Make Change Where You Are

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I’ve spent most of my life trying to make change in the city I call home. Not because it’s easy, not because the systems always work with you—but because I’ve seen what happens when we don’t show up. The truth is, we all have power. Whether you’re a young person wondering where to start, or a working professional tired of seeing the same issues recycled year after year—change begins with you.

Here’s what I’ve learned about making real, meaningful change in your city or community:

1. Start with What You Know

You don’t need a degree, a title, or permission to make change. Start with what’s around you—your neighborhood, your school, your workplace. What do you see that needs fixing? What’s missing? What could be better? The best community leaders are the ones rooted in lived experience. Your voice matters because it comes from the ground up.

2. Listen First, Speak Second

Before you take action, listen. Listen to elders, to youth, to community members who’ve been doing the work long before you showed up. They carry knowledge, context, and strategy that can guide your steps. Real change isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room—it’s about being the most grounded and strategic one.

3. Find Your People

You can’t do this alone. Change-making is a team sport. Whether it’s organizing a community clean-up, running for office, starting a nonprofit, or speaking at a city council meeting—surround yourself with people who share the same vision for better. Build with folks who will hold you accountable and keep you fueled when you’re tired.

4. Use What You Have

Too often we think we don’t have enough to start—a big budget, a platform, a sponsor. But some of the most impactful movements began with nothing but a living room conversation or a group chat. If you’ve got a phone, a passion, and a plan—you’re more ready than you think.

5. Be Strategic, Not Just Loud

Change doesn’t always happen overnight. Sometimes it looks like pushing through policies. Sometimes it’s about having the right data. Other times, it’s just showing up consistently until your presence shifts the culture. Passion is great, but strategy turns passion into power.

6. Remain Optimistic

It can be continually daunting when you work really hard and nothing happens, or you see the same challenges continuing to surface. It is important to remain optimistic that change will eventually happen, even if you are not going to be around to see it. Something different will, and can happen that what has been happening, it just takes persistence and consistency.

7. Hold Systems Accountable, But Don’t Forget to Build

Calling out injustice is necessary—but we also need to create new things. If systems won’t open the door, build a new house. Start programs. Create jobs. Build spaces where our people can feel seen, safe, and supported. Change isn’t only about breaking down what’s broken—it’s about building up what we want to see.

8. Remember Why You Started

Change-making is hard. You’ll face setbacks. You might get overlooked or criticized. But when that happens, go back to your “why.” Remember who you’re doing it for. Remember the kids watching you. The elders praying for you. The community counting on you. Let that ground you.

Change doesn’t come from outside—it starts with us. With our hearts, our hands, our voices, and our belief that a better future is possible. Don’t wait for perfect conditions or a green light. You are the green light.

Start where you are. Use what you have. And never underestimate your ability to shift the story.

Let’s get to work.