This podcast problematizes conceptions of youth leadership and offers insight into the depth, breadth and promise of youth civic engagement, community organizing and youth activism. The speakers name many of the challenges that young people face as leaders and provide insights for both youth and adults in supporting the conditions for youth voice, agency and activism. They also share ideas on how youth leadership can inform traditional notions of teaching, learning and leading.

About The Speakers

Riven Thorne is a transgender person and youth advocate whose been working with LGBTQ2S youth, people who use drugs and youth with disabilities for two years. They are passionate about equity and justice, spoken word poetry, and fostering community in the spaces he occupies. Riven has been working as a peer harm reduction worker, primarily doing drug and safer sex education for youth and mental health service providers for the last year and a half. 

Curtis Carmichael is a Keynote Speaker, STEM educator, cross Canada cyclist (Sponsored by Specialized Canada) and the founding force behind Ride for Promise – a nationwide movement cycling across Canada. Raised in poverty, he channeled his entrepreneurial skills, hustling lifestyle and focus on self-education to become a trailblazer.

Leading a successful $100,000 fundraising campaign, his grassroots movement is featured in the award-winning documentary Ride for Promise. As a respected speaker, Curtis has delivered engaging presentations across Canada and has appeared on CBC National, City News and Global News. He has received several prestigious awards including the USPORTS National Russ Jackson Award, Herbert H. Carnegie Future Aces National Citizenship Award & the City of Toronto Spirit of Sport Diversity and Inclusion Award. Curtis is most driven by topics focusing on social change, leadership, overcoming adversity and digital equity.

Connect to Curtis: Curtis' website & Instragram.