HFLI Youth Leadership x Design

Equipping teachers and community members to provide learning experiences that empower minority youth to lead transformational change in their communities. 

Too often, adults assume young people don’t care about persistent problems in their communities because they haven’t taken action. And that assumption is NOT okay. What if we reframe? What if we start with a shared understanding that they DO care and we can help them develop two things that all transformational leaders need?: Capacity + courage.

Henry Ford Learning Institute (HFLI) is a non-profit organization that empowers minority youth to lead transformational change in, with and for their communities. Our growth-stage solution, HFLI Youth Leadership x Design leverages more than 25 years of experience in education and strategic design skills to equip them with tools and strategies from design innovation and nurture their entrepreneurial mindset. The development of 21st century skills is integral to the outcomes of our solution and is a step ahead because of our inclusion of what is rapidly becoming acknowledged as the “5th C” in the 21st century skills framework: courage. We provide educators and community organizations with a toolkit, framework and the quality supports to engage businesses and mentors, and deliver these learning experiences for local youth. Learning centers around a personally meaningful challenge and a structured framework that can be adopted in any school or community.

Our world needs more Emma Gonzalezes, Malala Yousifzais, Clifton Kinnies and Micah Fialka-Feldmans. But what if a young person doesn’t innately possess what it takes to effect change? Through Youth Leadership x Design, young leaders develop the capacity and courage to address their local challenge with a fresh perspective and a bold course of action. We have successfully prototyped, tested, reiterated, and implemented this model in primarily African American and Latinx communities, such as Detroit MI and San Antonio TX. Our current work is focused on refining our toolkit, supporting adoption of our Youth Leadership x Design program in a larger number of diverse communities in the US and abroad, and capturing and sharing impact stories.

With roots in Detroit (the first UNESCO City of Design in the US) and now branching out globally, HFLI believes that this can be the start of a movement for capacity and courage worldwide, in which today’s caring youth actively seek and acquire the design innovation skills and entrepreneurial mindset that will empower and embolden them to become transformational leaders who design change in, with, and for their community. A world in which adults look to youth as a part of solutions.

HFLI Youth Leadership x Design is a process that addresses the challenge of providing accessible, personalized, and creative learning experiences for all. Our solution is innovative because we provide a framework with the structure to develop critical 21st century skills and the flexibility to connect youth learning to challenges that are local and personally meaningful. As a result, we help educators and community members equip minority youth with tools and strategies from design innovation and nurture their entrepreneurial mindset as key leadership competencies.

Internet access and common technology work tools enable teachers or community members to access HFLI’s high-quality learning tools and materials and connect remotely with HFLI or others who have implemented  an HFLI Youth Leadership x Design learning experience (via Skype, Google Meet, or other app). Similarly, internet access and common technology work tools are integral to youth participants’ process to conduct research and gather empathy, develop presentations of their prototype solutions, and demonstrate impact through video storytelling.

Over the next 12 months, we will: 1) refine our existing HFLI Youth Leadership x Design toolkit; 2) support adoption in diverse communities; 3) capture and share youth impact stories; and 4) continue to shift the majority of our work from direct youth program delivery to training/coaching teachers and community members to engage businesses and mentors, and deliver these learning experiences. The latter is a critical step towards achieving scale. 

We want to ignite a movement for capacity and courage worldwide, in which today’s caring youth actively seek and acquire the design innovation skills and an entrepreneurial mindset that will empower and embolden them to become transformational leaders who design change in, with, and for their community. We will work with a range of partners, such as Ford Motor Company Fund, Ford Next Generation Learning, and the Partnership for 21st Learning to leverage existing networks and efforts to support brighter futures in underserved communities globally. 

Our solution will be deployed online for free access by teachers and community members who wish to bring it to their school or community (under a Creative Commons license). To further support those implementing the solution, we will provide in-person training sessions in target communities, webinars for those in a wider range of locations, and distance technology-enabled coaching for a modest fee.

We have directly served 541 minority middle and high school youth in Detroit and San Antonio through 3 and 5-day workshops/camps. We provided training/coaching to 103 teachers (mostly from urban communities) using our existing toolkit. Teachers gained tools, materials and direct supports. Students engaged in dynamic learning experiences where they had the opportunity to learn alongside (43) adult mentors, gain design innovation experience, develop prototype responses to a meaningful challenge in their community, prepare an action plan, and pitch their plan and gain feedback from a panel of adults with knowledge of the challenge.

Demand for HFLI’s solution is growing. We will deliver the program to 280 additional minority youth in Detroit and San Antonio before the end of 2018, with a waiting list. Over the next 12 months, we will continue to shift the majority of our work to training/coaching teachers and community members. If 100 adults each engage 25 participants in the next year, 2500 youth can develop new capacity to address local challenges with a fresh perspective and a bold course of action. We expect to impact 600 adults and 16,000 new youth leaders (total) in 3 years.

Our cohesive and dynamic team: Executive Director Deborah Parizek has 25+ years of education experience and is known as an advocate for the thoughtful use of design innovation in education. Nan Gill has 45 years experience in education and organizational development. Jordan Butler, Razi Jafri, and Kirsten Bondalapati bring strategic design skills and program experience. Kimberly Watts has been a fundraiser for nearly 20 years. Lisa Kreinbring has 30 years diverse marketing experience. Ossama Elroos manages IT infrastructure so HFLI can meet the needs of the people we serve.

Our revenue model includes fee-for-service and grant funding for envisioning, designing and delivering learning experiences that leverage our 25+ years of experience in education and strategic design skills. We are positioned for long-term sustainability and expansion through our strong collaborations and our diverse and innovative offerings. By providing fee-for-service workplace learning programs and continuing to attract grant funding, we are able to sustain and grow Youth Entrepreneurship x Design.  

We are applying to Solve to develop intentional connections with members of Solve's community who can accelerate our expansion into new domestic and global communities, help us better measure, validate and articulate our impact, help us develop strategies to ignite our movement, and secure additional grant funding. 

To maximize our impact, we must grow and scale by shifting much of our youth leadership work from direct program delivery to youth to a model that embraces and supports teachers and community members. The costs of providing direct program delivery are such that true momentum and growth can't be achieved by simply adding more HFLI program staff. We are eager to learn from others and gain the connections, technical insights or strategy guidance to make this shift and equip those living and working in communities across the globe to develop their own transformational youth leaders to meet local challenges.