Join us for the 2026 YCD Changemakers Gala on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 6:00–9:00 PM at the Denver Art Museum for an inspiring evening dedicated to uplifting youth leadership, celebrating community impact, and ensuring this critical work continues to thrive.
Interested in Sponsoring This Year’s Gala? See Our Sponsorship Opportunities Here!
About the Event
We invite you to join us at The YCD Changemakers Gala, our biggest community-building and fundraising event of the year! Come together with 300+ supporters of the youth movement for inclusion and justice as we honor and celebrate the work of our incredible youth and educators. Join us on Saturday, September 19, 2026 to empower students with education, leadership and organizing skills that will enable them to take action creating a positive difference in their schools and communities.
Keynote Speaker and Changemaker Award Recipients
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Lisa Calderón
We are honored and excited to welcome Dr. Lisa Calderón as this year’s keynote speaker at the YCD Changemakers Gala. Her passion for empowering communities and her commitment to uplifting the next generation of leaders align deeply with our work and we look forward to the inspiration and insight she will bring to this special evening as we celebrate the power and potential of young changemakers.
Dr. Lisa Calderón is a Denver-based educator, attorney, and community advocate dedicated to advancing equity, justice, and opportunity. A proud Coloradan, she draws on her lived experience and more than two decades of leadership across nonprofit, public policy, and education spaces. Her work has focused on critical issues such as criminal justice reform, housing access, and economic equity, and she has helped empower new leaders through education, advocacy, and civic engagement. Calderón is also a recognized voice in Denver’s civic landscape, including her current campaign for Denver mayor, where she has championed community-driven solutions and inclusive leadership.
Community Changemaker Award: Kathleen Nalty
Kathleen Nalty is an expert in strategies for creating cultures of inclusion to retain and advance diverse talent. She specializes in helping organizations identify systemic issues that cause higher attrition rates for people in already underrepresented groups. Kathleen has devoted her entire career to her passion for diversity, civil rights, and inclusion. She currently works with a wide variety of organizations, including law firms, corporations, and government organizations.
In 2015, she published a “how to” book for law firm leaders entitled Going “All-In” on Diversity and Inclusion: The Law Firm Leader’s Playbook that includes new tools for advancing diversity and inclusion. In April 2017, Kathleen was invited to give a TEDx talk – Diversity Makes You Smarter – at the University of Colorado.
Kathleen founded the Center for Legal Inclusiveness (CLI) in Denver, Colorado in 2007 and led the nonprofit as its Executive Director through January 2013. In this role, Kathleen developed the only “how to” manual for legal organizations with a comprehensive step-by-step process for removing hidden barriers to retention and creating an inclusive workplace. In 2012, Kathleen led 10 half-day training sessions across the U.S. on diversity and inclusion for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association as part of its new Academy for Diversity & Inclusion. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law School from 2012-2018, where she taught a course on diversity and inclusion.
Kathleen earned a B.A. from the University of Denver and a J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School. She started her career as a law clerk to a federal district court judge in Denver. Kathleen was then selected to participate in the Attorney General’s Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. As a federal civil rights prosecutor in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, Kathleen worked on cases involving hate crimes, police brutality, and slavery. After returning to Colorado, Kathleen continued to pursue her passion for civil rights and diversity by co-founding a hate violence task force as well as a regional legal diversity job fair. She also worked for the University of Denver (DU) Sturm College of Law as a Consultant in the Career Development Office where she specialized in assisting employers and students with diversity programs and initiatives.
Kathleen has received multiple awards for her ground-breaking work in diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice from several organizations, including the University of Colorado (March 2022), Center for Legal Inclusiveness (Lifetime Achievement Award 2018), Colorado Women’s Business Chamber, Colorado & Denver Bar Associations, Colorado GLBT Bar Association, Sam Cary Bar Association, Colorado Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Colorado Women’s Bar Foundation, Colorado Lawyers Committee, Denver Urban Debate League, the University of Denver Center for Multicultural Excellence, and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Kathleen has been a longtime donor and supporter of YCD going back over two decades, and regularly attends the YCD Colorado conference as well as YCD fundraising events.
Student Changemaker Award: Milagros Barsallo Rubio
Milagros Barsallo Rubio is an organizer and entrepreneur committed to sharing the power of community organizing as a driving force for systemic change and has dedicated her career to public service. From starting her career in the classroom as a bilingual elementary school teacher, to most recently teaching students at the University of Panama as a US Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor, she believes education and information play a crucial role in creating a more equitable society.
Milagros values the opportunity to build deep relationships and participate in projects that require strategic thinking, having honed these skills through her career in community organizing which began in 2011 working with families and teachers throughout Denver Public Schools. She has
experience working with and forming coalitions of stakeholders at all levels of interest and engagement in public systems, creating inclusive processes and campaigns.
In 2012, Milagros co-founded RISE Colorado, a non-profit that provides students and parents education and leadership development to engage the educational system and advocate for equity, especially within Aurora Public Schools. She jumped into the fast-paced and at times unpredictable nonprofit start-up world rapidly learning about and growing skills in organizational development, governance structures, finance and fundraising, sustainability, and continued program growth while implementing RISE’s mission.
Most recently, as a US Fulbright Scholar to Panama in addition to teaching students about community organizing and supporting their individual projects across the country, Milagros employed her skills in qualitative and action-based research to work on data collection for her research study, Guerreras Panameñas del Cambio Social, (Panamanian Women Warriors of Social Change). Milagros is currently working on the analysis of the data for publication in Spring of 2023 while seeking her next opportunity to support community-led change.
Milagros was on the YCD Colorado Student Board for three years: 2003-2005 (before it was YCD) when she was a student at St. Mary’s Academy. Milagros graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Government and International Relations, and from University of Colorado Denver with a MA in Curriculum and Instruction and Urban Pedagogy.
Student Changemaker Award: Terra’J Stewart, Jared Woodard, and Dameon Briggs
Terra’J Stewart, Jared Woodard, and Dameon Briggs are exceptional young leaders whose courage, vision, and commitment to community have created lasting change at Englewood High School and throughout Englewood Schools. As graduating seniors, they revitalized their school's Black Cultural Alliance, transforming it into a thriving, sustainable space where Black students could build community, celebrate their identities, and experience a deeper sense of belonging. Through thoughtful leadership, strategic collaboration, and a dedication to empowering their peers, they established a lasting foundation that will continue to impact students for years to come.
Additionally, Terra’J, Jared, and Dameon have used the power of their own lived experiences to inspire educators and strengthen school communities. They co-developed and facilitated the impactful workshop Beyond the Margins: Our Stories are Our Power, sharing personal stories of resilience, identity, and belonging while equipping educators with practical strategies to create more inclusive learning environments. Their advocacy has sparked meaningful conversations across their district and inspired new opportunities for student voice, including the expansion of Black Cultural Alliance chapters to additional schools.