Richard R RamosRichard R. Ramos. Founder of Parents on a Mission,Youth on a Mission, and Latino Coalition for Community Leadership

From Margins to Mainstream: Empowering Youth to Lead and Inspire Change

25 Aug 2026 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:09

In this YouTube video, Richard R. Ramos and a co‑host discuss the importance of youth empowerment and community mentorship. They describe how Ramos began engaging with young people—seeing them as future leaders with unique gifts—and how his “Youth on a Mission” program (the counterpart to “Parents on a Mission”) provides a curriculum that teaches responsibility, leadership, and the value of community. The conversation highlights personal anecdotes about kids feeling uncared for, the role of mentors in reshaping those narratives, and the long‑term impact of nurturing today’s youth who will become tomorrow’s parents. Ramos also references his book, From the Margins to the Mainstream, which frames his philosophy of turning marginalized voices into mainstream leadership.

Chapters

And I started seeing those kids like my kids, and I started loving on them and encouraging them and teaching them we're all leaders and we all have gifts and we got to use them. And hearing these kids like, well, my parents don't care, I'm raised by my grandma, I could do whatever I want. And it's bringing it back to them and understanding how important is our community, because one day they're going to be parents.
That's right.
And I'm pretty sure they don't want their kids to be the way they are, right?
Um, well, quick, I just want to— for those of you that don't know, Youth on a Mission is the counterpart to Parents on a Mission. You've heard me talk a lot about Parents on a Mission. Youth on a Mission is also a program I wrote and I wrote a curriculum. I wrote a book, From the Margins to the Mainstream, which you might see there behind me. So that curriculum is based on that book.