Last summer, an intergenerational delegation of the Voices team traveled to Los Angeles to participate in a powerful learning experience alongside a cohort of youth advocacy organizations from across the country.

Over three days, we immersed ourselves in discussions of equity in youth-adult partnership, the continuum of youth engagement, and the joys and challenges of intergenerational community advocacy work. We also had the opportunity to tour the community of Pomona and learn about the impressive work of our partners at Gente Organizada, complete with a stop at the Gente Community Garden.

This convening gave us an opportunity to pause and reflect on our youth advocacy program, Virginia’s Youth in Action (VAYA). When we created VAYA in 2022, we implemented a nine-month cohort structured around the schedule of the typical school year, with a launch each September and a conclusion each May. We were immediately blown away by the passion and excitement of our VAYA advocates and the generosity with which they have been welcomed into Virginia’s policy arena. 

Yet, this structure presented a challenge: at Voices, policy advocacy is a year-round sport, not confined to the General Assembly session. Each spring, we begin to plan our policy agenda for the upcoming year, which gives us multiple months to dream and scheme. Some of our deepest policy work occurs during the summer, when VAYA has not been in session. A major goal of the VAYA program is to build intergenerational engagement on our policy objectives. To bring this goal closer to reality, we decided to pause VAYA in 2024 to allow us to re-imagine our program design.  

“Letting the soil lay fallow” or “fallowing the ground” is a sustainable land management practice based in indigenous wisdom. It involves leaving fields unseeded and letting the soil rest for a growing season. Our team decided that we would “fallow” the ground of VAYA for a season to allow us to rejuvenate our soil and eventually grow new life.  

Over the last nine months, we have re-imagined and enhanced our VAYA program with an intergenerational team of Voices staff, VAYA alumni, and youth development experts. This period has involved deep collaboration and critical thinking to:  

• Evaluate previous VAYA experiences and outcomes; 

• Refine our VAYA logic model; 

• Explore and deepen our understanding of intergenerational engagement means for Voices; 

• Grapple with emerging challenges in youth engagement; 

• Enhance our curriculum to include deeper youth engagement with our 2024-27 strategic plan and three-year policy goals; and 

• Revise our VAYA application process.  

During this period of evaluation, dreaming, and scheming, we have been joined by four new VAYA fellows, each of whom is a VAYA alum. Our fellows have helped to co-create our “VAYA 2.0” and will continue to shape our youth engagement programming for the remainder of 2025. 

Cherokee Frazier is a first-generation college student studying social work whose goal is to eventually start helping people. Cherokee is extremely passionate about social issues and social change. Some of her interests include mental health, education, poverty, housing, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, etc.  Originally from Newport News, Cherokee now resides in Richmond

---

Jazz Miles is a student studying Legal Communications at Howard University. He formerly served as: Virginia’s Youth in Action cohort member, Congressional Intern for Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, Virginia State Senate Legislative Page, intern for Policy Pathways, and the only youth member of the City of Richmond Virginia’s Human Rights Commission. Jazz is deeply dedicated to public policy and youth advocacy. 

---

Jaynae Wright is a second year Public Policy MPP at the University of Virginia where she is also a Tadler Fellow. This fellowship is informing her work with Voices to explore how the organization can expand its footprint and network in Southwest Virginia, part of central Appalachia, in order to better serve the entire commonwealth. Jaynae, a lifelong resident of Appalachia, is excited for the opportunity to continue her collaboration with Voices as she is deeply energized by the organization’s work and is particularly interested in early childhood education policy in Virginia and family economic security. 

---

Elijah Lee, a 16-year-old student and community activist, is a national advocate for children. Elijah is the founder of a nonprofit organization, Hear Our Voices, dedicated to empowering young people with an emphasis on assisting youth in finding their voice and becoming agents of change. He is an active lobbyist with the Virginia General Assembly, advocating and testifying for legislation impacting young people. He is a field organizer for several organizations as well as a public speaker on the issues of child abuse, racism, oppression, and trauma-informed care. He remains committed to his academics as Junior Class Co-President at Maggie L Walker Governor’s School.

---

This fallowing period has allowed us to cultivate refreshed, fertile ground. We are thrilled to share that our third VAYA cohort will launch in June, and our application period is open now until May 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM.  

---