Rising Tides 2026

Rising Tides 2026

What is Rising Tides?

The Rising Tides: Summer Youth Leadership Academy is an in-person, six-week leadership program designed for high school and college students ready to confront the climate crisis and immigrant injustice while building power for their local community. Participants will learn essential skills in grassroots organizing, campaign strategy, and storytelling, while connecting with peers and mentors fighting for solidarity and social justice. Through workshops, hands-on activities, and a group project, participants will gain and use tools to combat systemic inequities and strengthen neighborhood resilience. Grow as a leader, take action, and rise with a community rooted in solidarity.

Rising Tides is a Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California and Youth Climate Strike LA program.

A person wearing a blue baseball cap and a black T-shirt with a colorful graphic design is speaking in front of a display that reads 'Climate Resilience Makeshift.' Behind them, there is a large screen with similar text and a logo, and a sign on the wall above that reads 'PWC Pilipino Workers Center.' There are various items on a table in front of the person.

PROGRAM GOALS

By the end of the program, students will:

  • Gain hard skills to protect their community during climate and immigration emergencies.

  • Connect climate justice with immigrant rights and other community issues.

  • Build connections with peers, neighbors, and social justice movement leaders.

  • Grow leadership and organizing experience to build power for lasting change.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

Through Rising Tides, participants gain a deeper understanding of the climate and environmental issues facing immigrant and working-class communities, explore pathways to making change, and connect to LA's social justice movement network.

These goals are achieved through four major components of the program:

People sitting around a white conference table engaged in discussion at a community center. A large screen displays a debate question about systemic change. Various items such as a water bottle, a box of fidget toys, snacks, and papers are on the table. In the background, there are colorful posters and a whiteboard on a brick wall.

ORGANIZING WORKSHOPS

Through interactive discussions, activities, and lessons led by youth organizers and movement elders we will explore topics like climate and immigration justice (and injustices), youth movement histories, and more.

A woman with shoulder-length hair wearing a pink blazer sitting at a table with children during a summer youth leadership activity, with posters on the wall behind her and various items on the table.

CONNECTING TO COMMUNITY

Our community is our strength, our shield, and our power. A core element of our program is building community both within the summer program our schools, neighborhoods, & across Los Angeles. We’ll invite guest speakers, other community organizations, and community leaders.

Group of women working together in a community garden, planting and preparing soil in raised beds on a sunny day.

HANDS-ON SKILLS

Participants will learn practical skills to protect and prepare their neighborhoods, during climate and immigration crises.

A group of four friends sitting on blankets and enjoying a picnic in a park on a sunny day, with trees and a pavilion in the background.

CAMPAIGN COHORT PROJECTS

Each cohort will learn campaign basics and develop a short, creative campaign of their own that builds power in their community.

Rising Tides Summer Program overview

Eligibility Criteria: Who should apply?

The Rising Tides Academy is a beginner-friendly, accessible program. No prior background in social justice or organizing experience needed. We’re looking for passionate individuals who care deeply about climate, immigration, and /or social justice!

This program is open to participants of all backgrounds. We encourage those of any of the following backgrounds to apply:

  • Immigrant, Black, Indigenous, and/or other People of Color (BIPOC)

  • Low-income or working class

  • Disabled

  • Queer and/or trans

Additionally, you must meet the following criteria:
Grade level: You will be a freshman, sophomore, or junior during the 2026–2027 school year.
School enrollment: You attend one of the following schools:

  • Van Nuys High School

  • Panorama High School

  • West Los Angeles College

  • UCLA

  • Santa Monica Community College

Attendance: You are able to attend all program activities, both in-person and remote outlined below.

Summer Program Schedule

The Rising Tides Academy will be held from June 22 – August 1, 2026, at the following locations:

Orientation (All participants)

  • June 23–24 (10am–4pm) – Pilipino Workers Center, Panorama City Office  

  • June 25–26 (10am–4pm) – West LA College

Weekly schedule

High school participants: 

  • Tuesdays (10am–4pm) – Workshops @ Pilipino Workers Center, Panorama City Office  

  • Wednesdays (2–4pm) – Campaign Prep @ Zoom  

  • Thursdays – Campaign Action Days @ location & time decided by cohort 

  • Fridays – Ecosystem Days (networking: 1:1s with guest speakers, community leaders, etc.) and/or local field trips

College participants:

  • Mondays (10am–4pm) – West LA College  

  • Wednesdays (2–4pm) – Campaign Prep @ Zoom  

  • Thursdays – Campaign Action Days @ location & time decided by cohort 

  • Fridays – Ecosystem Days (networking: 1:1s with guest speakers, community leaders, etc.) and/or local field trips


Graduation (All participants)

Saturday, August 1 - Time and location TBD

Is this program free?

Yes! In fact, 2026 Rising Tides Academy participants will receive a stipend of $1,200 to reduce financial barriers and support full participation.

How to Apply

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The priority deadline is May 2nd, 2026. The final deadline, originally May 16th, has been extended to May 22, 2026. Qualified applicants will be invited to interview. Early submission is encouraged as spots are limited.

2026 Rising Tides applications are due on Friday, May 22, 2026 at 11:59 PM.

RISING TIDES WILL RETURN IN 2027!!!

We are currently running the 2026 cohort this summer and we are excited to share their achievements in the coming months! Please be on the lookout on our website and Instagram account @ycstrikela for future updates regarding the launch of Rising Tides 2027.

Rising Tides goes beyond the summer academy. In 2025, Rising Tides students started on-campus clubs to keep fighting for climate justice and immigrants' rights throughout the school year; with support from Youth Climate Strike LA (YCSLA) and the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC).

We currently have active clubs at:

  • Van Nuys High School

  • UCLA

  • West LA College

We're looking to start clubs at Panorama High School, Santa Monica College, and other campuses.

If you are interested in applying for Rising Tides 2026? Reach out with any questions, even if your school isn't listed. We want to work with you.

“I learned the importance of building connections and understanding the people around you because that’s what can help build out a better future.”

– Joselyn Hernandez Ochoa,
Rising Tides Student Cohort ‘25

Young woman speaking into a microphone at a summer youth leadership academy event with a colorful backdrop and butterfly decorations.
A group of diverse young people at a playground, with one person sitting on top of a horizontal bar and others standing below, in a park with greenery and trees in the background on a sunny day.
Two women with pink and black hair dancing at a cultural event, with other dancers in the background and a banner that says 'Raging Tides' on the wall.
Group of thirteen people, including adults and children, posing together indoors in front of a blue banner with text. They are smiling and standing or kneeling, dressed casually.
A young woman with dark hair smiling and working on a project at a table, surrounded by various craft supplies and tools, in a classroom setting with a whiteboard and poster in the background.
A young man with black hair and a white t-shirt sitting on grass under a tree during the daytime, with a bottle of water nearby.
Two young men working together on a gardening project under a shaded outdoor structure, with gardening tools and soil in a backyard.
A young man wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, standing at a podium with a colorful textile cloth, speaking into a microphone. Behind him is a yellow wall decorated with butterfly and flower decorations. A large screen displays a presentation titled 'OVERVIEW OF' with additional text below. To his left, a poster features children celebrating, and to his right, there is a blackboard and some wall decorations.
A person holding a wooden robotic arm with a solar panel and electronic components mounted on it, outdoors on a paved surface.
Three young men working outdoors on a construction or gardening project, holding shovels and working in a dug-up area with a brick wall in the background, under a canopy on a sunny day.

Rising Tides is a program created by Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) & Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles (YCSLA).

Youth Climate Strike LA (YCSLA) is a BIPOC and youth-led grassroots organization. We build youth power through organizing, direct action, and community-owned climate infrastructure. Our mission centers climate justice on Indigenous sovereignty, migrant rights, and collective care. We are creating a world where front-line communities lead, thrive, and transform old systems into new, regenerative ones.

Founded in 1997, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) organizes Filipino immigrant and working-class families in Southern California to achieve labor justice, build community power, and create resilient "Neighborhood Caring Communities" through grassroots leadership and mutual aid. Rooted in inter-generational organizing, PWC fights for worker rights, climate resilience, and immigrant dignity while centering Filipino cultural pride and radical care.