Young Voices discovers, nurtures, and promotes independent communicators and creators ages 18-35.
We work with unconventional young thinkers from a variety of backgrounds working in policy, journalism, innovation, and academia. We provide them with free media training and placement services for articles, broadcast interviews, and public speaking opportunities.
What sets us apart is our commitment to ideological pluralism. We work with political independents who don’t fit neatly on the left-right spectrum. The most interesting people rarely do.
We help rising changemakers get where they want to be.
As a direct result of our specialized trainings and robust network, our alumni are leading newsrooms, writing books, hosting TV shows, and more.
Are you next?
"From my time working, writing, and doing TV/radio for Young Voices, I developed a sense of voice and an ability to weave story, heart and evidence to my delivery. From becoming a published author, TV commentator and show host, Young Voices prepared me for all of it."
Stephen Kent
Public Relations Specialist, Consumer Choice Center
"Young Voices has equipped me with the tools to succeed in various aspects of the media space. Their training, expertise, and overall support are unmatched."
Cooper Conway
MPP Candidate, Pepperdine University
“Over the course of four years, I went from writing for my student newspaper, to becoming a regular political broadcaster on national television and radio programs, and from there, I became a news editor at one of the world's biggest newspapers. The training, guidance and wealth of connections that Young Voices provided was invaluable in spearheading my career. If you are an aspiring journalist, policymaker or commentator, then you must join the Contributor Program."
Bill Bowkett
Assistant News Editor, Daily Mail
“Thanks to the resume and confidence I was able to build as a Young Voices contributor, I'm now an editor at Reason, the premier libertarian media outlet. Without Young Voices, I would be nowhere near as sure of myself and my professional path as I am now."
Fiona Harrigan
Associate Editor, Reason Magazine
“Young Voices has taken my writing to new heights. They helped me transition from academic to popular writing and get published in outlets like National Review and the Wall Street Journal. Thanks to Young Voices, doors are opening for me as a public intellectual that I couldn't have gotten through on my own."
Alexander Salter
Assoc. Professor, Texas Tech University
“During my transition to law school, Young Voices has been truly instrumental, allowing me to leverage what I learn in the classroom in my writing. During my first semester, I published op-eds about issues that are important to me in national publications, including the Wall Street Journal and New York Post.”
Rachel Chiu
J.D. Candidate, Georgetown University
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This week on Moving Forward, the Young Voices radio show, we hear from contributors Xizi Daigle, Peter Biles, Oscar Gill-Lewis, and Harris Van Pate.
As the cost of living continues to rise and tensions mount over immigration issues, Canada has an option that could ease both challenges. Xizi Daigle says refugee sponsorship could help with immigration woes.
The U.K. Postal Service has seen some serious drawbacks thanks to a vendor that has failed to deliver. Oscar Gill-Lewis reveals how robust procurement rules could help prevent another Post Office scandal.
A Biden administration proposal to limit Supreme Court terms might cause more problems than it solves. Harris Van Pate explains the drawbacks.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Young Voices is thrilled to announce an expansion of our live events with the launch of NextGen Debates. At least once a quarter, Young Voices will host a formal Oxford-style debate with a live audience in downtown New York City.At the conclusion of these debates, audiences will have the chance to vote for a winner based on which speaker they thought made the most compelling argument.
If you haven't attended an Oxford-stye debate before, they're not your typical panel discussion. Expect to be provoked by engaging questions from a moderator and structured argumentation from debaters who are young, rising influencers in their field. And don't miss the afterparty! Every debate will be followed by a soiree to build a community of freethinkers from all walks of life.
We hope you can join us in person for one (or multiple) of our upcoming debates, but no worries if you're not located near New York City. Thanks to a partnership with the new streaming platform CiVL, Young Voices NextGen Debates will be broadcast live and available to watch shortly afterwards on every major streaming platform completely free of cost.
We're kicking off NextGen Debates with two events in October on topics related to the 2024 U.S. elections. Check them out below!
"Duopoly Alternatives?" Haz Al-Din vs. Benjamin Williams — Thursday, October 10th, 7 PM ET, Sovereign House, NYC Described as the American Political Duopoly, the Republican and Democratic parties have dominated politics since the mid 1800s. Young Voices is hosting a debate in partnership with the recently launched American Communist Party to consider how useful third parties are in creating social change.
"Libertarians for Harris?" Joshua Eakle vs. Sean Fitzgerald — Wednesday, October 23rd, 7 PM ET, Sovereign House, NYC Though the libertarian vote is relatively small, it could play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of the upcoming presidential election. Libertarian voters now face a crucial choice: Which of the two major presidential candidates best aligns with their principles and merits their support?
These two are just the beginning. We plan to return in early 2025 with more provocative NextGen Debates in NYC. Stay tuned for more upcoming events in Washington, DC this fall as well. Here's to the future!
Check out the work of our Contributors as they get published in the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, RealClearPolitics, New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and more!
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Check out the work of our Contributors as they get published in the Washington Examiner, Newsweek, RealClearPolitics, New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, and more!
Since 2017, Young Voices has offered select cohorts of our writers a unique opportunity to explore specific policy issues through our "Policy Fellowships" program. These fellowships provide in-depth learning guided by lectures and mentorship from scholars at leading think tanks. I’m excited to announce that this fall, Young Voices will be launching our largest batch of fellowships to date, featuring three programs and 23 fellows. Read more about them below:
Middle East History and Peace Fellowship In the wake of the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war, much of the public conversation is driven by historical misunderstandings. To address this, Young Voices is launching a fellowship designed to equip our writers with the historical context and knowledge needed to engage more thoughtfully on this issue. Kicking off with a summit in New York City next month, seven fellows will learn from historians, activists, and reporters. They will continue their education through four virtual briefings and are expected to publish three op-eds before the fellowship concludes in March.
Social Mobility Fellowship Last fall, Young Voices debuted a fellowship focused on tackling tough domestic policy issues such as poverty, crime, and social mobility. The program yielded great results, with two fellows securing ongoing reporting positions. This year, we’re bringing the fellowship back, beginning in November with an opening summit in Washington, DC. Eight fellows will receive training in original reporting and will be expected to produce two feature stories on social entrepreneurs addressing the challenges of social mobility.
Markets and Morality Fellowship In partnership with the Acton Institute, Young Voices is offering an exclusive fellowship for eight of our top writers. These fellows will attend an invite-only retreat in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they will explore the intersection of markets and morality. Through guided discussions and a Liberty Fund-style symposium, participants will delve into the ethics of a free society, with a focus on the ideas of Adam Smith.
We’re looking forward to sharing the results of these fellowships as they conclude early next year. These programs are a testament to the continued growth of Young Voices' network of communicators for liberty. To learn more about Young Voices' recent accomplishments and future plans, check out our annual report linked below.
This is the election cycle in which the Democratic Party, via Tim Walz, has incorporated the phrase "Mind your own damn business." Srisha Raj says, Gen Z isn't taking the bait and rejects the idea that willful ignorance equals freedom.
The Federal Trade Commission is scrutinizing Pharmacy Benefit Managers to determine their impact on the healthcare market. Patrick Hanks warns that the FTC studies are leaning on slant more than reason.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
I’m thrilled to share with you Young Voices’ 2023-2024 Annual Report. For the 11th consecutive year, we’ve expanded our media reach, continuing to amplify the message of liberty across the globe. Check out the report here.
Over the past year, Young Voices:
Reached a record-breaking 90.7 million viewers through over 1,900 media appearances, including written publications, TV, radio, podcasts, and speeches.
Hosted 19 events with 1,025 participants, including debates, networking happy hours, and book tour events.
Expanded the Dissident Project to classrooms nationwide, launching a high school essay contest and welcoming a new class of speakers to share their stories of escaping tyranny and finding freedom in America.
Facilitated new job opportunities for several of our writers, including positions at the New York Post, Americans for Prosperity Foundation, and the Manhattan Institute.
Launched a new website, joinyv.org, designed for simplicity and to attract new talent, featuring a searchable talent page and event archives.
Set three new records for applications to our programs, Tier 1 media hits, and donations received.
These achievements wouldn’t have been possible without the support of dedicated individuals like you. Here’s to reaching even more milestones for freedom in the media!
Are you inspired by what you see? Click here to give a tax-deductible donation to support our work empowering the next generation of leaders for liberty.
On August 6, officials from Venezuela's military counter intelligence agency took Maria Oropeza into custody for her opposition to the Maduro regime. Izabella Patriota joins us to discuss how the Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LoLA) is working to secure Maria's release.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Check out the work of our Contributors as they get published in the Washington Examiner, The American Conservative, Reason, American Mind, The Dispatch, and more!
Happy Labor Day Weekend! The dog days of summer may be coming to an end, but Young Voices has not been sleeping. We hosted two big gatherings in New York City this past week — a speakers training for our new Dissident Project class and a panel with three student reporters on what's to come with campus protests. Check it out!
Meet the Dissidents: An Evening with the Dissident Project The Dissident Project is Young Voices' speakers bureau connecting U.S. immigrants who escaped tyrannical regimes with high schoolers at no cost to schools. We welcomed seven new Dissidents from China, Cuba, Iran, and the former USSR last weekend and honed their public speaking skills to share their compelling stories about the importance of freedom to young audiences across the country. We also hosted a reception last Saturday night four our donors, partners, and friends to meet our new Dissidents in person. We have big plans for the fall!
The Left's Campus Playbook: Protests, Tactics, and Future DirectionsLast night, I hosted a panel with three Young Voices student journalists who made a splash on college campuses this past school year. Jonas Du from Columbia, Lexi Boccuzzi from Penn, and Tahmineh Dehbozorgi from GWU sat down to explore the recent anti-Israel protests on college campus, dissecting the philosophical, institutional, and free speech ramifications of the protests. We were joined by a number of Young Voices supporters and partners, including our friends at The Fund for American Studies and the David Network. Click here to listen to a recording of the talk.
Thank you to everyone who came out, and we hope to see more friends at future gatherings!
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Check out the work of our Contributors as they get published in the Toronto Sun, National Review, Houston Chronicle, City Journal, Chicago Tribune, and more!
The Dissident Project is welcoming a new speaker class for the 2024-2025 school year. These incoming dissidents from countries including the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Cuba and Russia will take their testimonies into highschools across the country to share with the next generation of American students what it was like to live under totalitarian regimes.
Next week, our dissidents will be joining us in New York City for our Dissident Training Summit. Over the course of the summit, our new class will enhance their public speaking skills, film social media content, deepen their understanding of our program and learn how to effectively share their unique stories with student audiences across the nation.
We look forward to seeing how their stories will impact young Americans in the effort to dispel the allure of authoritarian ideologies. Here are our incoming dissidents for the 2024-2025 school year:
Alvin Hailin
People’s Republic of China
Alvin Hailin was born and raised in Beijing, but he and his family never held a Beijing "Hukou” — a registration in a caste-like system restricting Chinese citizens from freely moving and living within their own country. This eventually stimulated Alvin to attend an international high school in Beijing and prepare for admission to American universities.
During high school, Alvin learned to secretly use a VPN to access the Internet beyond the Great Firewall. This allowed him to discover facts hidden by the Chinese government and understand freedom and democracy through observing Taiwanese elections.
In the fall of 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Alvin began his studies at UC Santa Barbara but had to complete his entire freshman year remotely from China. During this time, he experienced the Chinese government's increased implementation of digital authoritarianism under the guise of pandemic control. In April 2021, Alvin's WeChat account was suspended after he criticized President Xi Jinping's incompetency in a group chat with nearly 200 members. Subsequently, local police officers threatened him, stating that he and his family would face severe consequences if he continued to express dissent against the Communist Party, the Chinese government, and their leaders.
Upon arriving in the United States, Alvin joined Young Americans for Freedom, aspiring to share his story with more Americans. He also became a Christian while overcoming his traumas. Alvin plans to graduate from UC Santa Barbara with a double major in Applied Mathematics and the History of Public Policy and Law in the spring of 2025. He intends to apply to law schools and become a lawyer in the future.
Alvin Guo
People’s Republic of China
Alvin "Chenhao" Guo is a defector from Communist China. He was an underground Christian, sharing Christianity and political criticism, and helping people evade Internet censorship as a high school student. He defected from Communist China after becoming a conscientious objector in 2018 at the age of 19.
Having witnessed the absolute deprivation of individual rights, rule of terror, and unrestricted oppression, Alvin sees America heading in a similar direction. He loves America and does not want it to become like Communist China. As a student leader on college campuses, he has been writing articles for multiple influential media outlets, organizing demonstrations, exercising freedom of speech, and working with legislators to protect American freedom. Alvin Guo recently graduated from Brigham Young University and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). He is the current president of the Utah College Republicans and a member of the College Republicans national board.
Alvin is an educator, entrepreneur, and advocate of capitalism who believes in “Faith & Flag.”
Eliza Volkova
Russia
Liza is currently a senior at the GW School of Business and already owns and operates her own business. She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and has previously lived in Moscow, Russia. She graduated high school at the age of 16 and found a passion for entrepreneurship. Before becoming a student at GW, Liza organized conferences in Moscow to promote her education startup, Campus Education. She is an official member of the Youth Council of the World Liberty Congress.
Shay Khatiri
Iran
Shay Khatiri is a vice president and senior fellow at the Yorktown Institute, where he studies the geopolitics of Eurasia. Trained as a military strategist at the Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, he has been widely published in prominent journals and newspapers on issues ranging from foreign policy to American patriotism. He lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Golbon Marandiz
Iran
Golbon, a cybersecurity student and community activist from Seattle, has recently brought Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA) to Washington to fill a gap in the libertarian community. She is a passionate advocate for free speech and free markets. As a former political and religious refugee exiled from Iran, Golbon is now a fervent champion of liberal ideals. She currently serves as a data analyst intern at the American Heart Association, a student at the University of Washington-Seattle, and the chapter leader for LOLA.
Janna Blanter
USSR
Janna left the USSR in 1976 as a teenager, but the memories of the horrors she experienced remain vivid. She recalls bread lines, family members in gulags, and a pervasive fear of authority. Now, Janna serves as an adjunct faculty member and a board member for an oil drilling company, drawing on her past to educate and inspire others about the importance of freedom and human rights.
Gabriela Blanco
Cuba
Gabriela Blanco was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, under the communist regime that has ruled for over 6 decades now. Her family experienced the consequences of this terrible system firsthand; from having her great-grandparents’ business stolen and nationalized, to being separated from her father for over 10 years. At 23 years old she moved to the Cayman Islands by herself, where she lived for 7 years. In 2019 she came to the United States and was reunited with her father and siblings after nearly a decade apart.
During her journey she accepted Christ as her savior, and alongside her husband they traveled the country as testimony speakers for the Gideons International, an organization devoted to spreading the gospel around the world. She is also actively involved in ministry and her local church community in Austin, Texas.
Gabriela holds a master’s degree in Event Management from Falmouth University in the UK, has extensive experience managing large events of 30,000+ attendees and is currently a Project Management consultant for the largest sports field construction company in the US. She is also a mother of one. Her family and her faith remain her biggest passions, both directly impacted by the Cuban authoritarian regime. Gabriela is a voice for freedom, God, and family values and the effects of communist and socialist practices on family and life.
Young Voices is thrilled to announce the arrival of a powerful new Dissident Project speaker class for the 2024-2025 school year. This year, we’re welcoming seven inspiring voices who are ready to share their incredible stories with high school students across the United States.
Next week, these brave speakers will gather in New York City for our annual Dissident Training Summit. At the retreat, they'll refine their public speaking skills and learn how to effectively share their experiences highlighting the importance of freedom for America’s youth.
Our new speakers hail from all corners of the world, including the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Cuba, and Russia. One dissident even brings a unique perspective from the former USSR, vividly recalling the breadlines and oppressive realities of a communist regime. Many of these courageous individuals are also successful entrepreneurs, showcasing how the American dream can become a reality when given the opportunity to thrive.
We can’t wait to see the impact this class of dissidents will have as they engage with students across the nation, sparking critical conversations and inspiring a deeper appreciation for the freedoms we often take for granted.
Lobbyists often get a bad rap. Oliver Dean shares his thoughts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's efforts to overhaul lobbying rules and how red tape may actually harm citizens of the U.K.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Trust in the criminal justice system is falling in direct proportion to how politicized our prosecutors are becoming. Alex Xenos explains why it's happening and what needs to be done.
Democracy is struggling throughout the world but there is serious cause for concern in Canada. Daniel Dorman says, a big part of the problem there is that Trudeau is asleep at the wheel.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
Check out the work of our Contributors as they get published in Bitcoin Magazine, Orange County Register, Houston Chronicle, American Spectator, Deseret News, and more!
The world is watching Venezuela right now as protesters take to the street to rise up against a sham election giving dictator Nicolas Maduro a third term. Daniel Di Martino, founder of Young Voices' Dissident Project, reacted to the news with a powerful Fox Business appearance yesterday, diving into the opposition's proof of a stolen election and what might be next for his troubled home country.
"Venezuela when I was a kid was still the richest country in Latin America. I had to leave my country because my family went from making several thousand dollars a month like most Americans to making $100 a month in 2016. That's what the average Venezuelan makes today in the country. What's going to happen in Maduro remains in power — which I think is the likely outcome given that he has all the guns, and the Venezuelan population does not — what's going to happen is that we're going to see at least a million more people leave the country. We have a total humanitarian disaster." —Daniel Di Martino
The Dissident Project is empowering vital voices like Daniel's to tell the brutal truth about the tyrannical regimes they fled. In late August, we will welcome a new class of eight speakers from Cuba, Iran, Russia, Syria, and the former USSR for speaking and media training. Soon after, they'll be telling their stories and spreading the message of liberty to the next generation at high schools across the country and to the masses on TV, radio, and social media.
Events like last weekend's sham election in Venezuela highlight the need to empower freedom fighters like Daniel to make sure dictators don't define the narrative. With your help, Young Voices and the Dissident Project will continue to find and promote these bold freedom fighters for years to come.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
The days of unaccountable federal agencies may be coming to a close. Ryan Silverstein explains how the decision that ended the Chevron Deference has set the stage for reining in the administrative state.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
ABOUT MOVING FORWARD: Young Voices sponsors a weekly radio show for our contributors to discuss pressing policy issues and their latest work. Moving Forward with Young Voices is hosted by Bryan Hyde and broadcasts on Radio St. George 100.3FM (KDXI-LP), a terrestrial radio station in Utah. It is also available to stream as a podcast on over 40 platforms including Podbean, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
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