Can Young People Save Democracy?

Israah Ansari

Israah Ansari (she/her/hers) is a third-year transfer student at Johns Hopkins University, majoring in political science and psychology. At her previous institution, Howard Community College, Israah Ansari received her Associate of Arts in both social sciences and general studies. She also functioned as HCC’s Student Government President and Civic Engagement Programs Associate in which she collaborated with Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball, and HCC administrators and community partners to establish various programs, resources, and opportunities that benefit students personally, academically, and professionally. Israah Ansari now serves as a transfer student representative on SOVA Solutions’ Beyond Transfer Policy Advisory Board helping to dismantle inequitable transfer policies/practices while increasing credit mobility. At Hopkins, she acts as Programming Director for the institution’s annual Model United Nations Conference in D.C., engages with the Dean of Admissions and orientation team to elevate the transfer student experience, and studies in the SNF Agora Institute to increase students’ civic engagement and her involvement in education policy.

Amari Fennoy

Amari J. Fennoy is the National Director for Mobilization at the NAACP. In her previous role as National Training and Programs Manager for Youth and College Division, she served and supported 700 NAACP Youth & College units in the fight for human and civil rights. Amari joined the NAACP as a student leader with eight years of experience in grassroots organizing and training on state and regional levels. As Training and Programs Manager, Amari has worked on campaigns to cancel student debt, increase voter access for Black Youth, and develop student resources to create and execute issue-based campaigns. She manages campaigns like the 50k and Beyond Campaign to cancel $1.8 trillion in student debt. In addition, she mobilized 2.5 million dollars of student debt to the doorstep of the U.S. Supreme Court by transporting 200+ students in 8 different states in her first six months on staff. Amari is committed to developing upward mobility for the Black community by developing training and programs that promote youth leadership development and advocacy.

Daniel Orogo

Daniel Orogo is the Africa Regional Coordinator for Democracy Moves, a leading advocate for political inclusion and governance. In Kenya, he leads Civic Voices, a civic tech organization promoting digital public participation. He also serves as Youth Coordinator for the 2022 "Africa, My Home, My Future" campaign under the All Africa Conference of Churches, inspiring unity among African youth. Since founding the Langata Youth Network in 2012 in Kibera, Daniel has championed community development and democratic governance across Africa. Daniel is a fellow at the NDI Political Parties Leadership Institute (PPLI) and the Future Elect East Africa Public Leadership Program.

Scott Warren

Scott Warren is a fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He is currently leading an initiative focused on exploring, researching, and convening a pro-democracy conservative agenda in the US, organizing convenings focused on bridging long-term and short-term fixes for democratic reform, and supporting cities in efforts to promote civic participation and democratic engagement. At SNF Agora, he also launched Democracy Moves, an international network of youth activists pushing for democratic change, which is now part of Restless Development, and helped Johns Hopkins University in exploring its own role as a beacon of civic engagement and democracy. He has also advised USAID on youth civic and political engagement. Warren is the founder of the national civics education organization Generation Citizen, where he currently serves on the Board of Directors. He served as the organization’s CEO for more than 11 years, helping grow Generation Citizen to become one of the preeminent civics education organizations in the country, promoting action civics across diverse geographies through best-in-class programming and concrete policy change. Warren published a book in 2019, Generation Citizen: The Power of Youth in Politics, and was named an Echoing Green Fellow in 2010, and a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow in 2012.