Meet Saanvi Arora

We recently connected with Saanvi Arora and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Saanvi, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

I didn’t so much “find” my purpose as I lived my way into it. I was 15 when I lost a close friend to suicide, and that grief cracked something open in me. Suddenly, policy wasn’t abstract, but became personal. I saw how systems failed young people, how silence was killing us, and how so few spaces actually listened when we spoke up.

So I started writing and drafting what would become real legislation, based on real stories that I gathered through organizing with students who were tired of being ignored. And somewhere along the way, I realized: this was my purpose– to make sure young people’s lived experiences could shape the systems that were never built with us in mind.

But purpose evolves. For me, it’s grown into a bridge between movements and institutions, and between technology and justice. I don’t think purpose is one fixed thing we chase, but rather something we uncover by showing up, again and again, and being intentional about moving in the direction of what matters to us in the now.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m the founder and Executive Director of the Youth Power Project (YPP), a youth-led nonprofit that helps young people turn lived experience into lasting policy change. Our work spans mental health, tech ethics, education, reproductive justice, and beyond, and we’re proud to have helped introduce and pass over a dozen youth-authored bills at the state and federal level, including legislation unanimously through the US Senate.

What makes our work special is that it doesn’t ask young people to wait until they have a degree or a title to lead. We believe that if you’ve lived it, you should help write the laws about it. That means putting young people in rooms they’ve historically been shut out of like legislative hearing rooms and city halls.

Beyond policy, we’re building a brand that bridges truth-telling and systems change. Our campaigns blend peer storytelling, digital media, and cultural organizing, because we know that shifting narratives is just as important as shifting laws. Right now, I’m especially excited about Wellness Wins, our national storytelling initiative on youth mental health, and our advisory efforts to help brands, policymakers, and philanthropists design trauma-informed, ethically grounded strategies with real community input.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Early on, I had to unlearn the idea that expertise only comes with traditional credentials. Some of the most impactful moments in my work, from writing mental health legislation to advising federal agencies, came from trusting that my own story, and the stories of my peers, were valid starting points for systems change. So my advice would be to start by honoring your own experience, and seek out spaces that take it seriously. Read policy, yes — but also write from what you know. Movements need our realities.

Second, I’ve learned that my background in both tech and policy lets me navigate rooms that usually don’t talk to each other. I can walk into a legislative hearing and speak on trauma-informed systems, then step into a data governance meeting and explain encryption, and then come up with a common frame for both rooms to work with one another. The key is recognizing that most people are talking about the same values — safety, trust, dignity — but using wildly different language. My job is often just translation: reframing a tech conversation in human terms, or helping a policymaker see where a technical design has ethical stakes. So my second piece of advice would be — don’t be afraid to be a generalist. Learn just enough about an adjacent field to ask good questions, and to find the common ground. That’s often all it takes to shift a conversation.

Lastly, nothing I’ve done has been done alone. Building authentic relationships with other young organizers, with policymakers, and with storytellers has been the heartbeat of everything. Policy moves when people move together. So my last piece of advice would be to invest in relationships before you need them. Show up with care, not just with asks. The people you build with now will become your collaborators, your validators, and those who lead our fields in the future.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Yes! We’re always looking to collaborate with people and organizations who share a commitment to youth power, ethical systems design, and narrative change. Whether you’re a policymaker looking to co-create youth-informed legislation, a funder interested in supporting movement-rooted mental health work, or a brand or tech team seeking to build trauma-informed, culturally grounded campaigns — we’d love to connect. We’re especially excited to work with those who value cross-sector collaboration and are willing to rethink traditional approaches to care, storytelling, and civic engagement. If that sounds like you, you can reach out through our website at www.youthpowerproject.org, on LinkedIn, or by email at [email protected].

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.youthpowerproject.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youthpwrproject/ OR https://www.instagram.com/saanviaarora/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/youth-power-project/