About Tiana

Tiana Day is an award-winning advocate, social entrepreneur, and Founder & Executive Director of Youth Advocates for Change (YAFC), a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying youth voices and developing the next generation of leaders and changemakers.

Tiana began her advocacy journey at 17, when she organized the 2020 Black Lives Matter protest on the Golden Gate Bridge, mobilizing an estimated 50,000 people. Just three days after graduating high school, she founded Youth Advocates for Change to create the kind of spaces she wished she had as a young person—spaces where youth are trusted, supported, and given meaningful opportunities to lead.

Since 2020, YAFC has reached more than thousands of young people and educators through youth leadership development, advocacy, mentorship, and programming designed to strengthen the systems that support young people. Tiana’s work centers on helping youth understand the power of their lived experiences, develop agency and confidence in their voices while helping them transform their ideas into meaningful action.

Tiana studied at the University of Southern California's Iovine and Young Academy, an interdisciplinary program at the intersection of business, technology, design, and communication. She is currently continuing her entrepreneurial development through the Harvard Business School Foundry Program, further expanding her work at the intersection of leadership, innovation, and social impact.

Her work has earned national recognition, including being named a CNN Young Wonder, Golden State Warriors Impact Warrior, and Kean University Outstanding Human Rights Activist.

As a speaker, Tiana draws from her journey from student activist to nonprofit founder and social entrepreneur to inspire audiences to recognize the power they already hold to lead, advocate, and create change—regardless of their age or title.

Book tiana as a speaker

Awards and features

SXSW 2025 - Panelist on "Gen Z vs the Gerontocracy" by History Made by Us

Tiana Day, Founder & Executive Director of Youth Advocates for Change, speaks on the SXSW 2025 panel Gen Z vs. the Gerontocracy: Reclaiming America’s Future alongside fellow Gen Z leaders Andrew Roth, Founder & CEO of dcdx; Dillon St. Bernard, Founder of Amplify Pledge; and moderator Alex Edgar of Made By Us. Together, they explored the future of leadership, intergenerational collaboration, and how institutions can create meaningful pathways for the next generation to lead and shape America’s future.

Watch the panel here

SXSW EDU 2025 -Student Impact Challenge by Allstate Foundation

Tiana served as a judge for the 2025 Student Impact Challenge at SXSW EDU, where high school innovators from across the United States and around the world presented solutions to pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges. Tiana joined fellow judges Kate Nack of The Allstate Foundation, Juanita Soranno of Cengage Group, and Rohit Srinivasan of Trashbots to evaluate the student-led innovations and select the 2025 Student Impact Award winner.

Tiana Day honored as "Outstanding Human Rights Activist" from Kean University

Tiana Day receives the 2025 Outstanding Human Rights Activist Award from the Human Rights Institute at Kean University, where she delivered a keynote on leading with love, cultivating empathetic leaders, and creating inclusive spaces where vulnerability is embraced as a strength. https://www.kean.edu/news/kean-human-rights-conference-shows-how-gen-z-changing-world-0

SXSW EDU 2024 Workshop with Allstate Foundation

Tiana Day presents a workshop at SXSW EDU 2024 alongside researchers John Dugan and Kristan Cilente Skendall on the future of youth-led service. Tiana co-authored In Our Own Voices: Youth Perspectives on Community Service and served as an associate editor of Leveraging the Potential of Youth Service: A Call to Action, developed through a partnership between the Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity and The Allstate Foundation. The publications center youth perspectives and offer a new framework for advancing youth-led, youth-driven service across the country.

Read The Report Here

Awarded: CNN Heroes of 2020, Young Wonder

Yara Shahidi honors Young Wonder Tiana Day who led a protest of thousands across the Golden Gate Bridge. Get Involved: CNNHeroes.com.

Source: CNN

Awarded: Bay Area Impact Warrior

Tiana Day was presented with the "Bay Area Impact Warrior" award during halftime from the Golden State Warriors in May of 2021.

Read Here

Recognition Resolution- SF Commission on The Status of Women

The San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women recognize Tiana Day as community activist and organizer.

Read Here

Tiana Day for Canva Design Stories

"Student activist Tiana Day had never led a march or protest, but a chance encounter with a fellow student on social media changed her world forever. A poster she created in Canva and shared on social media drew more than 50,000 people to join a peaceful protest across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in 2020. Tiana said the moment “lit a fire” within her and sparked her passion for activism. As a result, she founded her non-profit organization, Youth Advocates For Change, which champions youth-led causes. Watch Tiana’s empowering story and see how Canva has become an essential tool in the non-profit’s daily operations. "

Watch the campaign here

Tiana Day for HP's "Madam President" Campaign

Featured in HP's holiday campaign "Madam President", where she acts as the Secretary of State alongside globally recognized student scientist, Fionn Fierra, activist, Jacqueline Azah and founder Kavya Kopparapu.

Watch the campaign here