Bright Spots: A Global Jewish Movement Led by Teens, for Teens

Bright Spots: A Global Jewish Movement Led by Teens, for Teens

From Good Things from Lemonada by Lemonada Media

May 12, 2026 · 31 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the role of teens in leadership within the BBYO movement and the importance of youth engagement in democratic processes.

What if we recognized the importance of teens as leaders today, and not just in the future? That's exactly what BBYO, the global Jewish teen movement, has been doing for over a century: bringing young Jewish people together and empowering them to lead in the organization, their communities and beyond. In this episode, host Gloria Riviera sits down with BBYO's current teen presidents, Logan Reich and Mercedes Benzaquen, to hear about their leadership, experience managing elections at BBYO’s International Convention this year, and what the record-breaking number of teen candidates says about young people's motivation to engage today. Together, they show us what meaningful youth leadership looks like, why participating in real democratic processes is so powerful, and what other organizations can learn from a movement that trusts teens to lead. This episode is created in partnership with Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies. Learn how your teen can get involved in BBYO and be inspired by the role teen voices can play in shaping your community at bbyo.org/get-involved

People in this episode

Host: Gloria Riviera

Guests: Logan Reich, Mercedes Benzaquen

Topics covered

  • youth leadership
  • Jewish community
  • teen empowerment
  • democratic processes
  • BBYO

Keywords

  • BBYO
  • teen leadership
  • youth empowerment
  • Jewish teens
  • democracy
  • community engagement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBYO

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