Office of Youth Empowerment / Future Innovators

The problem

Young people hear a lot of promises from a lot of different offices, but there's no single door in City Hall that answers for them. Opportunities scatter across departments, and youth voices get lost in the shuffle.

The plan

The Office of Youth Empowerment becomes Tampa's one front door for young people — coordinating youth programs across departments, amplifying youth voices in policy, and running the Future Innovators track for young builders and founders.

The office reports publicly on youth outcomes and keeps a standing advisory of young residents so the work answers to the people it's for.

How you’ll know it’s working

• Office established with published mission and stage labels
• Programs coordinated across departments under one door
• Future Innovators participants per cohort
• Youth advisory input reflected in published decisions

From the Blueprint

• Innovation Hubs in community centers and libraries close the '3 PM to 6 PM gap' with Future Innovators tech labs: 3D printers, coding stations, AV studios.
• Corporate 'Adopt-a-Lab' partnerships with local tech and engineering firms fund hub equipment.
• The Youth Leadership Academy runs cohorts of 50 students who advise city departments and earn a completion stipend.
• 'Safe Passage' gives students free HART rides to hubs and jobs, with the student ID doubling as a transit pass.
• Every hub serves a hot meal or snack from 3 to 6 PM through food-bank partnerships; year 2 expands the pilot to five more locations.
• The revamped TPD Explorer program pairs 100 cadets with officer-mentors, focused on community policing and forensics.

We aren't just babysitting; we are building the next generation of Tampa's entrepreneurs.