Elizabeth Kanter, Youth Media Corps Staff

I am the daughter of a Quaker-married first-generation Sri Lankan Hindu and a Brooklyn-born Polish Jew. I have met few individuals, and fewer media-makers, with my cultural or religious background.

In helping members of the Youth Media Corps explore media as powerful means to speak about community concerns, I hope to support creative producers that are empowered to speak their minds and share their vision of the world, and their unique identities, with those around them.

I have had many heroes throughout my life, but the ones who had the most profound influence all served as mentors to me. We affect positive change in so many ways, and we never know which actions, great or small, can greatly impact the world and those around us.

My challenge to you: Every day, be a hero to the people around you and the communities that you are a part of!