Youth Herald: 2025-2026, A Year in Review: Growth, Advocacy, and Youth Leadership in San José

A Year of Youth-Led Change and Community Impact

The San José Youth Commission has wrapped another impactful year of centering youth voices in city decisions, as presented in our 2025-2026 Annual Report. As the official advisory group to the Mayor and City Council, the Commission worked to represent approximately 248,000 youth under nineteen across San José, tackling immigration rights, college readiness, and community placemaking.

Eight new commissioners joined this year, and what began as a group still finding its footing grew into a cohesive team that conducted research, hosted events, drafted policy letters, and showed up for communities citywide.

By the Numbers: Youth Making a Difference

This year's impact is reflected in strong volunteer service numbers:

• 740 total service hours contributed by Youth Commission and Youth Advisory Council members, July 2025 through March 2026
• 11 Youth Commissioners, averaging 35 hours each on meetings, outreach, and policy work
• 45 Youth Advisory Council members, averaging 8 hours each on district events, meetings, and policy research
• 275 YAC applications received, a 17.2% increase from last year

Key Achievements and Initiatives

Youth Budget Priorities Survey and Summit

The Commission collected 653 survey responses with an 82% completion rate, driven largely by direct email outreach to school counselors and teachers. Results informed the Annual Youth Budget Priorities Summit in February 2026, where 57 youth shaped the Commission's official budget recommendations.

Top priorities identified by youth this year:

1. 1. Violence and Safety (4.30/5)
   2. Housing Affordability (4.29/5)
   3. Poverty and Housing Insecurity (4.18/5)
   4. Meaningful and Sustaining Jobs (4.12/5)
   5. Quality Educational Resource Equity (3.99/5)

Advocating for Immigrant Youth and Families

The Commission made immigrant community safety a central focus. Commissioner Micah Chung (District 8) led an official letter to the City Council urging termination of the City's contract with Flock Safety, citing concerns about ICE access to surveillance data. The Commission partnered with SIREN to host a college-readiness workshop covering DACA pathways and financial aid planning, and commissioners from Districts 4 and 9 are developing a proposal to establish Citizenship Corners at all San José Public Library branches.

Culture, Art, and Community Placemaking

In its first year, the Community and Placemaking ad hoc worked to celebrate San José's diversity through art and civic engagement. Upcoming highlights include Culture Fest: San José (Districts 1, 2, and 9), the third annual Creative Futures Fair on May 16 at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center, and AIM (Advise, Inspire, Motivate), a college and career pathways event on May 30 at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

District-Level Impact

Commissioners made meaningful change in their own neighborhoods throughout the year:

• • District 1 organized "Daffodil Day" at Murdock Park, participated in the Adopt-a-Storm-Drain program, and collaborated with Districts 2 and 9 on Culture Fest and with District 4 on the AIM career pathways event.
  • District 2 completed a daffodil planting at Stipe Elementary School, with over 500 flowers planted and more than 50 volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club. Vice Chair Neyha Pradeepkumar was honored with the District 2 Community Hero Award, presented by the Mayor and City Council at the March 2026 State of the City. She dedicated the award to her YAC members, who grew from a team of five to fifteen over her three years on the Commission.
  • District 3 led monthly neighborhood cleanups that consistently drew more than 70 participants, and is launching a new cleanup initiative at Saint James Park in downtown San José.
  • District 4 hosted an "Identifying Identities" identity and equity event, an Eco-Swap at Berryessa Branch Library, and park cleanups at Penitencia Creek Park, and is bringing AIM (Advise, Inspire, Motivate) at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on May 30 to highlight vocational and trade school pathways.
  • District 5 conducted outreach at East Side Union School District high schools to raise awareness of the Youth Advisory Council and distributed Red Card immigration resource materials across East San José neighborhoods.
  • District 6 built a brand-new YAC from scratch, growing to 30 members in its first year. The council assessed safety and accessibility gaps at 20 VTA bus stops, and has an art supplies drive and art therapy workshops in development to support youth creative expression and well-being.
  • District 7 organized the third annual Creative Futures Fair and hosted a Know Your Rights workshop with SIREN at the West Valley Branch Library.
  • District 8 supported multi-month food drives that kept thousands of families fed, organized park cleanups and recycling efforts, and proposed legislation to the East Side Union High School District to expand services for unhoused youth in schools.
  • District 9 led research on gaps in access to immigration resources and is interested in promoting Citizenship Corners at all SJPL branches, in collaboration with District 4.
  • District 10 organized Youth Connect, bringing Councilmember George Casey to Pioneer High School for a civic engagement event attended by more than 90 students, and hosted a financial literacy workshop in partnership with Wells Fargo.

Growing the Youth Advisory Councils

Youth Advisory Councils now span all ten districts and the citywide seat, with approximately 223 volunteer youth engaged across San José. Participant satisfaction is exceptionally high, with 92% of YAC participants rating their program 4 or 5 out of 5. District 6 Commissioner Fiona Canfield built her YAC from scratch this year, growing it to 30 members strong. YAC applications reached 275 submissions this year, with the strongest areas of interest being education, the environment, community and youth empowerment, mental health, and civic engagement.

What Youth Are Telling Us

Beyond issue priorities, the survey offered a window into young people's lives and hopes. 28% of respondents dream of careers in healthcare and medicine, and 21% aspire to STEM and technology. Notably, 80% cited passion or a desire to help others as their primary motivation, rather than financial gain. The most common barriers to feeling prepared for life after high school were career uncertainty, college costs, and lack of internship opportunities.

Regarding whether the San José government reflects youth priorities, 33.1% agreed (combining "strongly agree" and "somewhat agree"), while 50.6% were neutral or unsure. The Commission interprets the growing neutral category not as cynicism, but as a signal that more work is needed to connect youth to the impact of their civic engagement. As one survey respondent put it: "I'm not fully up to date with city politics. I keep up with state, country, and world politics, but I'm not sure where I would begin to get my city politics/news information." Meeting youth where they are, and showing them that local government is where their voices matter most, remains one of the Commission's most important ongoing missions.

Looking Forward

As Chair Marian Kucharewski and Vice Chair Neyha Pradeepkumar conclude their final terms, they leave behind a stronger foundation and incoming commissioners ready to lead. Neyha's recognition as a District 2 Community Hero at the 2026 State of the City is a fitting capstone to three years of building one of the Commission's most active Youth Advisory Councils from the ground up. In Marian's words: "leadership is built on a willingness to grow alongside the people you work with."

Commissioners Anushka Deshmukh, Edwin Sanchez, Fiona Canfield, and Kyle Park are returning next year and are poised to carry this momentum forward. The Commission's work on immigration advocacy, cultural celebration, and college and career readiness reflects a group that understands what San José youth need and is committed to acting on it.

Want to get involved? Learn more about the Youth Commission, apply to a Youth Advisory Council, or attend an upcoming event at sjpl.org/YouthCommission or email YouthCommission@sanjoseca.gov. Follow us on Instagram at @SJYouthCommission.