulder to shoulder with legislators after a year of advocating for issues that matter to them was a full circle moment that filled me with hope. These moments don’t happen because of one organization. They happen because families, educators, legislators, community partners, volunteers, funders, and young people across Minnesota choose to believe in one another. Thank you to everyone who has walked alongside this journey. Together, we’re proving that the greatest investment we can make isn’t simply in young people. It’s trusting them with meaningful responsibility. This is what civic leadership looks like. As always, dreams don’t work unless you do!
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