Coalition To Empower Our Future Releases New Ad Featuring Coalition for Student Wellbeing: Shriya

Spot Highlights the Importance of Including Student Voices in Conversation on Solutions to Address Youth Mental Health Challenges and Consequences of Narrow Approaches

For Immediate Release:
June 4, 2026
Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As young people across the country face a complex, multifaceted mental health challenge, the Coalition to Empower our Future (CEF), a growing partnership focused on understanding the complexity of factors and solutions surrounding youth mental health and wellbeing, today launched a new ad, “Shriya,” highlighting the importance of student voices in driving the conversation on youth mental health.

The spot emphasizes the importance of including young people in conversations about solutions to the youth mental health challenge, recognizing that youth are some of the most important voices in developing meaningful, comprehensive solutions to their own wellbeing.

The new ad features Shriya, a council member for the Coalition for Student Wellbeing, a nonprofit that mobilizes a national network of student leaders to advocate for improved mental health policies and resources on college campuses by connecting students with educators and policymakers. It highlights Shriya’s perspective as a student on the unique challenges young people face today, including academic pressure and a rapidly changing world. She underscores that addressing youth mental health requires more than narrow approaches.

Instead, she notes the challenge needs comprehensive solutions that address every child’s unique mental health experiences and include the voices, insights and active participation of young people themselves. The Coalition for Student Wellbeing is a member of the Coalition to Empower our Future.

“In our conversations with communities across the country, we’ve consistently seen how essential it is to involve students in the conversation around building solutions to support their own mental health and wellbeing,” said Glen Weiner, executive director of CEF. “By centering youth perspectives, we can ensure that those most directly affected have a meaningful role in developing effective, lasting solutions that reflect their lived experiences and unique needs. Youth mental health is a complex challenge shaped by many factors, and addressing it requires a comprehensive range of solutions. Overly narrow approaches, such as bans, risk oversimplifying the issue and falling short of what young people need.”

Learn more about the importance of comprehensive solutions to support youth wellbeing by visiting: empowerourfuturecoalition.com/solutions.

Watch “Shriya” here.

Script:

Students today face unique challenges.

Adolescence can be confusing, complicated and scary, with lots of change, a ton of pressure and a complex world around us.

When it comes to improving youth mental health, we need a comprehensive solution

And students need to be a part of the conversation.

If we don’t get this right, we’ll miss a critical opportunity to make real change for generations to come.

Get involved today at empowerourfuturecoalition.com

About the Coalition to Empower our Future

Coalition to Empower our Future is a newly formed organization bringing together a range of voices to fully inform solutions that empower youth, parents, communities, and society. The Coalition to Empower our Future supports solutions that are inclusive of the full spectrum of factors impacting youth mental health. Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock, former U.S. Representative Carlos Curbelo, and Dr. Caroline Carney, a board-certified psychiatrist and internist, serve on the board of directors of the Coalition to Empower our Future.

To learn more, visit empowerourfuturecoalition.com or follow Coalition to Empower our Future on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

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