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About Advocates for a New ERA

Advocates for a New ERA (New Economic Rights for All) trains San Francisco-based high school students in grades 9-12 to take leadership roles in their communities while building financial, leadership, and advocacy skills. Participants commit to 10 months in the New ERA Program from August 2025 through May 2026 and can earn up to $1,125 for the program year and a $100 summer incentive.

During the summer, participants meet and connect with each other through a variety of activities and workshops. These experiences create a supportive community where participants feel comfortable learning and exploring together. They reflect on their own financial experiences and personal stories, understanding how these experiences relate to broader issues of financial access and inclusion. The summer program sets the tone for the rest of the year, helping participants build confidence, relationships, and a foundation for leadership and financial growth.

Throughout the academic year, participants open youth-friendly checking and savings accounts with debit cards and learn essential financial skills such as budgeting, saving, banking, and credit management. They develop leadership skills including public speaking, problem-solving, meeting facilitation, decision-making, and teamwork. Participants will also take an active role in reviewing, updating, and creating financial education curriculum for future MyPath cohorts and partners. This hands-on experience allows participants to apply their skills, inspire others, and take meaningful leadership roles in their community.

For the 2025-2026 program year, Advocates for a New ERA participants will lead social media campaigns aimed at educating their youth peers on financial capability topics, as well as advocating for the expansion of youth economic justice initiatives, such as easier access to non-custodial bank accounts for youth under 18.

Recent campaign work

New ERA in Sacramento for the Personal Finance Curriculum Guidance Public Comment!
Six Advocates for a New ERA attended the California State Board of Education’s Personal Finance Subject Matter public comment session to ensure youth perspectives were included in the new curriculum guidance. Frida, Moises, Joanna, Joshua, Lucio, and Alex shared diverse student insights, calling for more youth-centered design, interactive learning, and opportunities for young people to help lead personal finance instruction.
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Research and Recommendations for California’s AB 2927 Personal Finance Education Curriculum Standards
The 2024–25 Advocates led a citywide campaign, engaging 190 peers and 17 teachers to gather input on what should be included in California’s new financial education requirements. The effort—later named San Francisco Financial Literacy for Youth (SF FLY)—was inspired by Right No. 9 of MyPath’s Youth Economic Bill of RYTS, which calls for youth voices in decisions that affect them.
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Youth Financial Steps to Success (Town Hall)
MyPath Advocates planned and facilitated a community event called “Youth Financial Steps to Success” where Advocates presented their My Money, MyPath (Triple MP) Campaign to community members, friends & family. They held a Q&A with community members and asked that everyone who participated in the event to sign a petition to support their My Money, My Path (Triple MP) Campaign.
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MyPath’s My Money, My Path (Triple MP Campaign)
MyPath Advocates presented their My Money MyPath (Triple MP) Campaign to San Francisco’s Treasurer Jose Cisneros and the Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, Sheryl Davis.
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FAQ

  • Be a high school participant enrolled in a San Francisco Unified School District high school or live in San Francisco
  • Be committed to developing leadership skills to positively impact your community
  • Be interested in working with professionals to create financial education curriculum
  • Be willing to engage in public speaking, including leading workshops
  • Be open to sharing your opinions, perspectives, and lived experiences
  • Demonstrate a positive and engaging attitude
  • Be interested in promoting youth financial justice and inclusion.

We are no longer accepting participant applications for the 2025-2026 program cohort. Applications for the 2026-2027 cohort are expected to open in March 2026. If you are interested in applying next year, please email [email protected].

We are always looking for leaders in our community to support the program! We are seeking partners who can assist the program with:

  • Hosting Advocates for a New ERA at your organization and engaging participants with financial capability or professional development workshops or panels. Some examples from previous years include:
    • LinkedIn hosted the program by providing a meeting space.
    • Citi hosted a cohort and provided feedback on their campaign.
  • Joining one of our sessions and share your knowledge on policy development, financial capability, professional development, or social and economic justice.
  • Providing guidance and feedback for our annual campaign. This year’s theme is a social media campaign that is meant to educate youth peers and advocate for the expansion of adopting youth-friendly standards for non-custodial bank accounts.

If you are a policy, community, or corporate leader and want to support the work of our Advocates for a New ERA, especially if you are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, please contact Angely (Angie) Miranda, Youth Leadership and Engagement Manager, at [email protected].

Learn More About our New ERA 2025-26 Cohort

Nayely Cruz Vasquez

Galileo High School

Jostin Garcia

Abraham Lincoln High School

Frida Garin

Abraham Lincoln High School

Jaiden Kwok

George Washington High School

Alex Li

George Washington High School

Chloe Liang

Abraham Lincoln High School

Lucio Marcelos

Lowell High School

Joanna Martinez

Abraham Lincoln High School

Joseph Mejia

City Arts and Leadership Academy

Moises Mira

Abraham Lincoln High School

Dayana Moncada

Galileo High School

Joshua Peterson

Gateway High school

Evan Segall

San Francisco University High School

Charlotte Seigel

Abraham Lincoln High School

Jenny Song

George Washington High School

Laura Sorihin

Abraham Lincoln High School

Jami Truong

Abraham Lincoln High School

Hugo Zorn

Lowell High School

-Jami Truong

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Nayely Cruz

Nayely Cruz Vasquez is a junior at Galileo High School. She has always been fascinated by the sounds of musical instruments and enjoys studying piano theory. In her free time, she practices Taekwon-Do, focusing on learning new hand and kicking techniques. Although she is still undecided about her future major, through the UCSF Kanbar experience she has been able to explore what a day in the life of a healthcare provider is like, which has sparked her interest in the medical field.

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Jostin Garcia

Jostin is a junior at Abraham Lincoln High School. He has taken dance for two years, and his favorite subject is Marine Biology. During his freshman year, a high-level dance student positively impacted his life through the movement of dance and the way it could narrate stories. Soon after, Jostin began taking dance lessons and creating his own choreography. By the end of the school year, his choreography became part of the school’s annual Dance Showcase, where he performed with his friend. When not choreographing or dancing, Jostin focuses on his primary interest: marine life. He enjoys exploring the web and watching documentaries, taking notes on marine wildlife so that in the near future his career as a marine biologist will become one of his greatest accomplishments.

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Frida Garin

Frida Garin is a student at Abraham Lincoln High School. She is determined to attend college and pursue her dreams of studying in the medical field. Beyond academics, Frida is passionate about advocating for those who cannot stand up for themselves. She focuses her efforts on supporting women’s rights and immigrants. She has participated in multiple programs that strengthen her leadership in these communities, including Oasis For Girls, a program dedicated to empowering women of color and immigrants, and MyPath, which has given her opportunities to showcase her advocacy and speak to the city of San Francisco.

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Jaiden Kwok

Jaiden Kwok is a freshman at George Washington High School in San Francisco. His favorite subject is math, and he enjoys playing baseball as his main sport. He first discovered his love for the game in 5th grade during a school baseball game, which inspired him to pursue becoming the best player he can be while balancing academics. That experience also sparked his interest in sports overall, especially competitive ones. When Jaiden is not playing sports or studying math, he enjoys spending time with friends and family and watching a good movie now and then.”

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Alex Li

Alex Li is a senior at Washington High School who hopes to attend college to study Applied Mathematics. He is an active mathematics tutor for elementary, middle, and high school students at Virtual Tutoring San Francisco. Outside of tutoring, he participates in MyPath, working with fellow youth and adult mentors to promote the importance of financial capability for young people in the community. Through MyPath’s New ERA program for San Francisco high school students, he helped lead a campaign advocating for improved financial education curriculum, presenting to the San Francisco Youth Commission and several of MyPath’s partners. In addition to his roles as a tutor and student advocate, Alex is a dragon boat athlete with interests in photography and filmmaking.

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Chloe Liang

Chloe Liang is a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School. She is a new advocate at MyPath and recently joined the New ERA program to deepen her knowledge of finance. Chloe enjoys helping others and has participated in various community service activities and volunteer events to support her community. As the eldest sibling, a leader, and an active volunteer, she hopes to share what she learns at MyPath to help other youth understand how to manage and save money.

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Lucio Marcelos

Lucio is a senior at City Arts and Leadership who enjoys biking in his free time. He is part Indigenous and grew up in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Lucio is actively involved in the MyPath movement, contributing to initiatives that empower youth in his community. Through MyPath’s SF FLY program, he has advocated to influential organizations for youth-focused policies and endorsements. Additionally, Lucio has facilitated study groups in his community to raise awareness about mental health, demonstrating his commitment to supporting and educating others.

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Joanna Martinez

Joanna Martinez is a student at Abraham Lincoln High School with a passion for computer science. She has earned several awards through school and after-school programs, which inspire her to keep challenging herself academically. Her current goal is to take as many computer science classes as possible to prepare for her future career. Outside of school, she enjoys listening to music, going on walks, and playing video games.

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Joseph Mejia

Joseph Mejia is a 9th grader at City Arts and Leadership Academy. He has been playing on his school’s soccer teams since the 1st grade, where he developed a strong passion for sports. His favorite subject is math, which he enjoys because it feels like a secret language. This year, Joseph hopes to advocate for the creation of a boys’ volleyball team at his school. In his free time, he likes to practice his volleyball skills and connect with his peers through social media and his phone.

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Moises Mira

Moises Mira is a junior at San Francisco City Academy with a focus on finance and a second-year advocate for New ERA at MyPath. He enjoys playing sports and video games, and has even made some profit from gaming. Moises joined MyPath to learn about financial literacy, as his family has often faced challenges such as understanding how to manage credit. These experiences have inspired him to help others in the future with managing finances and learning how to work with money.

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Dayana Moncada

Dayana Moncada is a Senior at Galileo High School. She is incredibly passionate about scientific discovery and biology is her favorite subject. She volunteers at a research lab at UCSF, where she gains hands-on experience in the field. Dayana also enjoys activities such as taking walks, watching movies, and collecting Hironos. She intends to pursue a career in science the following year, continuing to explore and contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

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Joshua Peterson

Joshua Peterson, a proud San Francisco native, is a senior at Gateway High School with an interest in Visual Arts and Graphic Design. From a young age, Joshua has always been creative, making small drawings and portraits for family and friends. His 11th grade art teacher, Mr. Helland, helped him hone his creative skills across multiple mediums through projects and sketch time. In addition to visual arts, he has a passion for music and beat-making. When he’s not working on an art project or experimenting in BandLab, he enjoys listening to music, playing flag football in a Volo league, practicing baseball fielding, or gaming with friends.

Joshua is the President of the NAACP Youth Council in San Francisco, a 2023 awardee of the NAACP Youth and Excellence Award, and works with the Tindley Bridge to Arts and Music program at Third Baptist Church. As a senior preparing for college, he has not yet chosen a school, but his top three choices are Sacramento State, Soka University, and Clark Atlanta University.

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Evan Segall

Evan Segall is a student at San Francisco University High School with a strong passion for leadership and community engagement. In his first year in the Advocates for a New ERA program with the nonprofit MyPath, Evan is learning about and advocating for youth financial literacy and education. Motivated by his leadership experience in clubs and student government, he has worked with local San Francisco organizations such as the Haight-Ashbury Food Program and the Richmond Neighborhood Center on grant projects and initiatives to improve volunteer turnout. In his neighborhood of Cole Valley, Evan serves as the Youth Ambassador for the Cole Valley Improvement Association. His experience leading his middle school’s finance club showed him the need for stronger youth financial education, which inspired him to join MyPath to advocate on behalf of his peers. Outside of academics and community work, Evan is a fencer, a cross-country runner, and an older brother to his younger sibling.

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Charlotte Seigel

Charlotte is a sophomore at Abraham Lincoln High School and lives in San Francisco with her family. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, skiing, and reading. Charlotte has volunteered with organizations such as Meals on Wheels and the Buddhist Church of San Francisco for over two years. She has also been a babysitter for three years and worked as a camp counselor for San Francisco Recreation and Parks department this past summer. She is interested in business, finance, and communications.

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Laura Sorihin

Laura is a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School, and her favorite subject is science, specifically biotechnology. When she was younger, Laura disliked science, preferring other subjects instead. Over time, she discovered how science connects to family history and how technology is used to understand or cure diseases, which sparked her interest. Laura has since volunteered at libraries and hospitals, participated in tutoring and internships related to science, and built community and other skills while pursuing her passion.

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Jami Truong

Jami Truong is a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School and is eager for new experiences. Since she was a young child, she has been curious about how people generate ideas, and her interest grew after taking AP Psychology. For now, Jami’s goal is to attend a reputable college and major in psychology. Besides that, she enjoys hanging out with friends, exploring new places, or trying different kinds of food with them.

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Hugo Zorn

Hugo Zorn is a sophomore at Lowell High School with a strong interest in science and medicine. His passion began at an early age, shaped by his mother’s battle with cancer, which gave him a firsthand understanding of the challenges patients and families face as well as the hope that medical progress can bring. Encouraged by his parents to support others, Hugo served as the student representative for the Reed Union School District, where he learned to listen to diverse perspectives, advocate for students, and use leadership for positive change. He has explored his interests through research, completing a CRISPR program at UC Berkeley, winning the EcoInnovate scientific paper competition, and authoring a paper on the effects of pesticides in bees that was submitted for publication in the Journal of Emerging Investigators. Together, these experiences continue to strengthen both his scientific skills and his commitment to making a meaningful impact.