In partnership with the William James Association, Nancy Miller Gomez will launch her project which aims to harness the power of poetry to support and uplift youth, providing them with opportunities for creative expression, leadership, and community engagement. In collaboration with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, the initiative will engage youth in three ways: poetry workshops led by accomplished facilitators; a youth leadership team that will produce an anthology showcasing the poetry of students in the workshops and other youth in the county; and a poetry reading and spoken word celebration organized by the youth leadership team for workshop students to present their poems alongside members of the Youth Poet Laureate program and the poetry community.