By: Allison Magee, President and Executive Director, Zellerbach Family Foundation

Recently, a colleague and I debated whether meaningful and sustainable systems change is a result of internal or external forces; does it happen because of strong advocacy efforts and community programs that push systems towards reform, or from visionary leaders who work within the system to affect change?

Eventually, we agreed that the most transformational change is the result of an inside-outside approach. This includes innovative service providers who prioritize the needs of the communities they serve, advocates who unapologetically bring the voices of lived experience to the table, and policy makers and system leaders, who understand the complexities of public systems and, after listening to the community, are willing to make unconventional and sometimes unpopular decisions on their behalf.

Real change requires imagination, power, and solutions that come from leaders who, despite differences in perspective or experience, can work together to create more equitable systems, institutions, and communities. At the Zellerbach Family Foundation, we’ve supported a wide range of leaders that represent our diverse and changing communities, and we’ve seen their impact across sectors.

The recent reforms in our youth justice system, both at the state and local levels, exemplify the power of collaborative leadership. California’s unprecedented efforts to pass and implement transformational change in our youth justice systems have resulted in a 75% drop in the number of youth held across the state’s detention facilities between 2002 and 2023. San Francisco and Alameda counties have reduced their youth incarceration rates by 78% and 73%, respectively, over the same period. Mindful that the momentum across the Bay Area and California to reimagine youth justice is fragile, we asked ourselves: What is the role that we as sector leaders, community organizations, youth justice advocates, and funders can play to build on recent wins – from removing police from schools to closing California’s Division of Juvenile Justice?

Guided by our learning agenda and inspired by the question of “what is needed to make space for imagination in systems work,” ZFF, in partnership with the San Francisco Foundation, the Akonadi Foundation, the California Wellness Foundation, and the California Funders for Boys and Men of Color (CFBMoC) has launched Journey to Justice, a learning cohort designed to explore what’s possible when we step out of our comfort zone to work across sectors, beliefs, and practices. Through our work together, this cohort of thought leaders, community providers, and policy makers will work to strengthen their relationships, especially those who may have opposing approaches and philosophies, and reimagine how our systems can work to support young people.

The program’s highlight will be a week of travel to New Zealand to explore its youth justice system, which is steeped in long-held cultural practices that belong to the Māori people. The use of restorative justice originated with the Māori people and New Zealand has spent decades adapting its youth justice system to incorporate practices that divert youth from detention, leaning heavily on restorative principles in every contact youth have with the legal system.

While this trip offers the opportunity to deepen our understanding of restorative youth justice and how we can reimagine our own sectors, it is also about relationship-building. By spending time away from the distractions of our offices, day-to-day conversations, and news cycles, we will have a chance to connect across sectors and differences of role and thought to uncover what we can be doing better when it comes to youth justice.

We are also committed to ensuring that the insights and efforts gained from this experience are translated into action. Through workshops, learning opportunities, and gatherings before and after the trip, we’ll be going beyond an inspiring moment to build on what we started, and challenge participants to think differently about the change they can have within their sectors and themselves.

I am hopeful that we’ll all return from this journey inspired and committed to what we can be doing in our institutions, and how we can better engage, invest, and create more equitable and just outcomes for our youth. Together, we can continue to ensure our systems support, not harm our young people throughout the Bay Area and beyond.