Aspen Forum for Community Solutions

05/15/2026

🗓️ The Forum (OYF) Spring 2026 Network Gathering

This week, our national network gathered in community for a uniquely memorable experience at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. As part of this deeply transformative truth-telling journey, our network also had the honor and privilege to engage in conversation with Mr. Bryan Stevenson, Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative.

Through guided museum visits, facilitated dialogue, artistic and cultural expression, and intentional space for personal and collective reflection, breathing, and healing, together we experienced:

- Historical grounding that connected structural racism to present-day systems through storytelling

- Shared community and reflection that honored grief, resilience, resistance, love, and hope

- Healing-centered community rooted in belonging, trust, relational solidarity and mutual care

- Strategic imagination and courage to bear witness, dismantle inequities, and transform systems to expand opportunity

Together, our network visited the Legacy Sites to encounter our shared history and reflect on how the past continues to shape our present—including the future of our democracy, our communities, and our young people. This gathering was not simply a convening but a journey rooted in a shared intergenerational experience of collective healing, history, and transformation.

In the words for Mr. Stevenson, “Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.”

05/15/2026

🎬 Tune In: Latest Podcast, "How Healing Systems Happens" feat. Monique Miles, Vice President The Aspen Institute; Managing Director Aspen Forum For Community Solutions (AFCS)

Join Monique Miles in conversation with the Collective Change Lab to explore what healing asks of us in times of rupture, grief, and uncertainty. Drawing from her personal healing journey, ancestral wisdom, spirituality, and years of systems change leadership, Monique reflects on how transformation becomes possible when we stay connected to our humanity, our communities, and our deeper sense of purpose.

The conversation moves beyond technical approaches to systems change and into the territory of meaning-making, belonging, collective healing, and what Monique describes as “transmutation”, the ability to transform pain into connection, wisdom, and future possibility. Through stories of grief, lineage, racial healing, and youth-centered systems transformation, this episode offers a profound invitation to rethink what healing systems truly requires.
This is a conversation about restoring love, life, and possibility to the systems we inhabit and about the inner and collective work needed to imagine futures rooted in dignity and belonging.

Listen to the Full Podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/collective-change-lab/ep-4-how-healing-systems

05/07/2026

🗓️ The Forum (OYF) Spring 2026 Network Gathering

This Spring, we will gather in community at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama—a place where the past is not distant, but present; where the ground itself carries memory; and where the story of the United States is etched in truth-telling that refuses silence.

This gathering is part of our program’s 2026 learning arc — a year of healing-centered unconvenings. We begin at the Legacy Sites with collective witnessing and reflection on the histories of colonization and slavery and their ongoing impact. Later in the year, we will continue this arc in Hawai‘i, where we will explore healing, interconnection, and systems rooted in place and culture. This gathering is not simply a convening. It is a journey rooted in a shared intergenerational experience of collective healing and transformation.

Gathering in Montgomery is therefore not only symbolic but necessary—as this moment asks something more of us, collectively. We are honored to invite a diverse community of OYF network members to gather in Montgomery from May 12–15, 2026. Together, our network will visit these sites to encounter our shared history and reflect on how the past continues to shape our present—including the future of our democracy, our communities, and our young people.

Learn More:

From Legacy to Liberation: Truth, Transformation, and a Collective Future This Spring, the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) will gather in community at the Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama—a place where the past is not distant, but present; where the ground itself carries memory; and where the sto...

04/07/2026

🎬 Podcast Series: Before They Could Dream - An Exploration of Youth Justice and Incarceration in the United States

We are excited to share the final episode of “Before They Could Dream,” a joint project between the The Aspen Institute Aspen Forum For Community Solutions (AFCS), the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), and Green Buzz Agency.

Over the last five weeks, this seven-episode series has discussed the history, lived experiences, and lasting impact of youth incarceration in the United States from the perspective of six members of the CFSY’s Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), all of whom were given extreme carceral sentences as children. The episodes explored each person's early childhood, the choices they made often under dire circumstances, and the lasting impacts that have followed them into adulthood. In the final episode of “Before They Could Dream,” the podcast’s primary participants, including host Abd’Allah Lateef, engage in a wide-ranging conversation about their post-incarceration lives, careers, and thoughts on criminal justice policy. This roundtable discussion can be accessed on audio via your preferred streaming platform, and additionally on video via YouTube.

 shines a light on a system most Americans rarely see and the realities young people face when the law decides their futures before they can dream.

All episodes are now live; subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts: BeforeTheyCouldDream.Org

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hfMopczQTe4

In the finale of Before They Could Dream, host Abd’Allah welcomes Donnell, Catherine, Eddie, April and James all back for an in-person roundtable discussion....

03/17/2026

The United States incarcerates more young people than any nation in the world. “Before They Could Dream", is a seven-episode human-centered podcast series that explores the history, lived experiences, and lasting impact of youth incarceration in the United States. The series is anchored in the stories of six people who were sentenced to long carceral sentences before their 18th birthdays.

Episode #4 in conversation with eddie b ellis jr takes us back to his childhood in Washington, D.C., during the height of the “superpredator myth” era. As fear-driven policies take hold, his story reveals the devastating impact of gun violence on communities of color and the isolation of youth placed in solitary confinement.

The first four episodes of “Before They Could Dream” are available for streaming on all major podcast platforms, and the remaining episodes will be released weekly, on Tuesdays, through April 7, 2026.

Tune in to the latest podcast wherever you get your podcasts:

AspenFCS

03/10/2026

Now LIVE: Podcast Series, "Before They Could Dream"

Tune in to the first three episodes of , a powerful seven-episode that dives deep into the history, the human experience, and the lasting consequences of youth justice in the U.S.

Hear from six individuals who share their truth, in addition to experts on legal, historical, and brain development, who provide critical context. The Aspen Institute Aspen Forum for Community Solutions in partnership with the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Green Buzz Agency, set out to capture and share powerful stories, transforming them into a human-centric series designed to uplift these narratives and drive meaningful transformation in public understanding and policy.

Listen to the series and help ensure all our children in the United States have the chance to thrive and dream. The first three episodes are out now.

➡️ Tune in to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts:
https://www.aspencommunitysolutions.org/before-they-could-dream/

Tune in every Tuesday for the latest podcasts from our series.

Extended gratitude for all our partners and supporters: Abd’Allah Lateef, Donnell Drinks, Catherine Jones, Eddie Bocanegra, Robert Kinscherff, Ph.D., Esq., Marsha Levick, ayoola mitchell, Joshua Rovner, Yasmin Z. Vafa, Arienne (Ari) J., Bakhtawer Abbasi, Tara Wilson, Jasmine Hardy, Alicia Contreras, Adam Kemerer, Callie King-Guffey, Juvenile Law Center, Rights4Girls, MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, and The Sentencing Project.

AspenFCS

03/05/2026

03/03/2026

We are so excited to announce the launch of the podcast “Before They Could Dream,” a joint project between the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions (AIFCS), the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (CFSY), and Green Buzz Agency!

Hosted by the CFSY’s Deputy Director, Abd’Allah Lateef, this seven-episode series explores the history, lived experiences, and lasting impact of youth incarceration in the United States from the perspective of six members of the CFSY’s Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN), all of whom were given extreme carceral sentences as children. The episodes will explore each person’s early childhood, the choices they made often under dire circumstances, and the lasting impacts that have followed them into adulthood.

“Before They Could Dream” shines a light on a system most Americans rarely see and the realities young people face when the law decides their futures before they can dream. The first 3 episodes will be available on March 10th; subsequent episodes will be released on Tuesdays, through April 7th. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598463/follow

01/16/2026

📊 Latest Blog - Understanding Reach and Impact: OYF Collaboratives Are Serving Youth at Scale

What does it look like to serve young people at scale — while delivering impactful outcomes that truly matter?

Across the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) network, more than 40 collaboratives are working to reconnect young people to education and employment pathways. Our latest data shows what’s possible when systems work together.

✨ In 2024 alone, OYF collaboratives collectively served nearly a quarter million young people and supported major youth outcomes, including high school credentials, postsecondary attainment, and employment.

These outcomes reflect more than numbers—they represent lives changed, pathways reopened, and a growing commitment to tracking what truly matters — thriving young people.

This work reflects a growing commitment across OYF collaboratives to ensure that reach leads to real opportunity. As we head into 2026, our network continues to scale reach, deepen impact, and strengthen systems.
🔗 Learn more in our latest blog:
https://www.aspencommunitysolutions.org/understanding-reach-and-impact/

Opportunity youth – young people ages 16 to 24 who are not employed or enrolled in school – represent a population that desire and deserve the support needed to participate in school and the workforce. Across the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF), over 40 collaboratives are working to reconnect youn...

12/15/2025

💡 Latest Blog: Homegrown Prosperity –Youth, Place, and Systems Change at Aspen Ideas: Economy

This year at the Aspen Institute Ideas: Economy in Newark, the Aspen Forum For Community Solutions (AFCS) reflected on what it takes to build economies rooted in belonging, shared prosperity, and youth leadership.

From Newark’s place-based ecosystem to growing state and global networks, this convening highlighted the power of long-term commitment, bipartisan collaboration, and elevating young people as co-creators of change.

Read our latest blog by Mike Swigert, to learn more:
https://www.aspencommunitysolutions.org/homegrown-prosperity-youth-place-and-systems-change-at-aspen-ideas-economy/

Authored By: Mike Swigert From October 20-21 in Newark, New Jersey, the inaugural Aspen Ideas: Economy convening brought together leaders, scholars and innovators to explore how cities and networks can shape economic futures that work for everyone. For the Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF) and Global Op...