2025 American Youth Policy Forum, Powered by CDF Thursday Agenda
Thursday, November 6
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. ET
Registration & Breakfast
9:30 – 9:35 a.m. ET
Opening Remarks from Dr. Wilson, President and CEO of Children’s Defense Fund
9:35 – 10:45 a.m. ET
Opening Plenary
Dreaming of Home: Youth Voice, Immigration, and Change
Cristina Jiménez Moreta, co-founder of United We Dream, MacArthur Fellow, and best-selling author of Dreaming of Home, will deliver a keynote address. Jiménez will reflect on her journey as an organizer in the movement of DREAMers and for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Sharing insights from her book, Jimenez will highlight the impact of youth in policy debates and shine light on bipartisan support for a permanent solution in Congress, at a time when increased deportation efforts threaten DACA recipients.
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET
Morning Breakout Sessions
The Dynamic Decade: Exploring Adolescent Brain Development and Youth Rights
Join us for a dynamic conversation that brings together leading experts in neuroscience to explore the latest research on how the teenage brain develops, how it affects behavior, and how it shapes decision-making, emotions, and social interactions. Speakers will dive into the science of brain maturation, the impact of environmental influences, and what this means for education, mental health, and well-being. Whether you’re a policymaker, researcher, advocate, parent, educator, or simply curious, this discussion will offer new insights into one of the most dynamic periods of human development.
Speakers:
Dr. Stephanie McGencey (moderator)
Lauren Reliford, MSW
Marisa Gerstein Pineau, FrameWorks
Lupi Quinteros-Grady, President & CEO, Latin American Youth Center
Participatory Policymaking: Channeling Lived Expertise in Policy Development and Organizing
Join us for an intergenerational conversation with leaders in the work of participatory policymaking, working across issues related to racial identity and racial impact in social policy, youth justice and child welfare. Team members from the Children’s Defense Fund-New York will share their practice of working with community to generate state-wide policy proposals and campaigns to advance racial equity, economic mobility, and support young people’s freedom from carceral systems and self-determination. Panelists will share actionable methods for collaborating with the community to develop breakthrough policy demands and campaigns, combining participatory action research, power-sharing with lived experts, and collective action. The conversation will focus on 2 examples from CDF-NY’s ambitious work: creating legislation to require racial and ethnic impact statements for new laws and to evaluate existing policy reforms; and advancing guaranteed income policy in New York State.
Speakers:
Juan Diaz
Julia Davis (moderator)
Amal Kharoufi
Jose Perez
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. ET
Networking Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET
Closing Plenary
Thrive: A Better Future for Adolescents and All Children
Lisa M. Lawson, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and author of “Thrive,” will deliver the afternoon plenary keynote. Drawing on advances in adolescent brain science, her experience in philanthropic leadership, and Annie E. Casey Foundation’s data on child well-being, she will emphasize the vital role that stable relationships, meaningful opportunities, and strong support play in helping young people thrive.
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. ET
Closing Remarks and Call to Action, Dr. Wilson, President and CEO of Children’s Defense Fund