At 16, Keegan Lee sent an email to Dr. Bilal Ghandour, a psychology professor at Elon University, asking for a Zoom meeting. She wanted to understand social media and human behavior but had no grand plans beyond that conversation. What happened next changed the trajectory of her advocacy work.
“Dr. Ghandour was a teacher to me, and I was a teacher to him,” Keegan reflects. “I think that was what really made our collaboration so successful.” Their partnership led to a co-authored book, conference presentations, and a model for how adults and young people can work together as equals rather than mentor and student.
Behind every youth advocate are adults who saw potential, opened doors, and sometimes got out of the way. We talked to four young mental health advocates about the adults who made their work possible. Their stories reveal that supporting youth advocacy is less about teaching and more about true partnership.
1. Recognize advocacy before they do
Saran Tugsjargal didn’t know she was an advocate when she started helping new Mongolian students navigate her high school as English language learners. “I was never really taught how to advocate. I didn’t even know what advocacy was. I didn’t even really know what leadership was,” she says.
But her teachers saw something she couldn’t. “A lot of my teachers and administrators told me I was a powerful advocate for my classmates.” This recognition came with encouragement to apply for opportunities she didn’t think she could handle.
“I didn’t see it inside of me yet, but people already saw it in me,” Saran reflects. When she was named to her state’s student commission, she realized: “When I got those positive reinforcements and adults being very supportive of my journey, it kind of made me realize, wow, I do have an impact on people.”
2. Provide foundation, then step back
The most effective adult supporters treat young advocates as partners, not subordinates. When Max Delgado’s teachers helped him launch Friends of Rogers, “they were assisting us and helping us get our advocacy going, but not from a place of authority,” he explains. “We were goofy with each other. We didn’t take it too seriously, because at the end of the day, it’s an organization about being a kind person and connecting with people in fun ways.”
This approach created the kind of environment Max wants to replicate: “I want everybody to be comfortable with each other. I want a space where people can just throw out all their ideas without fear.”
The adults who supported Max didn’t micromanage his vision. “They set the foundation, and I grew off of it,” he says. “They let me draw the logo. They let me design the T-shirts. They let me kind of put my own flair on it.”
This balance between structure and creative freedom allowed Max and his co-founder to make Friends of Rogers their own. The key was adults who could “provide the foundation, and then let us just take it as far as we can.”
3. Don’t be afraid to challenge them
Some of the most valuable adult support comes from those willing to push back. Keegan credits mentors who gave her “tough love” alongside encouragement: “We need those types of adults in our lives as well. We need the ones that lift us up, but also the ones that aren’t afraid to throw darts where they need to be.”
This kind of challenging support builds real confidence. When adults only offer affirmation, eventual praise feels less meaningful. Keegan explains: “It makes it all the more affirming when they do genuinely have praise for an idea because it doesn’t feel like they’re just yes-manning you.”
4. Lend your credibility when they need it
Even capable young advocates sometimes need adult credibility to be taken seriously. Max learned this when trying to get support from a school administrator who dismissed him and passed him off to an assistant, rather than engaging directly.
This is where adult allies become crucial. “Like-minded people will listen to like-minded people,” Max discovered. When he went to the state capitol, he made sure to have trusted adults with him “so that they could take it a little bit more seriously.”
The goal isn’t to speak for young people, but to use your platform to amplify their voices and get them a seat at the table.
5. Listen to understand, not to respond
When Keegan first reached out to Dr. Ghandour, what struck her most was being truly heard. “It was one of the first times where I’d been able to talk about issues I’d been seeing in my community with an adult, and have him just sit there and listen to me, and not try and say how the adults could immediately fix it.”
This experience gave Keegan confidence to “step into spaces where the adults may not always be welcoming of my perspective, but I’d still be willing to share it, because I learned the power that it holds.”
When adults encounter young people with advocacy ideas, Keegan suggests starting with curiosity: “I think it always just helps to ask questions about the person’s passion project and their journey, like, showing genuine interest in how they started and where they are and where they’re going.”
This genuine interest matters because young advocates are “still trying to gauge interest, especially from adults who seem way more experienced. They want that validation from them, and I think a lot of the validation comes from asking questions.”
6. Trust the process
Supporting young advocates means accepting that their methods might look different from what you’d choose. Saran emphasizes the importance of adults who “get rid of your titles when you’re in spaces for community. If you don’t introduce your titles, and you just talk as a human being, then we’re able to create conversations at a deeper level.”
The young advocates we spoke with have gone on to create lasting change in their communities, influencing state policy, founding organizations, and inspiring other young people to get involved. They succeeded because adults recognized their potential and created space for them to grow into it.
As Keegan reflects: “Everyone is kind of an expert in something, no matter how old you are. Gen Zs are experts at understanding social media and how it works, and adults can learn from that.” The most powerful adult support recognizes this expertise and creates true partnerships where both sides teach and learn.
Advocacy can bloom anywhere. Start by noticing when young people around you help others, speak up about issues they care about, or organize their peers. Ask them about their work. Listen to their ideas. Offer your experience when it’s useful, your credibility when they need it, and your encouragement when they doubt themselves.
Remember that the goal isn’t to create mini versions of adult advocates, but to help young people develop their own authentic voices and approaches. Sometimes the best support is simply believing in someone before they believe in themselves.
