June 11-13, 2025, brought together young health advocates from across the country, including Community Solutions for Health Equity (CSHE) youth representatives, for the Ody S.E.A. Youth Health Summit in Ketchikan, Alaska. From the first moments, the summit buzzed with courage, laughter, and a shared commitment to health equity.
At CSHE, we believe that to build truly equitable systems, we must embrace culture not just as heritage, but as current, alive, and often led by the bold creativity of young people. Ketchikan Wellness Coalition’s Ody S.E.A. Youth Health Summit created a collective space where youth voices were not only heard—but centered.
Three Days of Learning Together
The summit’s thoughtful structure created opportunities for shared learning and meaningful connections around wellness, cultural healing, and youth advocacy.
Day 1: Culture of Wellness opened with leadership sessions and civic action discussions. Youth voices from across the country came together to share what leadership looks like for them, and how they plan to embody it once they return home. The discussions around overcoming fears and standing up for what you believe perfectly set us up for the exhilarating experience of ziplining together. One youth reflected in the video, ‘Ziplining showed me that when I push past fear, I find freedom.’
The ziplining activity invited adults and youth alike to ask: What’s on the other side of fear? Amongst the fun yet challenging environment, participants connected while building their confidence together.
Day 2: Culture as Medicine featured presentations by Dr. Gabriel Garcia on resilience and Dr. E.J. David on how oppression affects health. From their institutional perspectives, Dr. Garcia and Dr. David shared how health and wellness should not exclude cultural practices and understanding, even within the medical field. Alongside the first engagements of this day, Kevin Greene from FACES International spoke to the youth about their own personal brand as they move into organizing and professional settings and why it’s so important to know who you are to determine how you can be perceived.
To wrap up day two, Heather Evoy’s session on plants as medicine sparked conversations about traditional healing practices. These sessions created space for youth to share their own experiences and how they approach health and wellness.
Day 3: Culture of Youth Action focused on advocacy in practice. With sessions on supporting Latine youth with special healthcare needs, community-based violence prevention, defining youth culture, and much more, participants exchanged ideas. They highlighted their unique approaches to Youth engagement within the health equity discourse.
CSHE partner organizations from Padres e Hijos en Accion (Madison, WI), Partnership for Child Health (Jacksonville, FL), Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley (Allentown, PA), and West Marion Inc. (West Marion, NC) all share how they integrate youth voices into their approaches to health and wellness and how their youth lead these efforts. Each of these organizations presented on specific topics related to their communities’ needs and the tactics they use to improve overall well-being.
The Value of Youth Perspectives in Health Equity
The summit reinforced why including young people in health equity conversations is crucial to create sustainable systems change:
Diverse Experiences: Youth bring varied perspectives on how health challenges show up in different communities, enriching policy discussions with real-world context relevant to today’s reality.
National Community Connections: Young advocates often have strong ties across different age groups and cultural communities, helping bridge conversations between generations from across the United States.
Fresh Approaches: Participants shared creative ideas for addressing health disparities, from social media campaigns to peer education programs.
Long-term Commitment: Building relationships among young advocates fosters networks that support ongoing collaboration long after any single event. As several youth noted in the video, they don’t just want to be ‘invited to the table’ – they want to help build the table.
Building on Connections Made
CSHE youth returned home with expanded networks and fresh perspectives on their ongoing work. The relationships formed during the summit continue through social media connections, resource sharing, and collaborative project planning.
The emphasis on culture as part of health resonated with participants, reinforcing approaches they were already taking in their communities while providing new frameworks for discussing this work with different audiences. The insights shared by young people at the summit show how culture, creativity, and courage are essential ingredients for achieving equity. This aligns directly with CSHE’s commitment to ensuring that ripple effects from community leadership shape broader systems, strategies, and narratives of health.
Why Gathering Youth Voices Matters
The Ody S.E.A. Youth Health Summit demonstrated the value of creating dedicated spaces for young people to learn from each other and from experienced advocates. Rather than being the only youth voice in adult-centered meetings, participants could build skills and confidence alongside peers facing similar challenges.
CSHE’s participation highlights an important reality: young people are already doing significant health equity work in their communities. Events like this summit provide opportunities to strengthen that work through shared learning and mutual support.
When youth advocates connect with supportive adults, they develop stronger skills, broader perspectives, and lasting networks that benefit their ongoing community work.
Looking Forward
The connections made at the summit continue to provide value months later. These ongoing relationships demonstrate the lasting impact of bringing young health advocates together for learning and connection. CSHE will continue supporting youth leaders through upcoming Knowledge Exchanges, while also exploring new ways to elevate their insights within our collective work. This fall, we will be bringing youth leaders together once again to continue building on the momentum from the summit.
