Now is the time for leaders to step up and lead with courage. That’s what children and families need. But how can a new generation of leaders inspire fresh ways of showing up for children and families? 

In November 2024, Ascend at the Aspen Institute conducted election exit polling and found that 80% of voters agreed or strongly agreed that for policies to work better for families, America needs different kinds of leaders than those who are currently making decisions. People long for leaders who cross partisan divides and are committed to real progress more than sticking to talking points.

While it can feel scary for policymakers to step outside of the rising walls of polarization, that is exactly what people want leaders to do so that they create more effective policy and systems change for families. As the next generation of leaders takes their seats in state legislatures across the country, Future Caucus – Ascend partner and the nation’s largest bipartisan organization for rising lawmakers –gathering Millennial and Gen Z leaders to forge bonds across ideological divides and collaboratively face challenges.

In January 2025, Aspen Vice President and Ascend Founder and Executive Director Anne Mosle hosted Layla Zaidane, president and CEO of Future Caucus, and Greggor Ilagan (D-HI) and Aaron Pilkington (R-AR), two state representatives in Future Caucus’ prenatal-to-three working group. Each of these family-focused leaders shared their top lesson for working beyond polarization and finding space for collaboration with other leaders who are striving to create intergenerational prosperity and well-being.

Lesson One: Deliver Results to Rediscover Our Common Identity | Layla Zaidane, President & CEO of Future Caucus

The need for a collective approach is stronger than ever. Future Caucus found that in recent research — 50% of American voters agreed that across the country we have lost our common identity and are now divided and polarized, up from 34% in 2014.

 Zaidane called out the need to reestablish a common identity to create long-lasting impact for families. “Legislators want to make durable, lasting change for their states and communities, and they know that durable change means you have to build broad-based coalitions to achieve it,” she said. “And once you do that, once you can prove that our institutions can deliver results, that’s the key to restoring voters’ confidence in our democracy and our institutions. That’s when you start to get that sense of shared identity back.”

Every day, Future Caucus works with over 1,800 Millennial and Gen Z legislators to reestablish that common identity. Future Caucus’ research showed that 85% of voters prefer respectful, collaborative leadership: that gives legislators a mandate and opportunity to find that common identity when working on behalf of families. Doing so can not only mean collectively creating better ideas for families but delivering real results that can restore community-level faith in America’s institutions. 

Lesson Two: Center Families, Center the Future | State Rep. Greggor Ilagan (D-HI)

As a Democrat in a “trifecta” state – one with a Democratic legislative majority and Democratic governor – Rep. Ilagan has every excuse to work only with his own party. “I’m a Democrat,” he explained. “But I also represent Republicans in my community: Just because they didn’t vote for me, I still represent them. However, we have some shared values that we can work together on. And that’s families. We both want to make sure that we take care of the parents of the children of our future.”

Putting families and other shared values at the heart of bipartisan solutions has been an effective strategy for Rep. Ilagan — not only in Hawaii, where he fights for new economic opportunities and job creation for young families, but when collaborating nationally through Future Caucus. For Ilagan, connecting to a shared vision and shared values bridges geographic and partisan divides to scale opportunities that make a real difference for families. He invites businesses and investors around the country and even internationally to bring their own solutions and jobs to Hawaii to support his state’s families.

Lesson Three: Invite Good Ideas from Anywhere | State Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R-AR)

Rep. Pilkington also comes from a trifecta state, which has Republican representation across state governing bodies. He acknowledged that this does not mandate that his party understand every area or every resident. Yet, he is willing to listen to and collaborate across party lines to offer families in Arkansas the solutions they deserve.

Opening dialogue with Democrat colleagues in districts that looked very different than his own helped him collaborate on solutions to support breastfeeding-based health initiatives in districts that are predominately African American and have low breastfeeding uptake. Ultimately, by having honest conversations across the state, Rep. Pilkington gained approval to open a breastmilk bank in Arkansas and worked on overcoming the social barriers involved for families hesitant to use it.

He shared, “That’s a very small microcosm of when you have those dialogues, and you honestly say, ‘I don’t know the answers about this, but it’s good for me to bring other people in.’ We’re in a trifecta state, and people all the time ask me, ‘Why do you even talk to Democrats? You don’t need them.’ And I tell people that the reality is Democrats still have good ideas too. If you’re going to try to reach more families, you have to engage with their elected representatives and listen to their ideas. As that process goes on, then it does become way more collaborative.” 

Lesson Four: Reject Zero-Sum Thinking | Anne Mosle, Vice President at the Aspen Institute & Executive Director, Ascend

“What keeps all of us at the Aspen Institute motivated is the idea that our diversity is our strength,” explains Mosle. Ascend uplifts state leaders because of the wealth of experiences and backgrounds present on a local level, where constituent families live, work and play across generations.

While the “game of politics has winners and losers,” Mosle acknowledged, “we have an opportunity in today’s changing legislative landscape to reject the idea that when it comes to driving policy and systems change and innovation regarding families, that someone has to lose. By centering common goals for family success, like Rep. Ilagan [does]; or listening to new ideas to support parents and children, as Rep. Pilkington does; and connecting on common identity, as Layla Zaidane encourages, legislators, families and communities alike can all move forward. With a focus on collaborating for families, no one gets left behind.” 

For more information on centering families in policy and practice, explore Ascend’s recent Ascending with Parents guide.