ReThink Citizens Youth Coalition

Empowering a new generation of youth leaders to build a better internet

What Is The ReThink Citizens Youth Coalition?

The ReThink Citizens Youth Coalition (RCYC) is a first-of-it-kind community that aims to incubate and empower young innovators with ideas to make the digital world a better place. Over a 6-week period, selected innovators will participate in the “RCYC Innovator Academy,” which will offer them the crucial know-how they need to kickstart their innovation journey, e.g., teaching them how to develop a minimum viable product (MVP), how to pitch their solution, and how to formally start a non-profit organization. Innovators will also be connected to leading responsible technology experts and other crucial early-stage resources. At the end of the 6 weeks, innovators will then present their ideas–and the progress that they’ve made–at a local showcase.

Innovators selected

Innovating and learning together

Launching initiatives, to make an impact

Why RCYC?

We launched the ReThink Citizens Youth Coalition to make digital changemaking accessible and attainable for today's youth.

Today’s young people have bold, innovative ideas to tackle the pressing digital challenges of our time–but too often, they do not have the opportunities or resources to explore those ideas. No one understands that more than ReThink Citizens Founder and President, 24-year-old Trisha Prabhu. Trisha first invented the now globally acclaimed anti-cyberbullying solution ReThink when she was a teenager…and, a decade later, remembers just how difficult it was to get started, with so few resources and mentors. That, she knows, is doubly true for youth from underrepresented, historically marginalized backgrounds. The RCYC aims to change that, by putting responsible technology innovation within reach for any and all youth, from all walks of life. And by equipping participants with the skills, tools, and networks to take their ideas from vision to reality, the RCYC ultimately aims to generate a robust pipeline of innovators building the digital world that they want to live in.

Innovator Academy Speakers

Emma Lembke

Emma Lembke is a 22 year-old youth digital advocate. As a senior in high school, Lembke founded LOG OFF, a unique youth movement dedicated to uplifting and empowering youth to tackle the complexities of social media and its impact on their privacy, safety, and mental health. As a youth-led movement, LOG OFF provides an often overlooked and critical perspective on social media by leveraging and empowering the underrepresented experts in the field – Generation Z. This year, the movement will expand to establish campus chapters. Emma also is a core team member of Design It For Us, the only youth-led coalition pushing for online platforms and social media to be designed with kids and teens in mind, rather than as an afterthought. Her efforts have been covered by numerous media outlets including the New York Times, 60 Minutes, CBS, MTV, npr, The Hill, and Bloomberg. In February 2023, Emma became one of the first young people to testify before Congress regarding tech policy.

Brandon Bond

Brandon Bond is the LSA Mental Health & Well-Being Project Lead at the University of Michigan, where he spearheads the implementation of strategic and systemic public mental health efforts. With a background in neuroscience, global public health, public mental health, social change, and organizational management, Brandon brings extensive expertise to his work. Outside of his job, Brandon also passionately advocated for federal peer support advancement policies through Mental Health America's inaugural Youth Policy Accelerator. He's a current Fellow in the RESULTS Organizing and Advocacy Fellowship, focusing on tackling poverty and hunger through grassroots advocacy. He also serves as a mayoral-appointed Human Rights Commissioner for the City of Ann Arbor, protecting its residents' human and civil rights. Brandon is passionate about connecting people, promoting the intersection between mental health and social justice, and viewing humanity through a well-being lens.

Kevin Connors

Kevin Connors is the Managing Director at Susan Crown Exchange, where he oversees strategy and grantmaking. At SCE, Kevin has supported or strategically partnered with more than 50 organizations, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Nike, Aspen Institute, Harvard’s Center for Digital Thriving, Pivotal Ventures, and the U.S. Office of the Surgeon General. Previously, Kevin served as the Founding Director of Personalized Learning at Chicago Public Schools, where he led a $25M initiative and partnered with 120 schools to lead the nation’s first large scale implementation of the innovative school model. Kevin has also written for Education Week and is a Teach for America alum, former Head Varsity Baseball coach, and regular speaker at local and national conferences. His work has been featured by CNN, The Today Show, Vanity Fair, SXSW, TechCrunch, and the Chicago Tribune. Kevin holds a B.S. in Business from Indiana University and a Master’s degree from Harvard University.

Luke Wall

Luke is the Executive Director at Only7Seconds, a national nonprofit with a mission to end loneliness and improve social health for youth and young adults across America. Only7Seconds leads the connection revolution through national awareness campaigns, multimedia storytelling, evidence-informed resources, and youth-led programs. Luke personally experienced loneliness growing up in rural parts of the United States and saw firsthand the youth loneliness crisis throughout many previous roles working with youth. He is currently raising three young children as well, so this crisis is very personal. Prior to this role, Luke worked in various capacities at non-profit organizations, such as Special Olympics, and in corporate business.

Zamaan Qureshi

Zamaan Qureshi is an activist and advocate for safer social media for teenagers and young people. He serves as co-chair of Design It For Us and Campaigns Associate at Accountable Tech. He’s also a member of the Council for Responsible Social Media, and of the Real Facebook Oversight Board. He's written for publications including TIME and Tech Policy Press and has been featured by outlets including MSNBC, The Washington Post, POLITICO, and Axios. He is a recent graduate of American University where he earned a B.A. in international studies and political science.

David Ryan Polgar

David Ryan Polgar is the Founder and President of All Tech Is Human, an organization designed to tackle thorny tech & society issues through collective understanding, involvement, and action. The organization’s community-building is the subject of a chapter in the newly-released Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World’s Most Powerful Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation. David is an international speaker and regular commentator on improving social media and the need for a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to building a better tech future. His commentary has been featured on the TODAY show, BBC World News, MSNBC, Fast Company, and many more. He has been on stage at Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, Columbia Business School, and more.

Larissa May

Larissa May is a digital wellness entrepreneur and the founder of #HalfTheStory, a non-profit dedicated to improving the next generation’s relationship with technology. Larissa founded #HalfTheStory after facing her own struggles with social media, and has spent the past 10 years driving the rapidly growing global movement towards digital wellness. As the first youth-led non-profit of its kind, #HalfTheStory is focused on progressing education and advocacy work surrounding social media and tech use. Through #HalfTheStory's evidence-based education program, Social Media U, young people across schools in the US and UK are taught the skills needed to have a healthy relationship with their screens and are empowered to understand and advocate for their digital health. Prior to #HalfTheStory, Larissa helped build some of today’s buzziest D2C brands, including Kin Euphorics and Otherland, winning the Business Insider Brand Marketing Rising Stars Award for her work. Larissa has been featured in the WSJ, TIME, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Refinery29, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS This Morning.

Arielle Geismar

Arielle Geismar (she/her) is an organizer, advocate, creator, and strategist in human technology interaction. She has experience passing bills for young people on a state and federal level, advising nascent and foremost technology companies in ethics as well as the Biden-Harris Transition Team on mental health. She has led essential advocacy campaigns around responsible technology, gender, and LGBTQ+ rights. An advocate since 16, her leadership has been recognized by the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, MTV, New Yorker, and noted in Teen Vogue’s 21 Under 21 and Forbes 30 Under 30 lists. She has created content for Patagonia, Toms, Meta, and more around progressive issues. Arielle served as Student Body President of George Washington University before she graduated with her B.A. in International Affairs and International Science and Technology Policy. She is currently the Co-Chair of Design It For Us.

Katya Hancock

Katya Hancock is a mission-driven executive and public health champion with over two decades of leadership across healthcare, technology, and philanthropy. She is the founding Executive Director of Young Futures, a nonprofit on a mission to help young people and families thrive in the digital world. Young Futures aims to support 500 grassroots organizations over the next five years, creating systemic change to improve youth mental health. Previously, Katya served as Chief Impact Officer at StartUp Health, growing a portfolio of 500+ companies tackling health moonshots. Earlier in her career, she helped build two fintech startups from seed to acquisition and began her journey at CIBC, supporting impact-driven families.

Isabel Sunderland

Isabel recently graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Justice & Law. Her work centers on the intersection of social media, democracy, and human rights. As a member of Design It For Us, she has actively advocated for kids' online safety, data privacy, design, and Section 230 reform—bringing these critical issues to Capitol Hill and the White House in the fight to regulate Big Tech. Previously, Isabel has worked with The Real Facebook Oversight Board and Issue One’s technology reform team to advance legislative solutions for a safer and more accountable information environment.

Alex Edgar

Alex Edgar is a dynamic Gen Z civic leader transforming how communities and institutions engage younger, diverse audiences. He is the Youth Engagement Manager at Made By Us, a national coalition of hundreds of cultural institutions across the United States engaging young adults with history to inform and inspire civic participation. He leads their National Youth250 Advisory Bureau, amplifiying young people’s imaginations and input, ensuring their voices lead the reflection on and commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026. These 100 paid advisors are aged 18 to 30, hail from 45 states and territories, and represent a broad spectrum of perspectives. Alex is also the youngest member in history of the Board of Directors for Points of Light, the National Advisory Board for the UC National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement, and the United States Census Bureau’s 2030 Census Advisory Committee.

Sam Weinberg

Sam is a 24-year-old founder, writer, and nonprofit executive currently serving as the Executive Director of Path to Progress, the nation’s only think tank led by Generation Z. Sam’s research and policy expertise span from labor law and working hours to diplomacy and peace-building in Israel-Palestine. In addition to policy and politics, Sam is passionate about the arts and humanities and advocates for more government funding for the NEA and NEH. Sam’s writing has been published in The Chicago Tribune and The Forward. His advocacy work has been featured in The Associated Press, The Hill, Time Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNBC, USA Today, The Philadelphia Inquirer, POLITICO, The Chicago Sun Times, Teen Vogue, The Guardian, and more. Sam has also made on-air appearances on BBC World News, VICE News, and Cheddar TV.

Arturo Bejar

Dad of two great kids. From 2009 to 2015, Arturo was the senior leader at Facebook responsible for its efforts to keep users safe and supported. This included managing “Site Integrity,” “Security Infrastructure,” and a group called “Care,”– which developed Facebook’s user-facing and internal customer care tools, as well as all the child safety tools. Arturo was also the manager for Facebook’s “Product Infrastructure” team, which created some of Facebook’s core technologies. From 2019 to 2021 Arturo returned to the company as a consultant to work on well-being issues at Instagram. During his second stint Arturo researched, documented, and briefed the executive team on material harm experienced by teens on Instagram. It was the willful disregard of the harm teens experience of Instagram that led Arturo to whistleblow.
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Submit your application to join our community of digital changemakers

Application

“The participants in our afterschool program have truly enjoyed the ReThink Citizens program! We’ve seen a noticeable improvement in how they communicate within their friend circles, as well as their ability to navigate conflicts thoughtfully. It has been incredible to witness their growth and facilitate the meaningful conversations taking place. Plus, there’s been a significant decrease in bickering and disagreements among friends. We are enjoying the results!”

Amanda Serrano

Director of Programs - Girls Inc of Pinellas, FL

Leadership

Marrow Woods

(they/them); 22 years old; location: Macon, Georgia

Marrow Woods serves as the Youth Coalition Program Manager at ReThink Citizens, leveraging years of experience in designing youth-led initiatives and advocating for social and educational justice. With a robust academic foundation in English and Religion, Philosophy, and Social Change, Marrow is driven by a passion for designing impactful programs and equitable learning experiences. They are deeply committed to fostering spaces where young leaders can collaborate, innovate, and thrive, ensuring that their voices shape sustainable solutions to today’s challenges.

“Designing meaningful programs isn’t just about shaping content—it’s about empowering the people who will shape the future. My work with ReThink Citizens is an investment in youth potential, helping them transform bold visions into real-world action that drives equity and justice forward.”

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