Dear John, 

While others are 'holding space' for the lyrics of Defying Gravity, we're 'holding space' for the work of young lawmakers across the country. 🩷💚 

Want proof that a collaborative and effective future is possible?

100% of Future Caucus co-chairs won re-election this November. 

Learn more about what we've been up to recently:

Obama Foundation Democracy Forum

Future Caucus President & CEO Layla Zaidane led a conversation at the Obama Foundation's annual Democracy Forum this year with Kansas Future Caucus Co-Chairs, Senator-Elect Tory Blew (R) and Representative Brandon Woodard (D). They shared about the work Future Caucus is doing to heal political divides and showed how young lawmakers are putting pluralism into action. 

TEDxJacksonville

What if the key to fixing our broken politics isn’t just electing the right leaders—but helping them thrive once they’re in office? In her TEDx Talk, Layla Zaidane explores the systemic barriers young leaders face and the urgent need to support them.

The full video is coming soon.

2024 Rising Star Awards

We had an incredible evening celebrating the impact young legislators and changemakers are having across the country at our seventh annual Rising Star Awards! ✨

This year's Rising Star Award winners were Senator-Elect Tory Blew (R-KS) and Assemblymember Alex Bores (D-NY). The Cherisse Eatmon Collective Impact Award went to the Pennsylvania Future Caucus, co-chaired by Representative Justin Fleming (D-PA) and Representative Thomas Kutz (R-PA). The Generational Changemaker Award recipients were Sophia Bush and Paris Hilton.

2025-2026 Innovation Fellows

We're excited to introduce you to our 2025-2026 Innovation Fellows!

Split into four cohorts focused on Civic Innovation, Energy & Environment, Prenatal-to-Three, and Criminal Justice — these 64 Gen Z and millennial lawmakers will spend the next year working collaboratively, committing themselves to bridging political divides and advancing policy solutions to pressing issues in their communities.

Futures Thinking Forum

We kicked-off the 2025-2026 Innovation Fellowship with our new fellows in Washington, D.C. for the Futures Thinking Forum! We're grateful to have had so many lawmakers gathered together to think about creating a better future and the role we play in making it a reality. 

19th Collective Lunch

Our first affinity group for women legislators - the 19th Collective - hosted a lunch discussion led by Future Caucus' Board Member Nancy Roman on how to maintain confidence as a woman in a male-dominated industry. 

The 19th Collective intends to foster a supportive peer environment where members cultivate shared commitment, trust, and vulnerability. It is a personal board of advisors dedicated to promoting collaboration, skill development, and mutual support among its members.

Watch Now: Lawmakers on Lawmakers

Lawmakers on Lawmakers is an original series from Future Caucus, featuring Gen Z and millennial lawmakers, often from different states and political parties, sitting down for one-on-one conversations and connecting over their experiences as young lawmakers. 

In the first Lawmakers on Lawmakers conversation, Del. Kayla Young (D-WV) and Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R-AR) chat about serving in the state legislature as parents of young children, the importance of childcare and lack of resources for state legislators with kids, their favorite things about West Virginia and Arkansas, and how 90% of the work done in the state legislature is nonpartisan work.

Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) Summit

Future Caucus' Chief Strategy & Public Affairs Officer, Reed Howard, recently joined the Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE) Post-Election Convening to share about the role of leadership and how philanthropy can lead the way for a better democracy.

Must Reads

• "A different kind of politics is possible: a politics of hope, not of hate; of grace, not of grievance; and of progress, not of pettiness. That is our charge as the next generation of Future Caucus leaders," said Congresswoman-Elect Sarah McBride (D-DE).

• 12% of state legislators have served in the military. Future Caucus recently spoke with two of them -- Rep. Shirley Arriaga (D-MA) and Rep. Stetson Painter (R-AR) -- about how their military service shapes their work as elected officials. 

• “Last year, about 25% of all state legislatures were both Gen Z and Millennials,” said Layla Zaidane, “but they were responsible for 40% of all bipartisan legislation. We see that these two generations are punching above their weight when it comes to getting things done.”

• Billionaire Mackenzie Scott is changing the giving game as she gives away her fortune to organizations like Future Caucus. Read more in the Town & Country spotlight. 

We can't do this work without you. Support young lawmakers in their efforts to bridge the partisan divide and donate today!

Contact Us 

[email protected]

Future Caucus
1701 Rhode Island Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States  

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