Primera Generación Dance Collective (PGDC) is a collaborative group based in L.A/Riverside, California and formed by Alfonso Cervera, Rosa Rodriguez-Frazier, Irvin Manuel Gonzalez, and Patricia “Patty” Huerta. PGDC focuses on the visibilization of Latine corporeality, joy, and loss through movement-based exploration, process, performance, convenings, and curations. The collective grounds their works in desmadre making and rasquache (resourcefully tacky) play, generating work that speaks to their Latine, working-class experiences. As artists, they experiment with Latin American text, satire, song, and movement, and fuse together their eclectic aesthetics to expose el “desmadre” (messiness) that is embedded in being first-generation, Mexican American bodies. Their work aims to reclaim "low-brow," Latine art and iconography to spark futurity. PGDC has performed at REDCAT, HomeLA, FLACC Festival, Mission Dance Theater, Highways Performance Space, El Teatro Campesino, Human Resources LA, BlakTinx Dance Festival in Arizona and L.A, and NAVEL. They are the recipients of the 2021 National Endowment for the Arts Grant that was used to premiere “NOStalgia POP,” an immersive work highlighting how Latine bodies have shaped popular culture in the US and beyond. In 2025, they were named to Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.” As curators, PGDC members work collaboratively to develop networks and resources for other first-generation artists. This mission has been a foundational force for their annual (de) Color-Es festival, an evening of radical performance centering BIPOC artists in Los Angeles. They have also built residencies for high school dance students in Southern California, raised funds for local LGBTQ+ resource centers in LA, and developed community performances and arts events necessary to maintain the arts alive in the communities that they stem from. PGDC also runs an arts organization, Show Box L.A, that works to center and manifest trans-communal collaborations, creations, and networks between QTBIPOC artmakers in the LA region and beyond. For more information follow PGDC at @primerageneraciondance + @showboxla

Alexandra Price, Amber Nelms, and Madison Ford have been a part of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble for 6 years. All three are accomplished harpists who have held the position of Principal Harpist in various Atlanta area Youth Symphony Programs, including the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony. Furthermore, each of them was accepted into the All-State Orchestra clinic performing with several orchestras and several bands on harp, showcasing their exceptional musical talent. Their dedication to their craft has earned them recognition in the Atlanta youth music scene, where they have developed both technical skills and artistic expression. Beyond their orchestral accomplishments, all three harpists plan to continue incorporating the harp into their studies after high school.

Emanuelee Bean, known professionally as "Outspoken Bean," is an acclaimed poet, performer, and mentor with a legacy of engaging and inspiring through the arts. Raised in San Antonio, Texas, Bean has made an indelible mark as Houston's Poet Laureate (2021–2023) and as a recipient of the prestigious Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship (2022–2024).

For over a decade, Bean has mentored youth in poetry, notably leading the Meta4 Houston team to multiple Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam championships. His performances have captivated audiences at Carnegie Hall, the Hobby Center, and the Wortham Theater. Beyond poetry, Bean’s expertise in communication and public speaking has helped countless individuals embrace creativity and express themselves confidently. 

Oscar Cásares is the author of Brownsville, a collection of short stories, and the novels Amigoland and Where We Come From. His writing has earned him fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Texas Institute of Letters, among others. His essays have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Texas Monthly. Originally from Brownsville, he began writing to share some of his family’s stories about life in the Rio Grande Valley, where they began settling in the mid 1800s. His theater performance, “Postcards from the Border,” stemmed from the need to tell his children a more complete story of the borderlands, beyond the negative images portrayed in the media. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, since 2004, he has taught creative writing at University of Texas at Austin. 

Born in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Lucas grew up in an evangelical family of workers who encouraged him to pursue an educational path to achieve a better future and to overcome the harsh reality that his family faced. Lucas persisted in his dream and was admitted into Colégio Pedro II, a traditional public school known for offering quality education in the city of Rio de Janeiro. There, he enjoyed an education and a network of opportunities different from that experienced by most young people in Rio de Janeiro, which is why, during his adolescence, he became interested in systemic changes to provide more opportunities for them.

His education led him to engage in collective action in social impact and influenced his decision to enroll in the History course at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), to become a teacher and transform the trajectory of young people through education. His work began in grassroots organizations of the student movement, and throughout, he became an ambassador for Construindo o Futuro, an organization of adolescents for sustainable development.

He is a co-founder of Construindo o Amanhã, a platform that encourages debate and the development of public education policies from the perspective of youth, and is also a teacher in community education courses and private schools. Today, he is a part of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions (FCS) Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN)  Advisory Group for Decola Cria in Rio de Janeiro. He is working with other young people from different backgrounds on inclusion and identities, who are working collectively to make necessary changes.

Matheus is a public school geography teacher who grew up in the outskirts of São Paulo. Matheus is a graduate of the University of São Paulo (USP), the most prestigious institution in Latin America. He seeks to give back to his community everything it has given him. His greatest tool for impacting the youth in his neighborhood is education. He has the privilege of being a teacher in his own community, and, the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions (FCS) Global Opportunity Youth Network (GOYN), São Paulo, and the Juventudes Potentes team, he leads various social impact initiatives that help young people who are on the verge of shining—they just need to connect and learn how to dream!

Throughout his journey, he has learned that true social impact happens collectively. That’s why he continues organizing and taking action to promote new social practices and a globalization that can be reimagined.

"The world is formed not only by what already exists but by what can effectively exist."—Brazilian geographer, Milton Santos

Trista Harris is a renowned philanthropic futurist who advocates for the use of futurism to address critical community challenges worldwide. Her groundbreaking work has been featured in Forbes, CNN, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and many social sector blogs. Trista is the President of FutureGood, a consultancy that helps visionaries create a better future. She has authored two books - "How to Become a Nonprofit Rockstar" and "Future Good."

Trista has dedicated her entire career to the social sector, starting at the age of 15 as a summer parks assistant. Prior to her work at FutureGood, she served as President of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, a thriving grant-making community that awards over $1.5 billion annually. She was also the Executive Director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice and a Program Officer at Minnesota Philanthropy Partners.

A strategic foresight expert certified by Oxford University, Trista holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor of Arts from Howard University. Trista is a board member of Tides, a philanthropic partner and nonprofit accelerator focused on creating a world of shared prosperity and social justice. She is also a corporate board member for Arts + Rec, a creative entertainment venue that showcases local creatives. Trista has served on the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee and the Governor's Council on Law Enforcement and Community Relations, which was established following the police shooting of Philando Castile.

Bryant is a dynamic community organizer who has had experience with housing instability and homelessness while independently navigating life when he was 18 years old. Now at 24, as a model, photographer, and multidisciplinary artist, Bryant is dedicated to making a positive impact. With a keen eye for beauty and a passion for social change, Bryant uses their diverse talents to inspire and uplift others. Whether through organizing community events, capturing stunning photographs, or modeling with grace, Bryant brings creativity, compassion, and leadership to every endeavor.

Jennifer Splansky Juster is Executive Director of the fielding-building initiative the Collective Impact Forum. She is one of FSG’s leaders in collective impact field building, has worked on multiple collective impact engagements, designed training opportunities for thousands collective impact practitioners, and frequently speaks on the topic. Jennifer has co-authored multiple publications on collective impact, including the report Guide to Evaluating Collective Impact and the articles “Centering Equity in Collective Impact,” “Committing to Collective Impact: From Vision to Implementation,” and “Essential Mindset Shifts for Collective Impact.” Over the course of her career, Jennifer has also worked with a range of foundations, nonprofits, government agencies, and corporations across sectors on issues of strategy, evaluation, and program design. Former clients include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Girard College, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Silicon Valley ALLIES.  A California native, Jennifer is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She lives in Berkeley, California with her husband and two daughters.

Natasha is a community organizer and artist from South Minneapolis. She is passionate about healing her community and breaking cycles of poverty and miseducation through opportunity and understanding. Her lived experience is a contributor to her passions. Although she grew up in a turbulent household with instability, she was lucky to always have adults in her life who invested in her. They saw not just her troubles but her creativity, her passion, and her empathy. They saw her wholly. This was life-changing for her. Even at a young age, she always knew that she wanted to be more than where she came from, and she knew that it would come through helping other people like her. This led her down the path of becoming a community organizer. She began building community with other young people who had these same dreams and hopes, and by investing in each other, they became changemakers, movement makers, and innovators. Because her community supported her, she grew into a young professional who gets to share the same grace that was extended to her. Because of her community, she is part of the change she hopes to see in the world.

With experience in youth leadership, policy advocacy, and organizational development, she currently serves as a Youth Leadership Coordinator at Youthprise. Some of her skill sets include facilitation, problem-solving, strategic planning, empowering young people through policy work, and team development. She is committed to justice, equity, and liberation for her community.

Monique Miles is a Vice President of the Aspen Institute, the Director of the Opportunity Youth Forum, and Managing Director of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Prior to joining the Forum for Community Solutions, Monique was the Director, Postsecondary Achievement at the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC). In her role at NYEC, Monique oversaw the Postsecondary Success Initiative, a national pilot that supported Community Based Organizations (CBOs) across the country to design and implement postsecondary programming, in partnership with local institutions of higher learning, for students who were disconnected from education. Monique began her career in education reform working as a Literacy Instructor at Youth Opportunity Boston. In this role Monique worked directly with students remanded to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) to teach basic literacy skills. Monique went on to serve the same population of students through political advocacy initiatives at the Commonwealth Corporation (CommCorp). Monique earned a Bachelor of Science from Springfield College and a Master’s in Education, Policy & Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Monique serves on the board of Independent Trust and Jeremiah Program.

Eboo Patel is a civic leader who believes that religious diversity is an essential and inspiring dimension of American democracy. Named “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, Eboo is Founder and President of Interfaith America, the leading interfaith organization in the United States. Under his leadership, Interfaith America has worked with governments, universities, private companies, and civic organizations to make faith a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. 

Eboo served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council, has given hundreds of keynote addresses, and has written five books, including We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy. He is an Ashoka Fellow and holds a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship. Eboo lives in Chicago with his wife, Shehnaz, and their two sons.

Have spent the past 7 years working with collective impact efforts on building better strategy and culture. Spent 21 years before that leading Public Allies, a national leadership development and community building organization. Was a social innovation advisor to Obama administration. Dad and cook for a family with 5 teen and young adult children, passionate about politics and social justice, music fanatic (don't get me started), voracious reader (mostly history), and lover of great TV and movies (I would have given best picture to Minari or Sound of Metal, best actor to Chadwick Boseman, and Best Actress to Andra Day). Never bored.

Geneva Wiki, citizen of the Yurok Nation, brings extensive experience in social change to the Forum for Community Solutions, having held leadership roles in philanthropy, education, and Tribal government. Previously the Deputy Executive Director of the Yurok Tribe, Geneva also founded and led a community-designed early college high school, and served as the Executive Director of the Wild Rivers Community Foundation. Most recently a Senior Program Manager at The California Endowment, Geneva was responsible for leading a statewide investment strategy to advance Native American health and racial equity. In that role, Geneva worked closely with the Opportunity Youth Forum as a funding partner, and was engaged with the Del Norte and Tribal lands Opportunity Youth collaborative, resulting in improved education, work and leadership pathways for youth and young adults in rural and Tribal California. Geneva brings training and experience in collaborative facilitation, human-centered design, systems-thinking, and generative somatics to the role of Director of Belonging, Meaning, Well-Being and Purpose.

Mr. Williams is the principal of Junious Williams Consulting, Inc. (JWC), a firm specializing in research and policy analysis, collaboration management and facilitation, program and strategy development focused on increasing equity and social justice (www.juniouswilliams.com).   He has worked extensively over the past 25 years on a variety of multi-stakeholder, multi-sector collaborations and collective impact initiatives providing guidance and support in design, implementation, facilitation, management and program improvement for initiatives addressing complex social issues ranging from full-service community schools to cradle-to-career pathways; from opportunity youth education and employment to improving outcomes for boys and men of color. He is currently a senior advisor to the Collective Impact Forum (http://collectiveimpactforum.org/). He holds a Juris Doctorate in Law and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Michigan, where he also pursued graduate studies in education administration.  

From 1998 through 2016 he served as President and CEO of Urban Strategies Council, a research and policy focused social justice impact organization in Oakland, California. In addition to private law practice, his career includes: founding  and directing the Saginaw Student Rights Center and co-founding the Ann Arbor Student Advocacy Center; work on school desegregation, disparate student discipline and race and gender equity as associate director of the Programs for Educational Opportunity at the University Of Michigan School of Education; Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies at CSU, Fresno; Executive Director of Student Attendance and Discipline for the Detroit Public Schools; and  assistant compliance monitor for a federal consent decree on employment discrimination in the building trades.  He has worked on community building initiatives, education and criminal justice reform, improving outcomes for boys and men of color and equitable workforce and economic development efforts including negotiating landmark community benefits agreements on major development projects in Oakland and San Francisco. He is co-founder and Board Chair of the Oakland Community Land Trust and Board Chair of the Center for Law and Education.