The California Economic Summit takes center stage on this week’s PolicyWise Podcast (Episode 5). CA FWD CEO and President Micah Weinberg and Jade Magaña join hosts Demetria Wack and Michael Wiafe to discuss youth involvement in the ninth annual meeting of California policymakers and regional leaders.
“Elevating youth voice is good and I’m glad that people do that, but that’s not enough for us at CA FWD,” said Weinberg. “Through the young leaders, we want to make sure that they are changing our agenda, shaping our agenda because they are the Californians not only of the future, but of today.” He added that two Summit workgroups, Expanding Home Ownership and Investing in Small Businesses Owned by People of Color, have been added to address the needs of younger Californians.
Magaña is set to graduate next year from University of California at Riverside and is currently interning with the Department of Justice’s Disability Rights Section. She is a member of the newly formed CA FWD Young Leaders Advisory Council and will take the main stage with Wiafe on the second day of the Summit for “The Next Generation of Leaders” panel discussion.
She explained why there should be more youth involvement in economic policy discussions. “Since the pandemic, we have seen that youth have been disproportionately hard hit by the coronavirus economically. We are more likely to work in the sectors that are the most impacted like food, retail and transportation.” She added, “We are coming out of college or entering a job market that is declining and that also affects youth at its core.”
The California Economic Summit will be held virtually December 3-4. You can check out the program and register to attend the Summit here.
The PolicyWise podcast is a partnership between Youth Leadership Institute and CA FWD and can be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Breaker Audio, RadioPublic, Pocket Casts and Overcast.
