Zshakyla (she/her) is 23 years old and lives in Richmond, Virginia. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2020 and is currently a leasing agent at an apartment complex. Zshakyla loves creating videos and would love to get into podcasting as well! Her hobbies include exercising, YouTube, and reading. Fun fact about Zshakyla: she is obsessed with Mexican Food.

Ria (she/her) is a senior studying Mathematics and Computer Science at Barnard College of Columbia University. She is a transfer student from the University of California, Riverside, and she grew up in the Bay Area, California. Ria joined YE4C's Editorial Board to pursue her passion for playing a role in expanding equity in higher education, fostering civic engagement among Gen Z, and taking multiple perspectives into consideration while solving problems! She is so excited to work with everyone to maximize the potential of young advocates to make a difference..

Michelle (she/her) is a first-year Political Science student at the University of California, Los Angeles, and she is so excited to continue her second year on the YE4C Editorial Board! In the past, Michelle has worked with content focused on youth civic engagement, disability activism, and the public education system. As a board member, she would like to help strengthen YE4C's foundations and continue writing and speaking about the issues she is passionate about. In her free time, she likes to do decorative hand embroidery, go to the beach, and play with her adorable Shih Tzu, Barney.

Gabby (she/her) is 24 years old and lives in New Hampshire. She works full-time in the nonprofit industry, empowering youth to prevent violence. Gabby considers herself an outdoor enthusiast and loves trail running, skiing, and kayaking. She is passionate about mental health, affordable housing, and financial literacy.

Frank (he/him, ey/em/eir) is a 19-year-old student, activist, and artist living in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is currently studying Communications at Salt Lake Community College with the goal of being a professional language interpreter/translator (German and Irish Gaelic). When he's not studying or writing, he can be found caring for a variety of unusual pets, experimenting with new art mediums, and watching or reading all things horror. He is passionate about neurodivergent, disabled, transgender, and queer justice and representation. He has been writing for as long as he can remember and is excited to have the opportunity to create meaningful content for people his age

Gabriella (she/her) is 17 years old and resides in Salt Lake City, UT. She is a Junior at Rowland Hall, where her love for developing written work stemmed from serving on the editorial staff of her Creative Writing course. She is passionate about pursuing opportunities that uphold ideas of reproductive justice and racial equality. She has been a member of her local Planned Parenthood's Teen Council, a peer-led sex ed initiative, for the past two years. She is the founding member of her school's "Girls, Non-Binary, & Gender Expansive Students of Color" affinity group, which connects Middle and High school students. She enjoys generating written content that focuses on the overlap of media representation and activism. Fun Fact: Gabriella's favorite hobbies are reading and watching movies, and she especially loves period

Debbie (she/her) is a high school senior at Great Neck South High School in New York. She is passionate about educating and empowering youth like herself by providing helpful resources for others to use. Debbie has experience being a student teacher for elementary students, being a youth civic engagement advocate, and holding many leadership roles in and outside of the classroom. She is on the innovation council of Eleanor’s Legacy to recruit democratic women in the state of New York and help develop their campaigns. Being a part of the YE4C Editorial Board, Debbie aims to focus on social media content development and reaching young people across the nation.

Small-town Iowa native, Blake (he/him) is 21 years old and is currently enrolled at Iowa State University as a third-year student majoring in Agricultural Education, International Agriculture, and Public Relations. He has nearly four years of marketing experience, has facilitated hundreds of leadership-based workshops, and presented dozens of speeches for various audiences. Blake strives to promote educational equity, inclusion, and sustainability in all facets, which is why he joined the YE4C’s Editorial Board. In his free time, he enjoys photography and spending time with friends and family. Fun fact: Blake was a 2020 U.S. Department of Education Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education.

Bethany (she/they) is a 17-year-old Senior at Stone Memorial High School as well as a Sophomore at Roane State Community College from Crossville, Tennessee. She is enthused about the opportunity to use her skills to help others through this program. Her goals are to further her education in political science and law over the next few years and strengthen her writing voice through her time as an editorial board member for Youth Engaged 4 Change. She is an active member of Tennessee 4-H All-stars and spends her time going to various conferences for this organization and working at her local pizza shop.

Apeksha (she/her) is 18 years old and currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa, as she attends the University of Iowa. She is majoring in Public Health with a huge interest in advocacy work and mentoring. Apeksha is looking forward to publishing content that reflects her lived experiences and brings in knowledge to help others. Outside of being a student, Apeksha tutors at MindZone, is involved heavily in the American Cancer Society at Iowa, volunteers for the food pantry, and dances in Nepalese cultural programs. You could catch Apeksha either binge-watching k-dramas and Bollywood or baking delicious treats in her free time.

Alina (she/her) is a 17-year-old high school senior who has spent most of their life living in Exton, Pennsylvania, a small town near Philadelphia. She loves learning about activism, especially activism surrounding refugee rights. Fun fact about Alina: she has played viola since the age of 9, and she loves to play classical music!

C.M. (she/her) is a 23-year-old from New York who works as an independent contractor. Her biggest passion is creating trauma-informed and trauma-responsive systems. Coral’s hobbies are reading, writing, and hiking in the woods. She has a plant obsession and a sweet kitty named Luna! Coral hopes to encourage a space to equip and empower youth to use their voices.