Champions for Youth Podcast
The Champions for Youth Podcast brings together trailblazers in youth advocacy, education, and public health at the forefront of creating impactful change as they reveal their motivations to take action and strategies that make a difference in their communities.
Join us for inspirational bi-monthly conversations to empower any youth-facing professional with actionable insights for combatting health behavior challenges youth face in communities every day.
Episodes
27 episodes
Creating Effective Youth Substance Use Intervention Through Education, Partnerships, and Empathy
What happens when we stop using punishment as a response to youth substance use in schools and replace it with education and empathy instead?In this episode, we explore a different approach to youth substance use intervention, one built ...
Building Partnerships that Reduce Stigma and Improve Access for Youth with Paul Jacobson of VEAP
What if the best way to reduce stigma and expand access to resources for young people was through partnerships?In this episode, we explore how working behind the scenes with schools and community partners is helping more young people ge...
Building the Next Generation of Leaders: Youth–Adult Partnerships That Work with 1Brotherhood Empowered
What can adults learn if we spend more time listening to young people and empowering them to lead their peers?In this episode, we’re joined by the hosts of
Changing the Culture of Youth Health and Wellness with Greater Richmond Fit4Kids
What would it take to make healthier habits the normal, easy, and fun choice for young people?In this episode, we explore how simple, engaging programs are helping young people experience health and wellness in ways that feel natural an...
Beyond the Scroll: Building Youth-Led Digital Well-Being with Daniella Ivanir from #HalfTheStory
What if digital well-being is about more than limiting screen time — what if it’s about helping young people build real-world community?In this episode, we explore how teens themselves are reshaping the conversation around technology and...
From Seed to Fork: Growing Leadership from the Ground Up with The Food Literacy Project
What if growing food wasn’t just about nutrition, but about growing leaders from the ground up?In this episode, we explore how hands-on cooking, gardening, and youth agriculture programs are doing far more than teaching about nutrition o...
Beyond the Page: A Youth-Led Movement Reclaiming Stories and Reshaping Norms with Marley Dias
How can one voice, one story or one book change the world for today’s youth? This is a story of how a single school projected launched a powerful youth-led movement that transformed how young people, especially young Black girls, see th...
The Power of LGBTQ+ Mentorship to Build Confidence and Community with Jacob Toups, Founder of Rainbow Labs
What if the freedom to explore who you are was the first step to discovering who you could become? This episode looks at what happens when LGBTQ+ youth have supportive environments for real-world exploration, their identities, and long-term gro...
Thinking Beyond Silos: How the Champions for Youth Summit Can Power Your Work
How do we grow as youth health professionals? Not just in what we know, but in how we think, connect, and lead meaningful change?In this episode, you’ll hear firsthand the impact of stepping into spaces designed for inspiration, collabor...
Making the Healthier Choice the Easier Choice: An Evidence-Based Blueprint for Change
We all want to help young people stay healthy, but knowing where to begin, or how to keep going when nothing seems to be working, can feel overwhelming.This episode is for anyone who’s ever felt stuck, discouraged, or unsure of what to d...
The Truth About Vapes: What’s Inside, What We Know, and What Comes Next with Forensic Toxicologist Dr. Michelle Peace
What’s really inside a vape, why are so many young people addicted, and what can we do about it?The CDC reports vapes/e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students in the United States.&nbs...
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Supporting Youth After Overdose Loss with Lynne Hughes from Comfort Zone Camp
What does grief look like in a young person, and how do we support them when that grief stems from something as devastating as an overdose?As fentanyl-related deaths continue to rise among youth, more and more young people are navigating...
Taking Childhood Nutrition in Small Bites with Jennifer Anderson from Kids Eat in Color
How can we use social media as an effectively tool for positive change in childhood nutrition?We sit down with Jennifer Anderson, registered dietitian, public health expert, and founder of Kids Eat in Color. We explore how short-form sto...
Building Youth Programs with Dr. Melanie Bean from Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU
What does it really take to build youth programs that actually create a movement towards change?In this conversation, we explore why successful youth health initiatives are rarely one-and-done. From forming unexpected partnerships to na...
Using Your Purpose to Stay Motivated and Create Change with Dr. Caree Cotwright
How are we supposed to stay motivated in today’s ever-changing times and shake the feeling of ‘being stuck?'In this conversation, we explore how your purpose becomes a source of motivation when resources feel scarce and the path forward ...
Sitting Less and Learning More with Brooke Sydnor Curran of Move2Learn
What if getting young people moving was one of the simplest, yet overlooked tools we have for improving their health, focus, and sense of belonging?From classroom transitions to community partnerships, we explore what happens when moveme...
Beyond Nutrition: Embracing Food as Medicine, Identity, and Power with Dr. Kofi Essel
What if the intersection of food, culture, and community holds the key to solving some of the more pressing health challenges facing youth?In this conversation we dive into how nutrition is more than science, it’s personal. We explore ho...
Creating the Next Generation of Health Leaders Through Youth Volunteerism with Dr. Sandy Chung
What if the future of public health doesn’t depending on more programs, but on empowering more young people who believe in them?In this episode, we explore how one person’s lived experience and a spark of encouragement led to the creatio...
Equipping Youth to Confront the Fentanyl Crisis with Author Ben Westhoff
What if saving lives started with teaching the truth; early, often, and without shame?In this episode, we learn how one personal tragedy turned into a mission to expose the real dangers of fentanyl and help young people make informed li...
A Teenager’s Personal Journey of Turning Struggle to National Impact with 16 year-old Taanvi Arekapudi
What if the first step to solving some of the most pressing youth mental health challenges wasn’t a policy or a program, but a peer-supported conversation?In this episode, we hear how one teenager turned her personal struggle with anxiet...
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Empowering Youth with Deaf Performer & Artist Justina Miles
What if the boldest form of representation wasn’t just about being seen, but about showing up loudly in spaces that never expected you — like America's biggest stage? Noticing a lack of Deaf representation put Justina on a path tow...
Bites Like Books: Modeling Nutrition as Foundational as Literacy with Dr. Nimali Fernando of Doctor Yum Project
What if kids learned nutrition the same way they learned to read? In this episode, we explore how everyday food habits and routines can lay the foundation for lifelong health. We talk about why modeling matters, how nutrition and li...
More Than Enough: Building Confidence & Creating Leaders with Dr. Vee Kativhu, UN Global Youth Leader
What if the key to leadership wasn’t about having it all figured out, but believing that you’re ready to begin?This episode is all about building confidence, trusting your voice, and creating space for young people to step into leadershi...
Naloxone on Wheels: An Artist’s Approach to Preventing Fentanyl Overdoses with John Freyer, Associate Professor at VCU
In recognition of National Fentanyl Awareness Day, this episode highlights a powerful story of recovery, creativity, and community-based harm reduction.We’ll learn how a conceptual artist, and person in long-term recovery, is transformin...
The Earliest Years Matter: Talking ACEs and Influencing the Future of Health with Jackie Wong of First 5 California
What if the key to solving some of the biggest health challenges young people face today started long before they even set foot in a classroom?We will explore how early childhood experiences shape lifelong health including our genetics a...
