Strengthening democracy through youth leadership, organizing, and cultural healing.
Overview
Lian Cheun spent the first three years of her life in a refugee camp after her family escaped violence under the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Her family then resettled in Oakland, where she watched many in her community get swept up in gang violence and the criminal justice system—what she describes as leaving one conflict zone only to land in another. As a young girl, Cheun felt powerless to change her family and community’s trajectory. Driven to build healing and empowering pathways for youth, she joined Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) in 2009 and became Executive Director in 2011, growing it from a grassroots organization into a pillar of Long Beach youth organizing and implementing official decision-making power in city government. Through a multi-year leadership program rooted in cultural identity and political activism, Cheun equips youth with the tools to lead campaigns, influence policy, and shape the future of their city. Under her guidance, KGA has become a force in local youth organizing, founding the Invest in Youth Coalition and co-governing Long Beach’s participatory budgeting process, mobilizing nearly 2,000 young people annually to allocate around $550,000 in city funds toward youth priorities. Blending cultural reconnection, organizing skills, and youth-driven program design, Cheun is cultivating a new generation of confident, skilled leaders who are interrupting generational trauma and expanding democracy for future generations.
“When young people see they can be part of creating a better society, it interrupts generational trauma. The fight for social justice becomes part of the healing journey, for them and for their families.”
Primary Regions Served
Challenge
- Many indicators show young people are less engaged in democratic processes. Researchers note that youth tend to vote at lower rates than the general population and link this to a sense of disconnection from their communities, competing demands on their time, and disillusionment with the process.[1]
- Young people are rarely given real decision-making power in government — most cities relegate select youth to advisory roles without actual authority over budgets or policies, excluding youth from budget decisions that directly affect their lives.
- Long Beach has the largest population of people of Cambodian ancestry outside of Cambodia. A 2005 study of Cambodian refugees in Long Beach who had survived the violence of the Khmer Rouge showed that 62% had PTSD and 51% had depression.[2]
Innovation
- Khmer Girls in Action integrates cultural music, dance and storytelling with political organizing and advocacy training, helping youth build strong cultural identity while developing as community leaders. Cheun founded the multi-ethnic Invest in Youth Coalition to bring organizations and youth leaders together to build power and shape policy.
- In 2020, the Invest in Youth coalition campaigned for the passage of Measure US — an oil production tax that secured revenue for youth programs — and the establishment of Long Beach’s Office of Youth Development and participatory budgeting. In this process, youth ages 12-26 vote annually to allocate funds, building their muscle memory for civic participation.
- The Invest in Youth Coalition co-governs Long Beach’s participatory budgeting process, making it one of only a handful of youth-led participatory budgeting programs in the United States. The coalition mobilizes nearly 2,000 young people to allocate $450,000-$650,000 annually.
- Cheun built a leadership pipeline in which participants progress from cultural identity work to leading organizing campaigns on issues they feel passionate about, particularly those impacting Southeast Asian communities.
Impact
- Youth report strengthened cultural connection and confidence: many describe KGA as the place they learned about their Cambodian heritage that families rarely discuss at home, building identity that enables them to step into leadership roles.
- Since its passage, Measure US has generated roughly $10 million tax revenue for the city of Long Beach, a portion of which youth allocate each year in the participatory budgeting process. In 2025, young voters directed funding to 11 nonprofits and city projects including summer programs, sports, and housing assistance.
- The Invest in Youth Coalition engaged 5,000 youth to develop Long Beach’s Youth and Emerging Adults Strategic Plan, which the city unanimously adopted and funded with $5 million allocated from the American Rescue Plan for youth mental health services and jobs.
- KGA youth lead organizing campaigns on housing justice and family separation, testify at Long Beach City Council meetings, and have helped shape city policies on language access, housing elements, and zoning.
Opportunity
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- A planned $10 million remodel of KGA’s property will include an affordable commercial kitchen for community entrepreneurs and a large media and arts studio, providing the community with spaces for cultural expression and advocacy work.
- KGA is working to expand youth decision-making power beyond Long Beach’s city budget to county, state, and school district levels, scaling the budgeting process as a tool for advocacy.
The written profile and video reflect the work of the leader(s) the year they received a Leadership Award. Please contact the leader(s) for current information.