C2C’s YOUTH LEADERSHIP TABLE
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C2C’S YOUTH LEADERSHIP TABLE
YOUTH-DESIGNED. YOUTH-LED. YOUTH-POWERED.
C2C’s Youth Leadership Table (CYLT) empowers young leaders to use their voices, skills, and lived experiences to make a lasting impact in their communities.
ABOUT
Cradle to Career’s Youth Leadership Table (CYLT) is comprised of 16 ambitious youth and young adults (ages 16-24) that are passionate about their visions for a better Pima County. CYLT meets together to gain professional and leadership skills and learn how to share their experiences and ideas with elected officials, public figures, grassroot leaders, and the community. Our voices are an integral part of Cradle to Career Partnership’s work to improve employment and educational systems for Pima County youth.
OUR MISSION
Cradle to Career’s Youth Leadership Table (CYLT) is led by youth, for youth. We are committed to creating space for diverse voices, inclusive leadership, and driven purpose. Guided by compassion and informed by youth voice, we work collaboratively to create lasting, positive change in our community.
CYLT BUILDS:
- Leadership Development: Weekly sessions build communication, teamwork and advocacy skills.
- Community Impact: Youth lead service projects that address local needs and create change.
- Collaboration: Members represent the youth voice in cross-sector meetings, panels and events.
- Connection: CYLT members partner with local youth serving organizations, community leaders and officials such as the governor’s and mayor’s offices.
- Youth-Led Planning: Members design and lead projects and events, giving them ownership and real-world leadership experience.
- Trust Building: Safe environment where people are seen and heard.
- Community Building: Built community internally and externally.
- Opportunity to Get Involved: Helping youth to be curious & advocate where their interests are.
- Partnerships and Collaboration: Youth collaborate with community organizations to amplify impact and connect to resources.
- Hands-On Service: Projects give youth the opportunity to practice leadership while serving their community.
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- Distributed 150 COVID-19 Hygiene Kits to youth at the local detention center.
- Supported civic engagement through Pima Youth Vote, helping send 1,105,160 texts and making 444,043 calls to encourage voter registraton and pledges.
- Created the Hearts & Crafts Fair, their first youth-led event, where young entreprenuers sold goods in downtown Tucson.
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- Voice and Advocacy: Members share their perpectives in panels, meetings, and public forums to influence programs and policy.
CYLT is now recognized as a trusted voice in youth engagement, helping shape workshops, policy, and community initiatives across Pima County.
“Being a youth felt empowering and insightful… I walked away feeling more confident in my ability to contribute to my community.”
“The way we were included in designing these youth sessions made me feel seen. Like my voice mattered.”
Community Partners Include:
Pima Cycle Breaker, Youth on Their Own, Goodwill Youth Council, Tucson Pima Coalition to End Homelessness, Child and Family Resources, Tucson Youth and Peace, Lutheran Social Services, Pima Community College, Office of the Mayor: City of Tucson, Pima County Juvenile Court, Prioritizing Mental Health in Education Collaborative, Tucson Young Professionals, Take Charge Cats, Pima Behavioral Health Coalition, PPEP: Be Free Pima, Aspen Institute, National Youth Employment Coalition
WE ARE THE FUTURE: COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
Young people aren’t just the future — they’re shaping it now. Through the Cradle to Career Youth Leadership Table, Fabiana and fellow youth leaders are creating spaces where every voice matters and every story is heard.
From listening and collaboration to bold action, they’re building a more connected and equitable Tucson — starting with Youth Futures Day. Supported by the Aspen Institute Rising Generation Summit grant, this initiative brings together young people from across Pima County to lead, inspire, and build a better tomorrow.
CYLT 2025-2026 MENTORS
Fabiana Fernandez
Fabiana Fernandez
Fabiana is a sophomore at the University of Arizona, Honors College, pursuing dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Medicine and Global Public Health. Born in Tucson
and raised in Magdalena de Kino, Sonora, she returned to the U.S. as a teenager, an experience that shaped her passion for addressing barriers to health, education, and opportunity. She is a proud first-generation student and a peer health educator with El Rio Reproductive Health Access Project. Fabiana has also served with Youth on Their Own on the Youth Action Board and as an editorial board member with Youth Engaged 4 Change.
As a CYLT Leader, Fabiana is excited to amplify youth voices in civic spaces and ensure lived experience informs systemic change. She believes Cradle to Career fosters a unique sense of community and hope. Her dream for Tucson is a future where all young people have the same opportunities to be seen, supported, and able to thrive.
Vida Rodriguez
Vida Rodriguez
Vida Rodriguez (he/him) is a Tucson native, youth advocate, and systems-change leader whose lived experience as an opportunity youth drives his commitment to housing justice, education access, and community-rooted leadership. A first- generation high school graduate, Vida credits Youth On Their Own for making it possible for him to stay in school and become a proud alum of their program.
He also received housing through Our Family Services’ homelessness prevention program—an experience that shaped his passion for supporting unhoused and at- risk youth. Today, he serves on the Youth Action Boards for both organizations, helping elevate youth voices where decisions are being made.
Currently enrolled at Pima Community College, Vida is exploring pathways in public policy, digital storytelling, and grassroots organizing. He is also an openly proud transgender man and brings his full self into every space—with authenticity, care, and a deep commitment to building systems that reflect, and respect lived experience. As a member of Cradle to Career’s Youth Leadership Table (CYLT), Vida is focused on transforming community support into lasting, youth-led change across Tucson.
Mario Valencia
Mario Valencia
Mario Valencia is a dedicated member of the C2C’s Youth Leadership Table (CYLT). Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Mario is currently enrolled at Pima Community College, where he is focused on his academic and personal growth. His future goals include graduating from Pima and transferring to the University of Arizona, where he plans to further his studies while also pursuing his passions for acting and music.
As a member of CYLT, Mario strives to guide youth in shaping a collaborative community that works together to create positive change. Through this youth leadership table, Mario is gaining valuable skills in community engagement and leadership, which he hopes will empower others on their own journeys. Mario envisions a Tucson where youth rise up, using their voices and values to drive meaningful change for the future. Outside of his work with CYLT, Mario enjoys exploring his creativity through music, acting, making eternal ribbon roses, and recently blogging.
