Shaping the Future: UP Partnership Launches First-Ever Leaders of Tomorrow Fellowship
Twenty leaders selected from across Bexar County for new leadership program aimed at San Antonio’s youth
San Antonio, TX (Aug. 28, 2025) — UP Partnership proudly announced the selection of its inaugural cohort of UP Leaders of Tomorrow (ULoT), a fellowship program aimed at empowering young leaders between the ages of 16 and 24 to grow their skills in leadership, civic engagement, and systems-level change.
The ULoT Fellowship will run from September 2025 through May 2026, engaging fellows in a transformative journey through leadership development, mentorship, and community-based advocacy. The 20 selected participants will commit approximately 10 hours per month to attend leadership training sessions, work with mentors and guest speakers, and contribute to youth-led community projects. The youth live across diverse City Council Districts and Bexar County Precincts.
“These young leaders represent the voice and vision of San Antonio’s future,” said Cathy Jones, Ph.D., UP Partnership’s CEO. “We hope their participation in this fellowship will equip them with the tools they need to advocate for building better communities where everyone can thrive.”
Fellows will receive a stipend of $2,500 disbursed in three installments over the program’s duration. The stipend will serve as payment for the time and dedication these youth will invest in educational programming and active participation in civic initiatives on behalf of the Future Ready Bexar County Plan.
The UP Leaders of Tomorrow Fellowship reflects our community’s Future Ready mission to amplify youth voice in shaping systems that serve them — from education to workforce pathways. By building young people’s capacities in policy, leadership, and collective impact, the fellowship supports the development of tomorrow’s changemakers today.
The 2024–2025 UP Leaders of Tomorrow Fellowship class represents a diverse cross-section of young leaders across Bexar County. Collectively, the fellows represent seven local school districts including Future Ready Public School Districts East Central ISD, Harlandale ISD, Judson ISD, Northside ISD and San Antonio ISD; five higher education institutions including Future Ready Partners Northwest Vista College, St. Philip’s College, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, Trinity University, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and University of Texas at San Antonio; and includes two recent university graduates.
In addition, they bring connections to numerous community-based organizations including Future Ready Partners Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Texas, Healthy Futures of Texas, Lemonade Circle, Students of Service – San Antonio, Youth Do Vote, YMCA of Greater San Antonio and YWCA San Antonio and represent all San Antonio City Council districts and Bexar County precincts.
More about UP Partnership:
Founded in 2009, UP Partnership’s mission is to ensure all young people in Bexar County are ready for the future. We are a San Antonio-based nonprofit social impact organization that coordinates data, aligns pathways and promotes policy change that can help to unlock the full potential of young people ages 0-24 years in our region. Learn more about UP and the Future Ready Bexar County Plan – a strategic plan to guide shared action, language, goals, metrics, and practices that drive progress – at uppartnership.org.
More about Future Ready Bexar County:
In April 2022, UP Partnership launched the Future Ready Bexar County Plan, which currently has more than 100 institutions signed on as official partners. This plan identified pillars that are necessary for improving outcomes among young people in our community – healing, access, voice and system supports. The Future Ready Bexar County Plan has a collective North Star goal of increasing postsecondary and credential enrollment of Bexar County’s high school graduates from around 50% at the launch of the plan to 70% by 2030. For more information on the Future Ready Bexar County plan, please visit: FutureReadySA.org.