Oliver Godoy stood near the steps of Colorado's Capitol with more than 100 others on Thursday to celebrate the launch of a new coalition meant to amplify the voices of young people like himself.
The Youth Agency Coalition brings together six Colorado nonprofit organizations with the goal of empowering people ages 16 through 34 like Godoy who want to effect change.
Godoy, 26, said he doesn't have a lot of experience advocating for policy issues and can get nervous about stepping into the political realm. But the fellow advocates he's met at Young Invincibles and through the new coalition have empowered him to speak out -- especially when he feels like older people dismiss his experience.
"I think this coalition gives young people more power in these spaces where it's not designed for them to be," said Godoy, who attends Metropolitan State University of Denver.
The six organizations that make up the coalition are Young Invincibles, New Era Colorado, Rocky Mountain Partnership Cradle to Career, Ednium: The Alumni Collective, Mi Familia En Acción, and UpRISE.
Melanie Kesner, Young Invincibles' Rocky Mountain regional director, said she hopes the coalition shows even more young people that they have a place in shaping state and local policy.
The coalition will allow them to drive conversations about the issues they care about instead of limiting advocacy to just the areas the six nonprofits focus on. The coalition also plans to hold a June gubernatorial forum that youth and young adults will lead.
Ednium's Executive Director Richard Maez said when he took over as the nonprofit's leader, he saw a group of organizations that all shared a common goal to get people ages 16 to 34 involved in policy issues. But the nonprofits have a narrow focus on issues compared to the many that affect young people, he said.
For example, Ednium represents Denver Public Schools alumni and trains and mobilizes them to advocate for issues that include K-12, higher education, and economic mobility. Ednium has supported the state's financial literacy requirement and workforce readiness legislation.
UpRise wants statewide tobacco control, such as laws that have banned flavored nicotine products. And Mi Familia En Acción elevates the voices of the state's Latino community through building political power. This year, the organization has backed House Bill 1272, which would collect data on how extreme temperatures impact workers.
"We've proven to other people that we know what we're doing," Maez said of the different advocacy organizations "Now it's time to say, "Let's do it together.""
All six organizations have organized to bring young people to the Capitol. But the numbers have often been smaller than what the coalition brought on Thursday.
Lawmakers have also given some young people a voice under Colorado's golden dome. The Colorado Youth Advisory Council, created in 2008, brings together 40 youth ages 14 to 19 to make policy issue recommendations. The group was even given the ability by lawmakers in 2019 to draft bills, but lawmakers took that power away last year.
After the rally, attendees filed into the Capitol to speak with lawmakers.
Sara Navidi, 24, led a group of four who wanted to talk about healthcare bills. Navidi graduated college in 2022 and has taken time off before medical school to get work experience, including in policymaking.
Navidi currently works with Young Invincibles but has also been active with New Era Colorado. She said she's found the different organizations might advocate for the same issues at times, but do it separately.
"We're going to be even better when we collaborate together," Navidi said.
Others in Navidi's group said they came to the Capitol for the first time.
Noelle Romero, 24, heard about the day's events from the Colorado School of Public Health, a collaborative that includes the University of Colorado Anschutz, where she attends school. Romero also will get another master's degree from the University of Denver.
So many organizations coming together to give young people a space to talk with lawmakers made her feel supported, she said.
"I think if I had come here alone, I'd be terrified," Romero said.
Godoy said strength in numbers is the point of the coalition.
"We've grown up in this world where all these decisions have already been made for us without our say," Godoy said. "So it's important for us to voice our opinions, for our voices to be heard, and for people to actually understand that we're not going away."
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
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