Generation Change with Leo Finelli

Leo interviews Yalini Gopalswamy, Sara Beg, and Anna Rajesh, the Gen Z founders of EnVi Crochet, about how they came together, what they do when they're not crocheting, and their mission to plant a new tree for every dollar they earn. Follow EnVi Crochet on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/envi.crochet/ Visit their website: https://www.envicrochet.org/

James Crocker, a 17-year-old activist and content creator from Granby, Connecticut, chats with Leo about his nonprofit Letters For Our Elders and his LGBTQ advocacy. Follow James on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescrockerrr/

Leo interviews Emily Peng, a 15-year-old student who serves as the founder and CEO of DyeversityInUs. Emily tells Leo about how she started her organization, what happened at her first event, and her plans to spread her message and reach more people. Follow DyeversityInUs on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dyeversity_inus/ Check out the official website: https://www.dyeversityinus.org/

Leo meets Kristyn Ellen, a nursing school student at Boston College and a friend of previous Generation Change guest Chessy Prout. Leo and Kristyn talk about Curious George, Taylor Swift, the power of empathy, and her work with I Have The Right To. Follow Kristyn on Instagram: @kristyn.ellen

Leo talks with Charlie Jeffers, an 18 year old from the San Francisco Bay Area who founded Pass the Bricks, a non-profit organization that turns Lego bricks into new sets for kids. Leo and Charlie talk about designing Lego sets, taking Pass the Bricks international, and how anyone who’s interested can get involved. Follow Pass the Bricks on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passthebricks/

On this month's episode, Leo meets Elijah Lee, a 16-year-old student, community activist, and national advocate for children from Richmond, Virginia. Elijah tells about his work with the Virginia State Legislature, his appearances on the Kelly Clarkson Show, his friendship with one of our previous guests, and so much more! Follow Elijah on Instagram: @elijah_4justice_lee Check out Elijah's...

Leo meets Keanu Arpels-Josiah, one of the lead organizers behind last year's March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. Keanu also serves on the Electoral and Legislative teams of Sunrise Movement NYC, and helps coordinate and organize around local policy and legislative campaigns as a policy lead for Fridays for Future. Leo talks with Keanu about striking outside City Hall, organizing the Ma...

Leo chats with Ava Pallotta, a student activist at Harvard College, co-chair of the Harvard Votes Challenge, and deputy political director for Voters of Tomorrow. Ava shares how she got started, how she organized student protests and other events at Harvard, and how she takes care of herself. Follow Ava on Instagram: @avapallotta

Leo interviews Bayly Hoehne, a 16 year old Gen Z political strategist from Connecticut. Bayly and Leo chat about getting into politics early on, Bayly's leadership roles, and her enthusiasm for Taylor Swift. Follow Bayly on Instagram: @baylyhoehne

Leo meets Marianna Pecora, a 20 year old youth activist and college sophomore from Southern California who's currently studying political communications at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Marianna and Leo talk about growing up near the US-Mexico border, why she chose GWU, and what she's been up to in our nation's capital. Follow Marianna on Instagram: @marianna.pecora

We begin Season 4 of the Generation Change with Leo Finelli Podcast with Leo and Elijah Pelton. Elijah got his start in the gun violence prevention movement after the Parkland shooting. At his high school, Elijah started chapters of Students Demand Action and March For Our Lives, which held multiple events including 2 school walkouts, and gave presentations to both the school board and the city co...

Leo meets Jennalynn Fung, a PharmD candidate, journalist, and photographer based in Queens, NY. Jennalynn has written and advocated for climate justice, Asian American culture, the LGBT+ community, and health, and has become known for their music journalism. As they enter the last couple years of pharmacy school, Jennalynn is interested in continuing their environmental advocacy work, with a focus...

On this episode Leo meets Anna Johnson, a special ed teacher and gun violence prevention advocate from Raleigh, NC. Leo and Anna talk about going to the same college (at different times), Anna's time on the Change the Ref tour, her favorite TV shows, and more. You can follow Anna on Instagram @annagreenj. Anna is also the social media manager for Newtown Action Alliance and Change the Ref .

Leo meets and talks with Shoshanna "Shoshie" Hemley, a rising junior and political science major at Williams College. She grew up mostly in Iowa, but she has lived in Manila, Singapore, and France, all of which were experiences that greatly impacted her passion for global justice. Outside of the classroom, Shoshie runs her college mock trial team, is on the board of her student-run theat...

In this episode, Leo takes you to Hollywood this month for an interview with Zoey Luna. Zoey is a girl with so much on her plate and a story to tell. She’s a Latina transgender actress, advocate, and personality. She's made appearances in films and tv shows such as "Dear Evan Hansen", and "Pose", plus she had her first break at only 16 years old in Rosario Dawson's dire...

We’re more than 2 1⁄2 years into the podcast, and the conversations keep coming! This month’s guest is Sara Kate Baudhuin, also known as SK. She is currently a page at NBC-Universal in Los Angeles. She graduated from Duke University where she studied a self-created major program called Storytelling as a Tool for Social Change. SK is passionate about exploring the intersection between narrative and...

Molly Reed is a 22-year-old organizer. She has worked on progressive movements including gun violence prevention, student debt cancellation, and environmental Justice. She recently graduated from George Mason University near Washington DC with a degree in government and international politics where she completed an honors dissertation looking into the polarization of gun legislation in the US, and...

Today on the show, Leo talks with Logan Rubenstein a first year Political Science student at the University of Central Florida who got involved in advocacy after the Parkland shooting in his community. Seeing first hand how important politics is, Logan was inspired to take action, joining March For Our Lives as a student leader, Logan has worked on multiple local progressive campaigns, from State...

Benjamin Kapit is a writer, director, producer, songwriter, and award winning photographer, cinematographer, and composer. He has worked on projects of all kinds, from small indie films to videography for Caravan Palace on tour to photographing for an article in British Vogue. Benjamin founded his production company, Second World Entertainment, when he was 15, and his team is currently in post pro...

Alexandra Huynh is a middle school student, a national art contest winner, and a book author. She was featured in the Art Comes Alive program by AIB TV. Her book From Tears to the Sea was the Best New Release by category on Amazon. See her artwork at https://ALEXwithStrawberries.com/  or visit the Westside Market in midtown Atlanta.

Shayna Rutman (she her hers) is a 20-year-old advocate from San Diego. she attends American University in Washington, D.C. and is studying abroad next semester in Wellington, New Zealand! Shayna is the founder of Purses for a Purpose, a non-profit organization that accepts donated purses, handbags, and backpacks and fills them with travel-size toiletries to deliver to homeless women in select citi...

" Rija Nazir (she/her) is a Wichita State senior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Spanish. Nazir is a Community Organizer for Loud Light based in Wichita, KS. Rija aims to prioritize voter education among marginalized Wichitans, specifically young Black and Brown voters, as well as encourage accountability among elected officials in Kansas. Prior to the 2022 primary election, Nazir le...

Season 3 of Generation Change with Leo Finelli starts with Isabel Mavrides-Calderon! Isabel Mavrides-Calderon is a teen disabled, disability rights activist and organizer. Her work focuses on disability policy, and accessibility particularly within education. Isabel has organized and hosted grassroots conferences  with the ACLU about disability policy issues such as the SSI restoration act, a...

On this episode we have the brilliant Nikita Agrawal. Nikita is a high school student at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, Illinois. She is president of FinPro World, a student-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization she co-founded that is committed to educating middle and high school students on finance topics through computer programming. FinPro World gives students the opportunity to explore...

On this episode, Leo talks with Johnathan Harris, author of the graphic novel Colorblind : a Story of Racism . Johnathan is a college student at Texas State University where he is currently majoring in K-6 Education and plans to continue his studies by earning a Master's of Arts in Counseling as well. He is the Vice President of the Xi Delta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity at TSU. (Omega Psi P...