After four years of not meeting in person, we were anxious to see members of our Community Learning Partnership (CLP) familia in person. We reconnected and celebrated our progress as we held our 3-Day Fall Convening in Los Angeles.

It was a great opportunity to reconnect face-to-face after such a long time apart. We were able to tour three CYLC pilot sites in Los Angeles and Riverside and learned about their impactful work with young people. Our site visits gave us time to reflect on our work; hear from students and colleagues; spend time in community and engagement to building a stronger democracy. It was a powerful reminder of the vital role that community change agents can have in driving social change in their local communities.

Across the country, we continue to face significant challenges to democracy. Attacks against the rights of historically marginalized communities, immigrants and refugees, women, low income people, and LGBTQ people are just some examples. However, it is important to remember that we are not alone in these struggles. Nationwide, CLP has demonstrated incredible leadership from student change agents, resilient faculty, and community leaders in defending our values and working towards a more just society.

Our Fall Convening provided a warm and welcoming space to strengthen relationships with our national colleagues, new colleagues at CYLC sites in Los Angeles and Riverside, and to collectively embrace our new Executive Director, Rosa M. García. Rosa brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to CLP/CYLC and a deep commitment towards providing historically marginalized student with educational pathways, financial resources, robust supports, and leadership development opportunities they need to thrive and become the agents of change that we need in local communities.

Our CYLC programs provide insight on the ways in which CLP contributes to transformative social change by providing students with the tools they need to become community change agents. By strengthening the workforce of credentialed, knowledgeable organizers, and skilled leaders from and for low income communities, communities of color, and immigrant communities we aim to empower students to become agents of change in their local communities by providing them with educational opportunities, paid work-based learning opportunities by providing them with educational opportunities, paid work-based learning opportunities, critical supports, mentoring, and leadership development opportunities.

We are happy to have had the opportunity to create unforgettable memories and form deeper connections with our old and new families alike. As we wrapped up our 2022 Fall Convening, we were all reminded of the power of community and the impact we can have when we come together to work towards building a stronger and more equitable democracy.