Ebony Underwood

Youth Investments Work When Assets Come With Education and Support

At Aspen Ideas: Economy, MyPath’s Ariana Arana Bermudez, Harlem Children’s Zone CEO Kwame Owusu-Kesse, Ford Foundation disability-rights director Rebecca Cokley and WE GOT US NOW founder Ebony Underwood argue that youth investment works only when young people help shape it and can use the resources offered. Their examples—from savings accounts and disability benefits to the costs borne by children with incarcerated parents—show how disconnected systems can make opportunity inaccessible. They call for sustained investment that pairs assets with practical support and responds to young people’s lived circumstances.