On February 27, nine young leaders gathered in New York City for the first convening of the Democracy Architects Council, a new fellowship presented by The Bridge Alliance Education Fund and Civics Unplugged. The event marked the official launch of a year-long initiative designed to do something at once simple and audacious: put the future of American democracy in the hands of those who will inherit it.
The Democracy Architects Council is a paid, one-year fellowship for eight fellows between the ages of 18 and 28, each selected for their work across a distinct sector of democratic life — joined by a ninth, Civics Unplugged's own Zoë Jenkins, who participates as a peer and project coordinator. Together, they are charged with developing an actionable playbook for American democracy in 2030 and beyond that is grounded in evidence, shaped by stakeholder input, and built for real impact.
A cohort that reflects the breadth of democratic work: The fellows represent a wide spectrum of approaches to strengthening democracy:
Movement‑builders and civic organizers
- Averie Bishop, an advocate with Asian Texans for Justice, brings experience leading a Gen Z‑driven Texas State House campaign that mobilized more than 80,000 door knocks and built a social media platform of over one million followers to make civic life accessible to young people.
- Lily Joy Winder — a Diné, Southern Ute, and African American advocate and Stanford graduate student — founded #PeopleNotMascots at age 18, a national campaign to retire Native mascots from public schools, and has since led campaigns at the intersection of Indigenous rights, environmental justice, and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People crisis, amassing more than 300,000 followers.
Policy innovators and institutional reformers
- Isabel Sunderland, policy lead for technology reform at Issue One, has advised Congress, the White House, and the United Nations on children’s online safety, data privacy, and Big Tech accountability.
- Arielle Galinsky, Co‑Founder of The Legacy Project and a joint JD/MPP candidate at Yale Law School and Harvard Kennedy School, focuses on intergenerational connection as a pathway to democracy reform.
Narrative shapers and cultural strategists
- Anatola Araba, a Forbes 30 Under 30 filmmaker and founder of Reimagine Story Lab, has spoken at the United Nations four times and made history when her art was sent to space on NASA’s first Moon mission since 1972 — all in service of her belief that imagination is infrastructure for democratic futures.
- Alex Edgar, Youth Engagement Manager at Made By Us and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, has spent his career rethinking how institutions share power across generations; his co‑founding of Youth250 has reached more than 2.3 million people ahead of the U.S. 250th anniversary.
Civic technologists and justice reformers
- Imre Huss, a high school senior from Cleveland, co‑founded Govvy, a civic technology platform for local government engagement, and has already co-authored eight articles in The Fulcrum.
- Jackson Parrott, a Yale undergraduate and Executive Director of Pardoned for Innocence, brings years of nonprofit leadership rooted in criminal justice, civic education, and wrongful conviction reform.
Cross‑sector coordination and trust‑building
- Joining them as the ninth member is Zoë Jenkins, Director of Civic Trust at Civics Unplugged. A National Geographic Young Explorer and University of Virginia graduate, she has been featured in The Washington Post, NPR, and The Tamron Hall Show for her work elevating the voices of Kentucky’s least‑heard students.
A year of research, collaboration, and public engagement
Over the next twelve months, each Democracy Architect will convene roundtable discussions with sector stakeholders, write essays and reports for publication in The Fulcrum, track emerging trends, and collaborate on a comprehensive sector playbook to be released at the end of the fellowship. Monthly full-cohort convenings will allow cross-sector knowledge sharing and strategic alignment. Fellows will be compensated with a $10,000 annual honorarium, supported by research staff from Civics Unplugged, and amplified through The Bridge Alliance's media and advocacy networks.
A working session, not a ceremonial launch
The February summit was less a ceremonial launch and more a deliberate working session. Fellows spent the day pairing up to analyze barriers in their own sectors, building cases for interventions, and casting votes on which paths to prioritize. The afternoon turned to a deeper examination of networks of power and influence, mapping who holds sway over democratic systems, how those relationships shape what change is possible, and where emerging leaders can most effectively intervene. The fellows also dove into competing theories of democracy and how those interface with power networks, culminating in a central concept that fellows will continue to build out.
A deliberate wager on the next generation
The council represents a deliberate wager: that young people don't just deserve a seat at the table when it comes to democracy's future — they deserve to set the agenda. Rather than slotting emerging leaders into existing reform frameworks, the Democracy Architects Council was designed to let them (re)define the framework itself.
Trust in institutions is fragile, polarization is entrenched, and civic participation among young Americans remains inconsistent. It is precisely in moments like these that the future passes from one generation’s hands to the next. Every generation reaches this moment when it must decide whether to accept the world as it is or dare to remake it. The Democracy Architects Council exists because older generations can no longer pretend that incremental fixes will be enough, and because these young leaders have already shown they are willing to shoulder a responsibility they did not create but will inevitably inherit. What they are building is not just a playbook; it is a promise that the future of American democracy will not be shaped by resignation, but by imagination, courage, and the belief that renewal is still possible.
The Democracy Architects Council is presented by The Bridge Alliance Education Fund and Civics Unplugged. To follow the Council's progress, visit the websites and social media channels of The Bridge Alliance, Civics Unplugged, and The Fulcrum for regular updates, event announcements, and new publications from the fellows.
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