You’re invited to  the Young Futures Block Party

YF Advisory Board Member Lisa Damour, PhD is a leading voice in adolescent mental health, widely recognized for translating complex research into relatable, actionable guidance.

A three-time New York Times best-selling author of Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers, her work centers on helping adults better understand what preteens and teens are truly experiencing.

She also co-hosts the Ask Lisa Podcast, collaborates with UNICEF, and served as a consultant on Pixar’s Inside Out 2, bringing clinical, academic, and cultural perspectives to the forefront of youth wellbeing.

Kelsey Noonan leads a portfolio of philanthropic and venture investments in Adolescent Mental Health at Pivotal Ventures, a company founded by Melinda French Gates to advance social progress. Her work supports the social, emotional and mental wellbeing of adolescents, centered on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth and their caregivers.

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She is particularly passionate about the impact of digital life on young people, and how to empower young people to prioritize their wellbeing amidst rapidly changing technologies. Kelsey's background is in behavior change programming, having previously worked in global health and community governance programs in conflict zones, including Syria, Iraq, South Sudan and Afghanistan.

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Despite the differences between country settings, Kelsey has always been galvanized by the way that young people shape norms and drive movements as they come into their own power as a generation.

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The Real Young Prodigies are an educationally-charged Hip Hop collective from Louisville, Kentucky. The group was founded by Kentucky's 2019 Elementary School Teacher of the Year. The Real Young Prodigies is an arts program under our grantee, HHN2L.

Tony Weaver, Jr. is a storyteller that creates diverse worlds where every person can find their place. After racism and bullying led to a suicide attempt in his teens, the pages of manga and graphic novels gave him the courage to continue living. As an act of gratitude, Tony made a commitment to tell stories that offered acceptance, hope, and inspiration for anyone who’s ever felt left out. He’s the author of Weirdo, a middle grade graphic novel named Best Book of the Year by Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, People Magazine, The Chicago Public Library, and he New York Public Library. He’s the creator of The UnCommons, an award-winning webcomic series with over 2.5 million readers. Plus, he’s the founder of Weird Enough Productions, a national nonprofit that uses diverse comics to improve social emotional wellness for over 400,000 students annually. His writing has landed him on the TED Stage, attracted coverage from NBC, The Huffington Post, and The Mary Sue, and landed him honors from organizations like Microsoft, Gucci, and The Echoing Green Foundation. Shortly after launching his first series, he made history as the first comic writer to ever be selected for Forbes’s “30 Under 30.” Since then, his momentum hasn’t slowed down for a moment.

Due to its major impact, excerpts of The UnCommons are currently on display at The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, and it’s being developed into an animated series by NBA Champion Dwayne Wade. His writing has been so impactful, he was named a Global Barrier Breaker by Marriott International, a History Shaker by Coca-Cola, Warner Media honored him with The Aspire Award, and CNN selected him as a Champion for Change. MIT awarded him the Elevate Prize for Antiracism in Technology. Tony’s writing prowess has not only garnered him institutional accolades but has built him a loyal following of over 1 million followers across social media. His positive influence in the nerd community is so strong, that recently Funko selected him to be the first public figure to ever be profiled on the side of a Funko Pop Figure Box.

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Tony knows what it’s like to be lost in the dark, so he’s made it his mission to be a lighthouse, using his writing to guide young people through tough times and situations. By being open and vulnerable about his childhood experiences, and telling new stories that uplift underrepresented voices, Tony hopes to show everyone that as long as you pursue your personal truth you’re never too weird, you’re just Weird Enough.

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Maddie Freeman is the Founder and CEO of NoSo November, a digital wellness nonprofit. Maddie was recently listed on the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 List in the Education category at age 23 after graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship from the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder.

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Maddie is recognized as a Young Futures Innovator, Social Dilemma/LookUp Innovator grant winner, a Young Innovator in Behavioral Health awardee, and a McGill University Youth Fellow.

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As Co-founder and Executive Director of Next Gen Men, Jake Stika is committed to reshaping how we see, act, and think about masculinity—working toward a future where boys and men experience less pain and cause less harm.

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Jake’s proudest achievements include speaking at the United Nations, co-authoring “A Kids Book About Masculinity,” and stepping into the role of publisher at Voice Male magazine, a magazine for masculinity established in 1983. He recently completed a Master’s in Social Business and Entrepreneurship at the London School of Economics.

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Trisha Prabhu is a 25-year-old innovator, social entrepreneur, global advocate, and inventor of ReThink™, a patented technology that proactively detects and stops online hate at the source, before the damage is done™. In the fall of 2013, Trisha, then just 13 years old, read the shocking news story of a 12-year old that died by suicide after being cyberbullied for over a year-and-a-half. Having had own experience with bullying and cyberbullying, Trisha was heartbroken and outraged. She knew that she could not be a bystander to the silent pandemic of online hate; she had to be an Upstander.

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In response, Trisha designed and developed the patented technology ReThink™, which detects online hate before it is sent and prompts the sender to pause, review, and rethink ("Are you sure you want to say that?"). At just 13, Trisha conducted a science experiment testing ReThink's efficacy. Her globally acclaimed research found that over 93% of the time, youth aged 13-18 that received a chance to rethink changed their mind.

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Trisha later founded the ReThink social enterprise, a global movement with the mission of tackling cyberbullying and redefining internet culture to be more kind and inclusive. Today, ReThink’s technology (named one of Google Play’s Most Innovative Apps), educational materials, and anti-cyberbullying advocacy have been shared with youth worldwide. Trisha is also the Founder and President of ReThink's non-profit arm, ReThink Citizens, which has brought ReThink's offerings to thousands of historically underserved youth across the US and and is building a pipeline of young digital changemakers that are working to create the internet that they deserve.

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Trisha has received worldwide acclaim for her entrepreneurial efforts. In 2016, then-President Obama and the U.S. State Department invited Trisha to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University, to showcase her work and share her story with other entrepreneurs. Not long after, ReThink was featured on ABC's hit T.V. show, Shark Tank. In 2019, ReThink was named the Grand Prize Winner of Harvard University's President's Innovation Challenge. And in 2020, Trisha was named one of the inaugural winners of the prestigious Elevate Prize. She was also named a Harvard Kennedy School Adrian Cheng Fellow. In 2021, she was the youngest honoree named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 Social Impact list.

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Larissa May (Larz) is a global marketing guru and founder of #HalfTheStory, a non-profit dedicated to empowering the next generation's relationship with social media. In 2020, Larz was named one of Business Insider's Rising Stars in Brand Marketing for her role in launching multiple million dollar ventures (Otherland and Kin Euphorics). She also created a grassroots community that pioneered a nationwide conversation about the importance of digital wellbeing for youth. Her efforts in community building have led to the founding of the Global Day of Unplugging, an internationally recognized day to divest from technology and plug back into life.

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During her senior year of college, amidst a dark battle with depression, Larz experienced a light bulb moment, realizing how social media was negatively impacting virtually all aspects of her life. With $250 from her college dorm room, she set out on a mission to help others create more meaningful connections through social storytelling— #HalfTheStory.The movement quickly garnered local attention, and within months, spread to other campuses in the region. Over the course of a year and a half, HTS grew into a globally recognized movement.

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To date, #HalfTheStory has become a leading youth 501(c)3, receiving over 30,000 stories from 99 countries around the world. From political figures, to leaders in tech, Larissa’s work has permeated all facets of life and business and her voice continues to carry a new generation of digital activists.

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