Youth Leadership

At Brightline, we believe that empowering future leaders within frontline communities is one of the strongest ways to create change. We partner with community groups to create opportunities for underserved youth to learn more about their environment; lead local projects; and build the skills to engage with public policymakers. These leadership programs offer young people training and intensive involvement in community issues and services, empowering them to become effective leaders and spokespeople for their communities.

Brightline’s recent youth partnership programs include:

AIR QUALITY youth program

CHINATOWN GOES PROGRAM

BRIGHTLINE FELLOWSHIPS

Air Quality Youth Program

Brightline works with the Community Youth Center (CYC) of San Francisco and their Youth for Community Engagement Cohort (YCE) to provide environmental justice education for young immigrant leaders and increase community knowledge and engagement around local air quality issues.

Each quarter, using data collected through Brightline’s Air Quality Monitoring Program in San Francisco, we present and discuss local air quality data trends, analysis, and upcoming outreach projects. Representing nine high schools across San Francisco, YCE students have become leaders for environmental justice through our air quality program, learning how to install remote monitors, collect data on toxic particulates from sensors, and establish a qualified data set of local air quality parameters for their communities.

YCE student leaders have also partnered with academic institutions like UC Berkeley and Stanford University on broader community outreach efforts, and conducted traffic counts to better understand the relationship between traffic congestion and air quality.

Learn more about this work in the Brightline Podcast episode featuring CYC Youth Leader Ken Chen. Ken speaks about his work educating senior citizens about air quality issues and how Brightline inspired him to pursue environmental science in school. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Chinatown GOES Program

San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood is the most densely populated urban area in the U.S. west of Manhattan. This low-income neighborhood of 24 square blocks houses over 30,000 people, with many residents who are monolingual. Nearly a third of these residents (8,000-9,000) are families and seniors living in Single Room Occupancy hotels.

Through an Outdoor Equity Grant from the California State Parks, Brightline works alongside the Chinatown Community Development Center and the Trust for Public Land to provide the Chinatown GOES: Geography, Outdoors, Environment, Stewardship Program for this community.

Brightline leads the internship component of the program, providing a six-month, environmental justice and leadership-focused internship for 15 youth in each year of the outdoor program. During these paid internships, students will learn about a range of environmental issues, translate key issues for their communities, and gain hands-on experience operating air quality monitoring systems in their neighborhoods. They will also gain experience in researching and analyzing complex policy issues; enhance their public speaking skills; and practice making presentations before policymakers and government agency representatives.

Brightline Fellowships

Brightline is committed to creating opportunities for future environmental justice and policy leaders through our fellowship program. Hosted as three distinct cycles (Spring, Summer, Fall) each year, our fellowship program supports undergraduates in obtaining critical skills while contributing to Brightline’s policy priorities.

If you are interested in learning more about our fellowships and other internship opportunities, please click on the button below to fill out the fellowship or volunteer interest form.