5 to 6 hours, including transportation and lunch
Exposure Day
Step inside an organization. Explore the frontline, the teams behind it, and the people who lead it. See how the whole place works, then ask, “Where could I fit?”
Go behind the scenesAccepting 2027 pilot partnerships
You cannot chase a future you cannot see.
Help young people discover what is possible, see themselves as leaders, and take their next step with purpose.
Inspire To Aspire pairs immersive experiences with practical leadership development for youth impacted by foster care, juvenile justice, and adversity.
8 weeksA focused youth cohort
10 to 15Young people per cohort
2 days each weekExposure + leadership training
Personally ledInitial pilots with Sensei Dave
Why this is personal
I know what it feels like when your circumstances begin to look like your future.
Sensei Dave ArmstrongFounder, Inspire To Aspire24 years, United States Air Force
I grew up in foster care, group homes, and juvenile detention. I lost my mother while I was detained, experienced homelessness at 18, and spent years trying to understand where my life could go.
What helped change my trajectory were people who saw more in me than I could see in myself, and experiences that exposed me to possibilities beyond the world I knew.
I went on to serve 24 years in the United States Air Force, lead at senior levels, build businesses, teach, coach, and speak around the world.
I2A exists because I know firsthand that one relationship, one experience, or one moment of exposure can change what a young person believes is possible.
Now I want to help create more of those moments for young people who are still living the experience.
The story behind our missionThe I2A roadmap
A wider view can become
a new direction.
Our change model connects what young people experience with what they begin to believe and choose for themselves.
Follow the possibility. Choose a stage to explore.
01 / 06
Exposure
See something you did not know existed.
Our intended pathway. Growth is individual, and the pilot will help us learn how this model works in practice.
The Youth Empowerment Program
One day to discover.
One day to develop.
Eight weeks, primarily in person. Two connected experiences each week, with time for curiosity, practice, and meaningful action.
90 minutes of interactive learning
Leadership Training Day
Build leadership identity, learn to respond instead of react, discover a personal “why,” and turn a future vision into goals and action.
Explore the learningParticipant ages are agreed with each partner. Caring Adults and mentoring partnerships are separate opportunities.
Inside an Exposure Day
What you see is only
the front of the story.
We see the actors on the screen, the musicians on the stage, the athletes under the lights, and the executives leading major companies. Behind them are whole worlds of people making it possible.
What we usually see
Actors and directors.
The faces on the screen. The names above the title.
There is more behind it.
Who else makes this world possible?Who else makes this world possible?
Look beyond the familiar role. Discover the people, skills, and careers that make it happen.
Make the scene
- Camera operators
- Lighting technicians
- Sound engineers
- Set designers
- Costume professionals
Shape the story
- Editors
- Visual effects artists
- Production staff
Make it possible
- Marketing
- Finance
- Legal
- Logistics
- Transportation
There are entire worlds of opportunity behind the people and careers we normally see.
That is what an I2A Exposure Day is designed to reveal.Exposure imagery is illustrative and does not represent confirmed I2A partners or program visits.
01
What people normally see: The presenter on screen.
Behind the broadcast
What young people can discoverCamera operators, producers, sound engineers, editors, technicians, and the people running the business.
02
What people normally see: The pilot in the cockpit.
Beyond the cockpit
What young people can discoverMaintenance technicians, engineers, logistics teams, ground operations, and safety specialists.
03
What people normally see: The athletes on the field.
Beyond the game
What young people can discoverAthletic trainers, physical therapists, equipment managers, media teams, venue operations, and finance.
04
What people normally see: The finished product.
Inside the making
What young people can discoverSkilled tradespeople, designers, engineers, quality specialists, production teams, and operations leaders.
And there is more to explore: healthcare, technology, skilled trades, entrepreneurship, and the operations, HR, marketing, finance, and leadership teams inside a business.
Step inside. Meet the people.
See the possibilities.
From the frontline to the back office to leadership, young people see how the entire organization works, and where they might fit inside it.
An I2A Exposure Day goes beyond a talk or a tour of the public spaces. Participants explore real work across departments, meet the people doing it, ask questions, and, where access allows, connect with management and leadership.
We begin broadly, then listen to what captures their attention. Later experiences increasingly reflect their interests, with a mix of new people and returning relationships.
5 to 6 hours total, including transportation and lunch.
From curiosity to a next step
Exposure can spark an interest.
Opportunity can help it grow.
We expose them broadly, listen to what interests them, and help create bridges toward what they want to explore next.
A young person may arrive with no idea that a career exists and leave wanting to know everything about it. We do not want that curiosity to disappear when the day ends.
I2A is developing relationships with businesses, community organizations, training providers, employers, and established mentoring organizations to help interested young people explore appropriate next steps.
Another visit. A returning professional. Skills training or job shadowing. Further education. An internship, apprenticeship, mentoring connection, or eventually employment.
These are pathways we intend to develop through qualified partners. Opportunities depend on availability, eligibility, readiness, and each young person’s preferences. No specific placement or outcome is guaranteed.
Help Create OpportunitiesHaving someone who has been through so many struggles himself was such a life changing thing for me.
A personal experience from the founder’s earlier work. The 2027 I2A pilot has not yet established outcomes.
2027 pilot partnerships
Your community has possibilities
a young person has yet to see.
Schools, youth serving organizations, businesses, and funders can each help bring those possibilities within reach.
How would you open a door?
Choose the contribution you could make. There may be more than one.
Bring I2A to Youth
Bring a cohort to your community.
Explore the eight week Youth Empowerment Program for 10 to 15 young people, with initial pilots personally led by Sensei Dave.
Together, we shape the participant group, local experiences, delivery plan, responsibilities, and early measures of progress.
Explore a 2027 Pilot PartnershipAlongside the youth program
More ways to support
the people around our youth.
The longer view
Today’s young people.
Tomorrow’s leaders and Caring Adults.
Prove. Refine. Build.
Launch and evaluate pilots in multiple communities. Strengthen the model through participant feedback, partner learning, and meaningful outcome measurement.
Build a strong network of Exposure Partners, opportunity partners, and organizations committed to opening doors.
Expand through people and partnerships.
Bring I2A into more communities and youth serving systems. Develop trained facilitators, including qualified people with lived experience, who lead with consistency and heart.
Grow connections with businesses, mentoring organizations, training providers, and employers that can turn exposure into continuing opportunities.
Create a cycle of impact.
Build a nationally recognized model that helps young people see beyond their circumstances and develop the leadership to pursue what is possible.
Create pathways for people who once lived the experience to become facilitators, mentors through established partners, leaders, and Caring Adults for the next generation.
The goal is not simply to help young people survive difficult systems. It is to help develop people who may one day change those systems and create possibilities for the next generation.
Our long term ambition, guided by what we learn and the evidence, people, partnerships, and resources we build. Future pathways include training and paid leadership opportunities.
More about our mission and visionAccepting 2027 pilot partnerships
Let’s help young people see what could come next.
Tell us about your young people, your community, and the possibilities you want to help create.
Explore a 2027 Pilot PartnershipOr email info@upna.net