The Civics Unplugged Team

Our History

We saw what others missed: a generation ready to lead now. The Civic Innovators Fellowship launched as a bold experiment - could young people design solutions to the world’s most complex challenges if given the chance? The answer was a resounding yes.

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launch year!

150 Founding Fellows from across the U.S. joined our inaugural Fellowship. They didn’t wait for permission. They built new initiatives that laid the foundation for a rapidly growing global community. Big media starts to take notice - watch here.

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Civics Unplugged goes world wide

The Fellowship welcomed youth from dozens of countries, each bringing critical perspectives to our collective work. The response was overwhelming (in a good way!) and the CU ecosystem expanded to support this global influx - across time zones, languages, and lived experiences.

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Fellows are building

We launched major initiatives like the Climate Innovation Fellowship and Digital Citizen Fellowship, diving deep into issues shaping our shared future. Alumni co-founded a consulting wing (Unplugged Strategies), a first of its kind DAO (Dream DAO), all while Civics Unplugged deployed over $100,000 in microgrants to seed innovative projects all around the world.

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D.C. is the place to be!

With the launch of the Civic Innovation Academy, CU bridged the gap between Gen Z talent and institutions of power. Fellows tackled challenges alongside the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, Education, Transportation, and more. A new Academy is hosted in Austin, Texas to discover powerful new innovations in addressing housing crises. Meanwhile, our alumni network surpassed 3,500 strong.

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Go West Young Fellows!

We expanded Academy sites to both coasts, including a groundbreaking partnership with UCLA and the Ellison Institute focused on climate and health solutions. CU’s programming now spanned digital, in-person, and hybrid formats - reaching youth in rural towns, megacities, and everywhere in between.

What does the future hold?

Now with over 5,000 alumni across 100+ countries, CU is becoming more than a youth civics org - it’s a launchpad for lifelong careers in systems change. This year, founding Fellow Zoë Jenkins joined the CU team as Director of Civic Trust and Recruitment - proof that the pipeline we’re building is not theoretical, but deeply real. Our new Civic Innovation Lab supports Fellows as they co-found real ventures tackling democracy, sustainability, media trust, and more. Our impact? Not just measured in events, but in the industries, communities, and institutions our alumni are transforming.

Our Why

We’re here to cultivate a generation of young leaders ready to take on society’s toughest challenges with clarity, creativity, and courage.The rapid decline of some systems - political, educational, legacy media - combined with the rapid acceleration of others – technology, social media – has happened so fast that we’re like the proverbial frog in the boiling pot left wondering what happened and how we got here so fast. It has left a generation of young people disillusioned, distrustful, and searching for purpose. We are combating these disturbing trends by fostering a new era of resilience and trust in order to build a more abundant future for everyone - a world where young leaders are equipped to solve society’s most pressing problems.

Our Values

At Civics Unplugged, everything we do is anchored by the Four C’s - Commitment, Collaboration, Community and Curiosity. These are our core values powering the engine of social change. Fellows arrive at the Civic Innovators Fellowship already embracing these values, and graduate equipped with the knowledge, tools, and network to amplify their impact. They become movement-builders, industry pioneers, and visionary leaders committed to shaping a future that puts humanity first.

curiosity

The Mindset of Possibility

Curiosity is the relentless pursuit of what's possible. Our Fellows reject conventional limitations and continuously ask transformative questions. By exploring new ideas, challenging assumptions, and embracing uncertainty, they unlock unprecedented solutions, discovering opportunities where others see only barriers. This radical curiosity propels our community toward innovative pathways, driving abundance and shaping the future.

Commitment

The Catalyst for Change

Commitment is the relentless drive to take meaningful action. Our Fellows don't simply dream of a better world; they passionately pursue it. With bold determination and unwavering focus, they turn visionary ideas into transformative realities, creating lasting impacts that resonate across communities and generations.

Collaboration

The Multiplier of Impact

Our Fellows understand that true innovation thrives at the crossroads of diverse experiences and ideas. They actively seek collaboration, recognizing it not merely as a way to solve problems but as a pathway to remarkable breakthroughs. Every shared idea, every joint effort amplifies our collective power, enabling us to build a world enriched by cooperation and boundless possibilities.

Community

The Ecosystem of Change

Our Fellows recognize that individual brilliance sparks progress, but lasting and powerful impact thrives within community. At Civics Unplugged, we cultivate a vibrant global and intergenerational community, where Fellows' innovations inspire and empower across borders, sparking rapid and meaningful breakthroughs. Together, we ignite immediate and effective action, creating global ripples of change that swiftly transform communities and redefine what's possible.

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Our Team

We're proud to cultivate one of the nation's most diverse youth civic cohorts and bring together Fellows, partners, industry experts, and team members across generations and cultures. Genuine connection is at the core of our community where everyone has a meaningful role to play.
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Intergenerational collaboration is the heartbeat behind Civics Unplugged where we follow a distributed leadership model that enables each individual to collaborative shape organization decisions. Together, we're building resilience, nurturing creativity, and igniting transformative social change.