Gen Z Rising: A Generation of Hope, Resilience and Influence

with Melissa Deckman & Jim Zervanos 

Gen Z is the most diverse generation in American history, with a strong emphasis on individuality and self-expression as well as a dedication to social and political issues. In The Politics of Gen Z, Melissa Deckman, chief executive officer of the Public Religion Research Institute, examines how young activists—especially women and LGBTQ+ youth — are driving progressive change, from reproductive rights to climate action. High school teacher Jim Zervanos captures a year in the lives of Gen Z students in Your Story Starts Here, which chronicles their struggles and resilience and offers an intimate look at a generation navigating uncertainty — and inspiring hope.

Melissa Deckman is the chief executive officer of the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).  Prior to her appointment as PRRI’s CEO, Dr. Deckman was the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs and political science professor at Washington College. She is the author or co-author of seven books and two dozen peer-reviewed scholarly articles, including Tea Party Women (2016: NYU Press), which examines the role of women in conservative politics.  Her first book, School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics, won the American Political Science Association’s Hu Morken Award for best book on religion and politics. Along with Julie Dolan and Michele Swers, Dr. Deckman is also the author of Women and Politics, a top-selling textbook on gender politics in the United States, now in its updated fifth edition. Her latest book is The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy.

Jim Zervanos is the author of two memoirs, That Time I Got Cancer: A Love Story and Your Story Starts Here: A Year on the Brink with Generation Z, and two novels, LOVE Park and American Gyro (2025). He is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and Bucknell University, where he was an Academic All-American baseball player. He teaches at a high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where he lives with his wife and two sons and has risen in the baseball pantheon as coach of two Little League teams.Your Story Starts Here: A Year on the Brink with Generation Z won Indies Today Best Memoir of 2024 while “The Zeitgeist” chapter is nominated for a prestigious Pushcart Prize.

Moderator: Maryland State Delegate Dana Jones.