EVERY PIECE HAS POWER: HOW INTERGENERATIONAL DIVERSITY, YOUTH‐LED MODELS, AND SHARED MENTORSHIP ARE RESHAPING NONPROFIT LEADERSHIP

Abstract The author recounts her leadership and entrepreneurship across sectors, particularly within nonprofits. She gained valuable experience running for the Pittsburgh Board of Education, when she was a 19‐year‐old first‐year student at the University of Pittsburgh, even though she did not win. Earlier, she “ founded Queens Gambit when I was 14 because I believed chess could be a framework for leadership and personal agency.” She also describes “Y’22, a movement I launched to put more young people under 25 on nonprofit boards.” She notes that Queens Gambit is now a “national, youth‐led nonprofit reaching over 2,000 students annually, many from communities historically excluded from opportunities to lead.” She discusses the importance of “intergenerational models,” which “intentionally design systems where knowledge flows both ways, where experienced leaders mentor youth and learn from them, and where young people aren’t just included ‐ they’re trusted with influence.”