Youth Mental Health Summit Brings Together California Leaders & Young Voices for Conversation on the Youth Wellbeing Challenge

Coalition to Empower our Future Hosts a Mental Health Summit in Sacramento to Examine the Complex Factors; Discuss the Need for Comprehensive Solutions

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Coalition to Empower our Future (CEF), a growing partnership focused on understanding the many contributing factors surrounding youth mental health and wellbeing, hosted a summit in Sacramento featuring a group of local mental health experts, community leaders and youth voices. The half-day event featured a diverse set of voices discussing the complex factors driving youth mental health challenges and the need for comprehensive solutions.

The event featured a fireside chat with CEF Board Member and former Montana Governor Steve Bullock and former California Senate President and Mayor of Sacramento Darrell Steinberg. It then went into a set of panels with mental health advocates, youth leaders and California community leaders that focused on the complex challenges surrounding youth wellbeing and the kinds of solutions that can drive progress.

„The discussions in Sacramento exemplify both the pressing nature of this challenge and the incredible energy behind solving it,“ said Glen Weiner, executive director of CEF. „Hearing from such a wide range of voices emphasizes how complex and layered this challenge can be, and how a narrow approach to solutions in this field risks leaving many young folks behind. Our solutions need to meet a challenge this nuanced with the thoughtfulness it deserves.“

Speakers attending the panels included representatives from local and national organizations, student advocates and other community leaders, including: