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Francisco Castillo understands that knowledge is power, and even at the age of 21, he has quite a resume in leadership. But dig a little deeper and you'll see that for him, knowledge is about getting to know others and working with them to resolve issues and challenges, be they interpersonal, organizational, or communal.

"I'm into the idea of organizing but not in the traditional sense," he explains. "When I first got involved as a leader at my high school, what I liked was getting other young people together and building a relationship with the administration. As we got to know each other and as we saw what could happen when we worked as a group, people really got motivated."

In fact, it was organizing to resolve those school issues that motivated Castillo. Now a college student also working part-time with the city of San Francisco, he hasn't stopped since he got involved in his high school. Nominated by a city supervisor to serve on the San Francisco Youth Commission, Castillo not only took on that challenge, he rose to the challenge of serving as the Chair of the Commission for the two terms he was part of the commission.

With a mission of acting as a voice for youth in San Francisco, the Commission under Castillo's leadership didn't just speak, it created, organized, and advocated for all of the city's youth. Among other initiatives undertaken by the commission while Castillo served on it were organizing itself into committees, creating a Youth Empowerment Conference, and leading a Housing Lobby Day.

The Youth Empowerment Conference, which was held during both years that he served on the commission brought 600 young people from around the city together to attend workshops on nonviolence, sensitivity training, and art and dance. What sticks in Castillo's mind, though, is the outspokenness of the attendees. "We brought in three members of the Board of Education so they could hear what students had to say about their schools and education. There was a big line of young people waiting to talk about what needed to be fixed."

Clearly, giving young people a voice ranks high in Castillo's priorities because the other accomplishment he mentioned was another hearing in which members of the city's Board of Supervisor's Finance Committee listened to young people talk about what they thought should be funding priorities for the city. Castillo said that about 50 young people testified before the committee.

"It's so easy for young people's voices to get lost and I was really glad to have the chance to open up times for young people in San Francisco to be heard," he said. He went on to say that he is proudest of the relationships that were born and grew between the young people and the city's leaders under his leadership.

Though he left the commission after his second term, Castillo's leadership continues on a different scale. Active in Earthtrain, an international program and network of youth teaching youth skills such as leadership, advocacy, and community organization, Castillo serves as co-chair of the organization's Advisory Board. He also travels internationally as part of youth delegations, having recently visited Puerto Rico. He is also a new council member for Youth in Action, an organization that provides support and recognition for the voices, ideas, and positive solutions of youth.

His advocacy on behalf of San Franciscan young people continues as well through his part-time job with the Mission Economic Development Commission where he coordinates a street maintenance project, which involves young people in helping to keep the community's streets clean.

Where he goes from here is still up in the air. While he's sure he'd like to continue his schooling through to a doctorate in political science, Castillo hasn't decided whether he'll put his knowledge and leadership experience to use in the public policy arena, working on the relationship between Latin America and the United States, or whether he'll continue his work as a community leader and activist.

What is certain though is that his voice and willingness to use it will always mark him as a leader. "I've always been outspoken. What I want is to make a difference." He points to the Latino leaders in his community as role models for his own leadership and activism. As he talks about the importance of young people being willing to get involved, to make change however they can, Castillo seems to be well on his way to being a role model himself.