Are you ready for a party in the U.S.A.? 🥳🇺🇲
#FutureSummit 2026 will be July 8-11 in Washington, D.C. and applications are officially open!
As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we’ll be hosting our 10th annual Future Summit.
Yes, you read that correctly. For the past DECADE, Future Summit has been THE convening where young lawmakers—from across the country and political spectrum—who want to lead differently come together to share what’s working in their states, build cross-partisan relationships, and engage with experts on the most pressing issues facing our country.
Future Summit 2026 will be an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on America’s first 250 years, while setting the course for shaping America’s NEXT 250 years.
If you’re a Gen Z or millennial state legislator, submit your application early! Spots are limited and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. 🔗 Link to apply in our bio!
Today, Future Caucus is releasing The Exit Interview, a tough but hopeful look into the forces pushing young, capable lawmakers to think of leaving public service just as they’re making an impact.
Based on candid conversations with 89 state legislators across both parties and 31 states, the report exposes the human costs of political violence, low pay (like, really low), and outdated, inefficient legislatures that make public service an unrealistic path for far too many.
👉 Swipe for key findings. Full report link in bio!
Ahead of Election Day, we ask ourselves: How can government work more effectively for people? And what would it take to restore our trust in political leaders to do good?
#McNultyPrize Winner Layla Zaidane, president and CEO of Future Caucus (@futurecaucus ), is showing that the government can be more effective, fairer, and more focused on serving people. By bringing together Gen Z and Millennial lawmakers across partisan divides, Future Caucus is rebuilding trust and reimagining what public service can be.
Watch the new short film “Working for People Over Power,” and learn more at the link in bio.
Some politicians are talking about “beautiful maps.” Others are lawyering up over them. And amidst all the noise around redistricting, state lawmakers are just trying to do their jobs.
Across the country, the topic of redistricting has turned congressional maps into political spectacle. But for the lawmakers tasked with governing in states that are being redistricted, the stakes feel higher. They’re not worried about who has the most “beautiful map” (can Gen Zers even read a map?), they’re concerned about the process of redistricting and ensuring the people of their state are represented fairly and accurately.
In our latest Young Lawmakers’ Storybank, Rep. Brandon Woodard, D-Kan., and Rep. Doug Fiefia, R-Utah, share what happened when the national redistricting fight landed in their statehouses.
Despite hailing from vastly different states and serving in opposing parties, both lawmakers arrived at the same place: the best governance is transparent, accountable, and grounded in the will of the voters.
Read the full story at the link in our bio.
A new chapter of leadership is beginning in Delaware! We’re excited to welcome Sen. Darius Brown, D-Wilmington, as the newest co-chair of the Delaware Future Caucus, where he’ll join Rep. Michael Smith, R-Pike Creek Valley, in leading a new generation of cross-partisan leadership in the First State.
Since being elected in 2018, Brown has built a reputation as one of Delaware’s leading voices on criminal justice reform and economic opportunity, helping advance landmark bipartisan legislation like the Clean Slate Act and Adult Expungement Reform Act. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a Future Caucus Criminal Justice Innovation Fellow, he’s shown what bold, solutions-oriented leadership can look like in practice.
We’re excited for what’s ahead in Delaware. Join us in welcoming Sen. Brown to Future Caucus leadership! 👏
Gen Zers and millennials across the country are proving that when elected, they get sh*t done. (Y’all mind if we cuss a little?) 🤭
A new feature from The Renovator on Substack tells the story of two lawmakers in our network who are getting sh*t DONE! Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, and Rep. Ashley Hudson, D-Little Rock, both co-chairs of the Arkansas Future Caucus, came together across party lines to confront their state’s maternal mortality crisis.
Through Future Caucus’ Prenatal-to-Three Innovation Fellowship, Pilkington and Hudson spent months researching the issue, consulting with healthcare providers, Medicaid administrators, policy experts, advocates, and families to better understand the gaps in care and what meaningful solutions could look like.
What emerged became the bipartisan Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act, a sweeping maternal health package signed into law last year by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
But this story is about more than one bill.
The article highlights how at Future Caucus we’re helping a rising generation of leaders to tackle the issues shaping everyday life for young Americans: maternal health, childcare, housing affordability, AI, workforce development, and more.
This story is worth your time. Head to the link in our bio to read it.
In 2024, just months into his freshman term, Rep. Justis Gibbs, D-Miss., came to Washington, D.C. to begin his Future Caucus Innovation Fellowship experience. On day one, he sat down with Rep. Dawson Holle, R-N.D., to film this Lawmakers on Lawmakers conversation, where he told Holle about a bill he hoped to introduce back home in Mississippi.
The idea for the bill came after hearing the story of Susie Balfour, a formerly incarcerated woman with breast cancer she believed was linked to years of handling harsh cleaning chemicals in prison every day, for hours on end, without protective equipment such as respirators. When Gibbs learned Mississippi had no written policies to protect inmates doing janitorial work, he knew something had to change.
So he got to work.
In 2025, he introduced legislation to address the problem. It fell short of the votes needed to pass in the Senate. But he didn’t walk away. He spent the next year refining the bill, building relationships, and doing the hard work of finding common cause across political lines.
On April 6, 2026, Gov. Tate Reeves signed H.B. 1444 into law.
Gibbs’ story is a reminder that meaningful change rarely happens in one dramatic moment. It happens when leaders are willing to listen deeply, stay in the fight after setbacks, and demonstrate vulnerability to build the trust required to move good ideas forward.
That is the work Future Caucus was created to champion: equipping a rising generation of lawmakers to bridge divides, lead with courage through uncertainty, and prove that politics can still be a force for dignity, problem-solving, and results.
#mississippi #criminaljustice #prisonreform #bipartisanship #youngleaders
What do “The Golden Girls,” backyard tiny homes, and unused school property have in common? …Not much, unless you’re trying to solve America’s housing crisis.
Across the country, housing costs have been rising faster than wages for years, and for many young Americans, the idea of owning a home (or even affording rent without multiple roommates) feels increasingly out of reach.
Gen Z and millennial lawmakers aren’t just hearing about it from constituents—they’re living it themselves.
But that also positions them to lead on solutions. It’s a double-edged sword.
In our latest Young Lawmakers’ Storybank, Rep. Tarik Khan, D-Pa., Rep. Rui Xu, D-Kan., and Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Fla. are approaching this challenge with lived experience and creative ideas for how to move solutions forward.
The young lawmakers in our network are collaborating across the aisle—and even across state lines—to solve a problem that doesn’t care which party you vote for. Because when the problem is shared, the solutions can be too.
Swipe for a sneak peek, then head to the link in our bio to read the full story.
Future Caucus leadership in Connecticut is growing! We’re thrilled to welcome Rep. Farley Santos, D-Danbury, as a new co-chair of the Connecticut Future Caucus, joining Rep. Seth Bronko, R-Naugatuck, Rep. Aundré Bumgardner, D-Groton, and Sen. Paul Cicarella, R-North Haven.
First elected in 2022, Santos has quickly stepped into leadership in the Connecticut General Assembly as assistant majority leader, building a record rooted in service to his community. From securing major investments in Danbury Public Schools to championing support for veterans, his work reflects a commitment to showing up and delivering results where it matters most.
Now, we’re excited for him to bring that same energy to the Connecticut Future Caucus as he leads alongside a bipartisan team of legislators to transform politics in their state.
Join us in welcoming Rep. Santos to Future Caucus leadership!
Talking to a rising generation of leaders while pregnant with the NEXT generation? It’s giving SHE-E-O! 👏
🎥 Watch Future Caucus President & CEO Layla Zaidane in @roadtripnation ’s “Living Civics” documentary, sharing what it takes to build a career rooted in connection and how knowing your “why” sustains the work.
With more than 26,000 children lacking access to childcare, West Virginia has a growing crisis on its hands. Year after year, lawmakers have pushed for solutions, introducing bills to expand access for working families. But despite the urgency, those efforts have repeatedly fallen short of the governor’s desk.
Until this year.
In a major breakthrough led by Republican lawmakers and backed by overwhelming bipartisan support, H.B. 4191 is set to become law. The legislation stabilizes funding for childcare providers and expands tax credits for employers who offer childcare benefits. The bill passed nearly unanimously through both chambers, marking a hard-earned moment of alignment. And while the governor declined to sign it, he also did not veto it, clearing the way for it to become law.
West Virginia Future Caucus co-chair, Del. Kayla Young (D-56), has been a long-term champion of the bill. She states that “this issue has become the heart and soul of my work at the Capitol, and at the center of it is always West Virginia families and their futures.”
Read the full story behind H.B. 4191 at the link in our bio.
Future Caucus is in the movies! Well… a movie. 🎬
@roadtripnation ’s latest documentary, “Living Civics,” follows three college students on a road trip down the East Coast, asking a big question: can a career help bridge divides and bring people together for the common good?
Our team is proof that it can! The roadtrippers sat down with Future Caucus President & CEO Layla Zaidane to learn more about the work we do at Future Caucus and the path that led her to a career in civic bridge building.
As we work to activate young leaders to bridge partisan divides, serve their communities, and transform American politics, it’s powerful to see rising generations drawn to that same mission with curiosity, empathy, and a desire to build something better together.
Check out the trailer above, and head to the link in our bio to watch the full documentary! 🎥
