At GCE-US, we are proud to see our Youth Advocate alumni carrying their passion for education and civic engagement into impactful careers. In this Q&A, Andrea “Andi” Glauber reflects on how her experience with the GCE-US Youth Advocacy Program in 2014 helped shape her leadership journey, the importance of centering community voices in policymaking, and why young advocates should never underestimate the influence they have today. Now serving as Director of Collective Action at America’s Promise Alliance, Andi shares lessons from her career and advice for the next generation of changemakers.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us what you’re doing now?
I’m Andi Glauber, and I’m currently the Director of Collective Action at America’s Promise Alliance, a national nonprofit that brings together over 180 of the leading youth-serving organizations in the US. In my role, I design and lead multi-organization collaborations around shared challenges affecting young people, particularly across postsecondary education and workforce pathways. My work is really about figuring out how we can accomplish more collectively than any one organization could accomplish alone.
What first inspired you to become involved with GCE-US?
I first learned about GCE-US while I was studying international development and conflict management at the University of Maryland and interning at Save the Children during my senior year. At the time, I was supporting the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals.
I had always been deeply interested in education policy and advocacy, and through that experience I learned about GCE-US and the youth advocacy program. I remember thinking, this is exactly what I need to get involved in. It gave me an opportunity not just to learn about education policy, but to understand how people can actually influence it.
Do you see connections between the education advocacy you did with GCE-US and the work you do now?
Absolutely. While my work today isn’t advocacy in the traditional sense, there is a direct through-line between what I learned through GCE-US and the work I now lead. At America’s Promise Alliance, I bring organizations together to identify shared challenges, learn from one another, and develop solutions that can influence systems and improve outcomes for young people at scale.
The GCE-US Youth Advocacy Program gave me the foundational understanding that meaningful change rarely happens because of one organization or one person acting alone. It requires intentional coalitions, strategic partnerships, a shared understanding of the problem, and the ability to translate complex visions into action.
What does meaningful advocacy mean to you?
Meaningful advocacy to me means ensuring that the people who stand to be most impacted by a policy or decision are the ones who are at the table before the policy is finalized, not just being asked for feedback afterward. That really means bringing people closest to the issue to the table at the earliest possible stage, honoring their lived experience, and creating meaningful ways for their perspectives to influence the outcome. Advocacy isn’t just about speaking on behalf of people; it’s about creating the conditions for people and communities to exercise their own voice and power.
How does education contribute to stronger communities and more effective civic participation?
As a former high school teacher, I believe education has extraordinary transformational potential. At its best, education gives young people the knowledge, skills, relationships, and sense of agency they need to shape their own lives and pursue whatever their definition of success may be. I’ve always thought of education as a pathway to self-actualization: it can help young people understand the world around them, recognize their own capacity to influence it, and become active contributors to their communities.
What advice would you give current GCE-US Youth Advocates?
When I participated in the Youth Advocacy Program, I remember feeling like I wasn’t a decision-maker. I didn’t think I had much opportunity to influence outcomes or make a real impact. But as I’ve moved from being a young adult into the early and middle stages of my career, I’ve realized something important: no one ever gives you a green light and says, “You’ve learned enough. You’ve practiced enough. Now it’s time for you to have influence.”
The truth is, you have far more influence than you think you do. Your words matter. Your perspective matters. And the relationships you build, even in the earliest days of your career and volunteer experiences, matter deeply.
So my advice is simple: don’t play small. Don’t wait for someone else to tell you that you’re ready. Ask questions. Share your perspective. Build relationships with people whose work you admire. Put yourself in rooms where you’re still learning. And recognize that you’re already making an impact, often in ways you can’t yet see. Chances are, your influence is far greater than you realize.
