On Friday, September 25, Her Rising Initiative is partnering with the City of Evanston and Evanston Cradle 2 Career to host our inaugural Youth Equity Summit, bringing together high school and college students from across the Chicagoland area for a day of civic education, community dialogue, and leadership development.
The summit is built around three pillars:
- Youth Leadership & Community Engagement — inspiring students to lead within their schools, neighborhoods, and local government through service and civic participation
- Representation — panels showcasing local leaders of color across industries, giving students a window into the range of career paths open to them
- Legislation — interactive workshops on the legislative process, advocacy, and pathways into public service, anchored by a mainstage conversation on Evanston's nationally recognized reparations initiative
As part of that final pillar, we are honored to partner with Robin Rue Simmons, former Evanston Alderman and Founder of FirstRepair. Robin is widely recognized as the architect of the nation's first government-funded municipal reparations program, and her work has drawn national coverage from TIME, The New York Times, and PBS.