{"id":161268,"date":"2026-01-22T22:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T06:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/?p=161268"},"modified":"2026-01-22T22:55:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T06:55:00","slug":"election-lessons-for-every-organization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/?p=161268","title":{"rendered":"Election Lessons for Every Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"post-title published title-X77sOw\" dir=\"auto\">Election Lessons for Every Organization<\/h1>\n<p><strong>Wendy Schaetzel Lesko, Co-Founder, Youth Infusion| January 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/youthinfusion.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image.png?w=1200\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Profound lessons emerge from Zohran Mamdani\u2019s victory even though NYC is unlike any other city. A historic turnout and a whopping 78 percent of those under age 30 voted for Zohran Mamdani. Sure, he is young, energetic, and charismatic, but I believe there is a broader conclusion that is relevant to any organization that recognizes the irreplaceable value of the rising generations.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cThe language with which we speak to young people is truly one of condescension\u2026 If you treat young people with the respect that they deserve then they will not be a part of your movement but the heart of your movement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Mamdani\u2019s insight isn\u2019t just about politics\u2014it\u2019s a wake-up call to every institution, nonprofit, and company that seeks to stay relevant and innovate. His words expose a persistent gap between how adults talk\u00a0<em>about<\/em>\u00a0young people and how rarely they talk\u00a0<em>with<\/em>\u00a0them. This\u00a0<strong>\u201cYouthquake\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0(Oxford Dictionaries\u2019 Word of the Year in 2017), that powered his campaign did not happen by accident; it came from genuine listening, shared power, and the conviction that young people deserve to shape\u2014not just support\u2014the causes they believe in.<\/p>\n<p>Cities have always been laboratories for democracy. In my recent article in the\u00a0<em>National Civic League\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0magazine, I outline specific strategies for local government leaders to replace token youth engagement efforts.\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalcivicleague.org\/ncr-article\/expanding-youth-civic-engagement-strategies\/\">Read full article here.<\/a>\u00a0T<\/strong>hese lessons are magnified by Mamdani\u2019s example. His victory demonstrates what becomes possible when young people are seen not as a \u201ctarget audience\u201d but as co-architects of civic renewal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The election sharpens some of these approaches:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Demonstrate that young people are not too young to be\u00a0<strong>critical thinkers<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Amend the expression \u201cmeet them where they are\u201d and instead meet\u00a0<strong>their grievances<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>and dreams\u00a0<\/strong>head on<\/li>\n<li>Make sure ideas emanating from \u201c<strong>youth voice\u201d\u00a0<\/strong>does not continue to fall on deaf ears<\/li>\n<li>Be\u00a0<strong>relentless in learning\u00a0<\/strong>from those young people who most impacted\u00a0and unheard<\/li>\n<li>Recognize the\u00a0<strong>demand for urgency\u00a0<\/strong>is not the negative stereotype of impatience that often sidelines young people<\/li>\n<li>Replace empty rhetoric and broken promises with\u00a0<strong>persistent and accountable action<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Embrace \u201cWe are unstoppable, another world is possible!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Before the November 4 election,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dellavolpe.substack.com\/p\/after-everything-they-still-want\">pollster John Della Volpe\u00a0<\/a>validated that people feel most campaign messages sound like scripts from a Human Resources department. Young people detect condescension in a heart beat. Yet the responses from these young NYC voters offer a poignant counterpoint and a hopeful challenge:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dellavolpe.substack.com\/p\/after-everything-they-still-want\">h<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cWe\u2019re hopeful \u2014 and just ready for some new love and spaces.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe still care. We\u2019re just not represented.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been through a lot. But we\u2019re still trying to be part of it.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe are the generation that will be talked about for generations.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These are not the words of apathy or disengagement. They are an invitation\u2014a plea\u2014to rebuild trust through authenticity, shared purpose, and visible collaboration. Whether the context is an election, a nonprofit boardroom, a classroom, or a city hall, the message is the same: young people are paying attention. They are measuring not our slogans but our sincerity, not our outreach but our willingness to share real power.<\/p>\n<p>Mamdani\u2019s landslide is more than a political milestone; it\u2019s a generational mirror. It reflects what happens when young people are not merely courted during campaign season but centered in year-round decision-making. Every organization, regardless of mission or size, can draw from this moment a simple yet profound truth: when young people feel truly seen, heard, and valued, they don\u2019t just show up\u2014they show the way forward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Photo credit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecivicscenter.org\/\">h<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecivicscenter.org\/\">ttps:\/\/www.thecivicscenter.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Election Lessons for Every Organization Wendy Schaetzel Lesko, Co-Founder, Youth Infusion| January 2026 Profound lessons emerge from Zohran Mamdani\u2019s victory even though NYC is unlike any other city. A historic turnout and a whopping 78 percent of those under age 30 voted for Zohran Mamdani. Sure, he is young, energetic, and charismatic, but I believe [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14],"class_list":["post-161268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=161268"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161268\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161269,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161268\/revisions\/161269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=161268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=161268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.youthfacts.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=161268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}