Jesse Flores

The promise of thinking globally and acting locally is alive and well. The tools, resources, and methods to do so are not; particularly for young people. Join this session where we describe a three year (to-date) journey to transform the Boston greater’s youth impact ecosystem. Initially a relatively simple vision (and a bit of serendipity) drew the speaker to work with a two-person non-profit called Sparkshare: connecting young people across backgrounds and perspectives. The story ultimately traverses three distinct evolutions, each marked by a significant reframing of stakeholder needs. We start with design thinking for social impact as a way to create shared language and educate young change makers on the value of empathy and understanding. We shift to a service design approach, serving not only young people, but the adults responsible for them. Currently operating in a more radical co-design fashion, we integrate new and diverse stakeholders into the existing ecosystem.These stakeholder help organizations fill gaps created by something we call the 70% rule. Along the way, we will share youth stories of personal and team triumphs in their own voice. Ultimately, this case study will illustrate how a well-principled yet ambiguous undertaking can leave us beaming with pride and simultaneously a sense of “if I had only known then what I know now.”