The Gen Z Impact
with
John Della Volpe, Jing-Jing Shen, and Santiago Mayer
Discussion led by David Bursetin
Thursday, March 24th
5:00 pm ET
We are thrilled to have the dynamic We are thrilled to have John Della Volpe, the dynamic Director of Polling at Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics, and a top authority on understanding American youth, together with two young and inspiring leading voices of Gen Z: Santiago Mayer, political strategist and Executive Director of Voters of Tomorrow, and Jing-Jing Shen, a Harvard student studying Chemistry and Government and 2021 Chair of the Harvard Public Opinion Project. Our discussion will be led by another national expert on youth, David Burstein, the CEO & Co-Founder of Run for America.
The Washington Post has referred to John Della Volpe as one of the world’s leading authorities on global opinion and influence among young people, especially Millennials. We’ll discuss their anger at the serious problems being left them, their aspirations, and how to harness their passions to create the change we need moving forward.
Coming of age at a moment of division and disinformation, these teenagers and college students have organized around issues that impact their daily lives, from gun control to climate change to racial justice. Our youngest citizens are the most diverse and most educated in history, making them more connected to the world around them then ever before - and they are not afraid to disrupt the status quo. How do they engage in our democracy? What are the issues that will drive their actions and their vote?
Join The Common Good on March 24th to find out.
About the Speaker:
John Della Volpe: John Della Volpe is the Founder and CEO of SocialSphere, Inc, a firm that deals with public opinion research and consulting. He is also the Director of Polling at Harvard University where he has steered polling initiatives for the last 20 years.
In 2020, he took a break from those roles to act as the strategic communications advisor for the Biden-Harris campaign with the goal of engaging younger voters. Della Volpe’s new book, Fight, offers an exploration of Gen Z, the issues that matter most to them, and how they will shape the future...
David Burstein is the CEO & Co-Founder of Run for America, an author and director, and received a 2009 DoSomething Award for his campaign efforts. David has emerged as an authority on Millennials and has been a consultant to numerous organizations and companies on how to understand and engage Millennials.
David is the Founding Co-Director of the Bluhm/Helfand Social Innovation Fellowship @ Chicago Ideas Week, which helps outstanding young social entrepreneurs grow their impact. He is a contributor to Fast Company, a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Disruptor Foundation Fellow, and serves on the advisory boards of Watson University, The Civic Life Project, CanLeads, and is a frequent speaker and commentator on Millennials, social innovation and politics.
Santiago Mayer is political strategist and the Executive Director of Voters Of Tomorrow–a youth voting organization started by Santiago in December 2019. On digital circles, Santiago is an influential political commentator, having garnered over 135,000 followers on Twitter and hundreds of millions of views across multiple platforms. Originally from Mexico City, Santiago moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2017 and quickly got involved in American politics. He gained experience as an on-the-ground organizer for city council and state senate campaigns and as a student leader for the Biden/Harris campaign mobilizing college students across the country. Santiago co-founded the Prom At The Polls campaign, a non-partisan initiative meant to energize first-time voters who lost their senior prom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his spare time, Santiago is a full-time college student, pursuing a dual degree in Mechanical Engineering and Political Science at California State University, Long Beach.
Jing-Jing Shen is a junior at Harvard College studying Chemistry and Government, who served as the 2021 Chair of the Harvard Public Opinion Project (HPOP). Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, her interest in politics was first sparked in high school through gun violence and mental health activism. Ever since, she has been inspired to engage with politics as a vehicle of empowerment and change. Jing-Jing joined HPOP her freshman fall because she was fascinated with poll data, but beyond the numbers, she was even more intrigued by the stories that underlie people’s perspectives. In addition to leading HPOP, she volunteers as a Crisis Text Line Counselor and also conducts research on renewable energy, sustainable development, and global mental health.
