Disrupting with Purpose is a virtual series that brings attention to issues impacting Minnesota’s young people. Each 90-minute installment offers opportunity for young people and adults to engage in dialogue about a range of issues that include, policy, education, health, economic opportunity, and other topics of interest.
* The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by speakers, panelists, guests, and other participants are solely their own and do not reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of Youthprise.
DWP: Careers Over Comfort: Let’s Talk Pathways, Possibilities, & Wealth Building
June 24th 2025
Experts from local colleges/trade schools, workforce policymakers/ professionals/leaders, financial planning consultants, and entrepreneurs/small business owners will share their perspectives with high school students and young adults ranging in age from 16-24. As youth embark upon planning their careers to achieve self-sufficiency and future financial success, they have many questions. At a recent focus group, eleven Twin Cities metro-area high school students shared their questions, perspectives, and personal experiences as they look forward to completing high school and moving forward with their future career plans.
DWP – Youth Power: Youth Activism and Civic Leadership
October 29th 2024
With the 2024 US elections right around the corner, we are witnessing a whirlwind of activity as Americans prepare to cast their votes. Yet, in a time where so much is at stake, where do young people fit into this election? And is there ample opportunity for their voices to be heard? In this segment of Disrupting With Purpose, we will speak to the efforts of youth-led organizations that are doing work in Minnesota to ensure young people’s voices are heard on the issues that matter most to them. Contributing organizations include Believe In What’s Possible, a youth-centered and youth-led nonprofit in Minnesota, working to increase youth civic awareness and engagement in political processes by getting young people registered to vote.
DWP: From a History of Trauma to a Legacy of Healing
June 4th 2024
Both generational and systemic trauma wield an invisible influence over our existence and well-being, helping to shape our identities, our perceptions of reality, and how we navigate the world. In our next installment of Disrupting with Purpose, we will hear from young people about their perspectives on specific factors that can either perpetuate trauma or promote healing, with an emphasis on their sense of resilience, belonging, safety, and overall well-being. The discussion will focus on two domains: Systemic Factors: We will identify and explore how specific incidents, such as the murders of George Floyd, Daunte Wright, and others, have affected young Minnesotans, particularly young people of color, many of whom grew up witnessing these injustices while imagining that it could have been them. We will also address other recent issues as potential stressors, such as the lingering impact of the COVID pandemic and Supreme Court decisions that have stifled certain rights and protections and catalyzed widespread rollbacks in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
DWP: (Un)equal Housing Opportunity: Youth Perspectives on Homeownership
March 5th 2024
Join us for a compelling virtual dialogue, (Un)equal Housing Access: Youth Perspectives on Homeownership, where local youth will share their lived experiences, insights, and goals concerning homeownership, as well as what they perceive as barriers. Youth panelists are cohort members of Youthprise’s Youth Cooperative Homeownership Initiative, a collaborative, youth-directed effort that seeks to create homeownership opportunities for young people. Youth panelists will offer their thoughts on two domains:
The Racial Gap in Financial Literacy: This segment will explore cultural attitudes about credit and debt, family conversations about finances, and the alarming lack of financial literacy education in schools
Climate Change: Education Edition, Part 2, will continue the discourse about how we can shift the cultural climate of education in a way that cultivates emotional well-being, equitable opportunities, and academic success for Minnesota’s Black, Indigenous, and students of color. To that end, the multigenerational discussion will address two topics: (1) promoting a culture that is conducive to the emotional well-being and success of students, teachers, administrators, and staff; and (2) the importance of including young people’s voices in how to improve the current environment.
DWP: Careers Over Comfort: Young Money – Young People’s Perspective on Building Wealth
October 25th, 2023
Young people of color and Indigenous youth bring unique perspectives when it comes to defining wealth, addressing economic disparities and investing in wealth building opportunities for their communities. They bring critical insights that frame wealth as a collective measure of wellbeing rather than solely individual, as well as asking important questions regarding wealth and responsibility, power and addressing root causes of poverty and the need for social change. Young Money: Young People’s Perspectives on Building Wealth will engage a panel of youth entrepreneurs in a dialogue focused on what wealth building means to Indigenous youth and young people from communities of color. Panelists will also talk about barriers to building wealth and convey their ideas about how to build a stronger ecosystem that creates opportunities for this population and other marginalized youth to build wealth, including supporting young entrepreneurs.
Cultural Climate Change – Education EditionYoung people’s thoughts on fostering a healthy and equitable school cultureOver the past year and in various settings, Youthprise has repeatedly heard young people of color express a common theme about Minnesota’s education system: It’s broken. Teachers and administrators face the arduous task of navigating a system that, in many ways, is inequitable at its core and promotes disparate outcomes for students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color. When asked about Minnesota’s K-12 public school system, only 15% of Black Minnesotans and 23% of Indigenous Minnesotans believe that their children “just about always” or “most of the time” have the same opportunities as White children in the K-12 public school system (MPR News, 2021). There is a significant amount of data that supports this sentiment of systemic inequity in the state’s education system. A 2022 report by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights indicates that Black and Indigenous students are 8 to 10 times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white counterparts.
DWP: Gun Violence – Youth Organizing, Responses, & Next Steps
June 27th 2023
According to the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the share of murders committed with a firearm has risen by 27% in Minnesota over the past decade. Further, the Center reports that the state has experienced a 69% spike in guns being used in aggravated assaults since 2015. “Don’t Shoot: Youth Perspectives on Gun Violence, Community Accountability, and Next Steps” will center young people in a dialogue on how gun violence impacts them. Young people from the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota will discuss their thoughts on the impact of gun violence and their perspectives on how to respond effectively. The discussion will focus on three domains:
DWP: Let’s Be Blunt – The Legalization of Cannabis and Its Impact on Youth
March 28th 2023
A panel of young people (ages 16 – 24) will discuss a range of topics, such as their thoughts on marijuana in contrast to other substances like alcohol, methamphetamines, tobacco, and other drugs. Youth panelists will also look at the impact of marijuana across four domains: (1) health, (2) education and out-of-school time activities, (3) legislation and taxation, and (4) employment. As these topics are addressed, practitioners representing each sector will present additional perspectives to consider and engage youth in further dialogue.
DWP: Clean Slate or Scarlet Letter? Removing Barriers to Success through Expungement
January 24th 2023
When a young person comes of age, their juvenile justice records do not simply disappear. Young people often pay the price for their past infractions well into adulthood. In many cases, a criminal record results in collateral consequences. Past offenses can render individuals ineligible for certain jobs, pose obstacles when they apply for higher education, deter landlords and public authorities from approving their housing, impact their insurance and loan rates, and the list goes on. Many states, including Minnesota, have processes through which people can apply to have their criminal records sealed from the public. In Minnesota, the process is of petitioning the courts to seal a record is called expungement. MN’s current expungement process is imperfect and cumbersome.
In Minnesota, driver’s education is no longer free or offered through schools. Now a privatized institution, such instruction can cost up to $600, with additional behind-the-wheel practice fees and vehicle rental fees. Driving tests must also be conducted in privately owned, insured vehicles. Furthermore, in the case one can obtain a license, if they are unable to properly maintain their vehicle or pay the high cost of insurance, their license often gets suspended or revoked. It should also be noted that youth who are in the foster care system are not allowed to have a driver’s license. This plethora of obstacles surrounding driver’s education compounds employment barriers and deepens economic disparity in our communities.
(Driver’s) License to Work seeks to amplify awareness and promote equity surrounding youth’s opportunity to obtain a driver’s license. This intergenerational discussion will focus on licensing policy as an equity issue and the necessity to shift the narrative around getting a driver’s license from an expression of freedom to an access point for opportunity.
Despite facing many obstacles, young Black business owners here in Minnesota are defying the odds and forging their own path to success. Join us for a candid discussion featuring successful Black Minnesota-based entrepreneurs who launched their enterprises during their youth or young adult years. Panelists will address the challenges they endured in starting and sustaining their businesses, and they will offer perspectives on preparing aspiring young Black entrepreneurs to build strong, sustainable establishments. The group will also discuss systemic solutions toward advancing equity in entrepreneurship and the positive impact Black business ownership can have on Black communities and the overall economy.
We know that younger generations’ interests and giving patterns are much different from their predecessors. Research shows that Millennial and Gen X donors, generally speaking, are more likely to support efforts that impact children and human rights and less likely to support religious institutions when compared to their Baby Boomer and Silent Generation counterparts. Studies also show that earlier generations tend to prioritize causes that meet the basic needs of individuals, whereas younger donors appear to have a greater interest in changing the community and the world. Generational giving patterns are often shaped by the economic, social, and political context that defines each group, which may contribute to younger generations’ interest in equity and social justice. Further, younger generations place a greater emphasis on experiences, such as volunteerism and advocacy, as an important component of philanthropy.
Our September Disrupting with Purpose event was an opportunity to learn from and explore ways to support a New Generation of Policy Change Makers that are already making a huge difference in our community. It’s been said that no significant change has occurred without the leadership of young people. Recent history bears that out. From black youth conducting sit-ins during the Civil Rights Movement to youth involvement in pressing issues of today – public safety, school curriculum, environmental issues, mental health, and use of sacred land – young people continue to be at the forefront of social change movements that are shifting policy at the state and national level. Recently, youth from Minnesota led a statewide campaign that generated bipartisan support and culminated in legislation to overturn a 90-year old state law that prevented high school students from collecting unemployment benefits. As Minnesota’s population trends younger over the next 25 years, how can we support young people as they seek to effect changes in policy around the issues that impact them? The New Policy Changemakers session will address this issue through a spirited panel discussion that includes youth changemakers and adults who are committed to creating spaces for young people’s involvement in civic discourse and advocacy for social and legislative change.
The first session in our Disrupting with Purpose event series focused on Youth on Governing Boards and Youth Advisory Structures. Learn from the groundbreaking work of Nexus Community Partners as we will have Terri Thao who leads their Boards and Commissions initiative as our moderator for the day. Other panelists include; Neese Parker (Youth Engagement Manager, Youthprise), Rebecca Gilgen (Executive Director, Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth), Luis Salado-Herrera (Board Secretary, Youthprise), and Zachary Pruitt (Executive Director, Healthy Community Initiative) who has led an effort in Northfield, MN that involves over 100 young people in city-level boards and commissions.
