Inside the Impact Board: How Katya Hancock Supports Youth Wellbeing in the Digital Age
After spending 10 years helping run StartUp Health, Katya Hancock became the Founding Executive Director of the nonprofit Young Futures. Under her leadership, Young Futures has given its first $1M to youth wellbeing nonprofits. In this chat, she discusses her organization’s mission and why she's passionate about supporting nonprofits innovating within the "digital tension" that young people face today.
After 10 years as part of the StartUp Health team, Katya Hancock is now the Founding Executive Director of the nonprofit Young Futures and sits on StartUp Health's Health Moonshot Impact Board. In this chat, she discusses her new organization’s mission to support youth wellbeing and mental health in the digital age (summarized transcript below, and full interview available on video and podcast). She highlights the challenges faced by young people growing up in a digital world and the innovative solutions her organization is implementing to address these issues. Young Futures is focused on providing support and resources to nonprofits and community organizations that work with pre-teens and teens across the United States.
If you're interested in the latest on how to help teens thrive in the digital age, you can follow the Young Futures Newsletter and their LinkedIn page.
Supporting Youth Wellbeing in the Digital Age
Q: Can you tell us about your role and the work you do with Young Futures?
A: I'm Katya Hancock, the founding executive director of Young Futures. We focus on improving youth wellbeing and mental health in the digital age by supporting nonprofits and community organizations working with pre-teens and teens across the United States.
Q: What inspired the creation of Young Futures?
A: We were founded with support from Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, Susan Crown Exchange, and The Goodness Web. They saw the need for an ecosystem approach to address the impacts of technology on youth mental health, beyond just funding programs. There was a clear need to shift the focus around teens and tech from only discussing the challenges to “what are we going to do about it?” We're here to uplift and scale solutions that are already in communities helping teens.
Q: What are the main challenges Young Futures aims to address?
A: We address the mental health challenges of growing up in a digital world. Our focus includes diagnosed conditions like anxiety and depression, and broader wellbeing issues, especially in marginalized communities.
Q: How does Young Futures support nonprofits?
A: We host funding challenges to support innovative nonprofits. Our first challenge, the Lonely Hearts Club, focused on loneliness and social connection. We commit significant funding and provide resources to help these nonprofits scale their impact.
Q: Can you provide examples of organizations supported by Young Futures?
A: Yes, examples include Hip Hop Into Learning, which helps kids express themselves through hip hop, and Sesame 3G, which connects seniors, teens, and preschoolers for mentoring and social-emotional learning.
Q: What are some key strategies for addressing digital tension in youth?
A: It's important to understand the digital tension young people face and provide tools to navigate it healthily. Solutions include promoting social-emotional learning and fostering protective relationships to build resilience.
Q: How does Young Futures plan to expand its impact?
A: We aim to support hundreds of nonprofits through funding challenges and building a collaborative ecosystem. We also plan to bring in experts from various fields to help nonprofit leaders with scaling, fundraising, and effective communication.
Q: How does Young Futures support StartUp Health?
A: I'm committed to ensuring young people are part of healthcare conversations. I appreciate StartUp Health's model and media presence, which can help raise awareness about youth mental health and integrate it into broader health discussions.
Q: What personal insights have you gained from your work?
A: Working with Young Futures has made me more mindful of my technology use and the behavior I model for my children. I strive for a balanced approach to technology, recognizing its importance while promoting healthy usage habits.
Q: What future goals do you have for Young Futures?
A: I envision Young Futures becoming a powerful ecosystem of solutions, with a storytelling engine behind it to make sure teens and their families can access those solutions. I'm open to forming unconventional partnerships with consumer-facing companies that share our values and goals.