Tess Ross-Callahan

Tess Ross-Callahan is a Democracy Coach at Tufts University, who got her start in a Generation Citizen classroom as a high school student in 2012. Selected as a Student Changemaker at Civics Day, Tess inspired her classmates from Arlington High School and her peers across Greater Boston with her commitment to long-term political engagement. She continues to motivate young people with her story of becoming active in her community, and proves that every voice can make a difference. Check out Tess’s reflections on her first days with Generation Citizen here.

“Being a Democracy Coach is one of the best ways to convince students to take part in their education, and goes even further by teaching them what an education is for: making a difference. Of course I want to be a part of that.”

As a Democracy Coach, Tess led her former classmates from Arlington High School in two action projects that increased youth voice in Arlington’s decision-making. One project involved lobbying school leadership to accept a “Priority Parking” proposal that would facilitate more access to parking for Arlington students. A second project involved working with the district school board to change the student representative on the board from a non-voting member to a voting member.