Erica Williams | Rosetta Thurman

Seeing the World Through Millennial Eyes

Yesterday, I shared a few research-based facts that, together, paint a picture of Generation Y as a whole. What the data show is that we’re racially diverse, highly educated and tech savvy. The research also reveals that we maintain a unique work ethic, suffer from massive debt and generally live a very different lifestyle than our parents.

What the data doesn’t show is that my generation is also visionary, passionate and committed to creating the world as it should be.

So today, I want you to meet Erica Williams.

(Yes, I’ve blogged about her before. She’s also one of 50 young nonprofit influencers you should be following on Twitter. What can I say? She’s just that awesome.)

Erica is a Washington, D.C.-based activist and commentator who currently serves as the the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress.

She is also one of the most powerful voices of my generation.

In this compelling 2009 Poptech talk, Erica talks about how Millennials are redefining civic engagement. Take 15 minutes out of your life to watch the speech in its entirety. Believe me, it’s worth it.

Lest you get overly caught up in all the research being done on Generation Y, I wanted to offer a more nuanced perspective on what members of my generation are doing.

Despite all of our job-hopping, we will be the ones to change the world. And what I hope is that we’re envisioning that new world not only for ourselves, but for all the generations that will come after us.

28 Days of Black Nonprofit Leaders: Erica Williams

Erica Williams

Erica Williams is the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress, a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Washington, DC.

From the Center for American Progress website:

Erica Williams is the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress that develops new ideas for an increasingly diverse America. The project seeks to build a progressive agenda that is more inclusive and reflects the rich racial and ethnic makeup of the nation. Progress 2050 does this by promoting innovative policy ideas, facilitating honest dialogue about the intersection of race and policy, analyzing demographics, and developing new leaders.

Listed by Politico.com as one of Top 50 Politicos to Watch, she is the former Deputy Director and Policy Manager of Campus Progress, the youth outreach arm of the Center where she still serves as a senior advisor. While there, she led the staff and network of young Americans in advancing progressive policy with and for 18- to 27-year-olds across the nation. Her advocacy work focused on economic mobility, equal opportunity, health care, and clean energy.

Before joining the Center for American Progress, Erica worked at the Leadership Conference on Civil Right to coordinate grassroots activity in nearly 45 states to advance effective civil and human rights legislation at the federal level.

She is a past participant of the American University Women and Political Leadership Training Program, a 2008 O Magazine Women Rule Leadership winner, and a 2008 Aspen Institute IDEAS fellow.

Williams has appeared on CNN, C-Span, “The Tavis Smiley Show,” “Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff,” and BBC among others. She has been widely quoted in various print publications such as U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, O Magazine, andThe Nation.

See also: Erica on C-SPAN here and here and here (video)

See also: Erica’s “Politics as Usual” podcast (Ep. 1 and Ep. 2) (audio)

Photo credit: Center for American Progress