Rebecca Young challenges audiences to see the arts not as a luxury, but as a cornerstone of a just and resilient society. Her keynote, Crayons Before Constitutions, makes a provocative case: when we treat the arts as expendable, we weaken the very skills that safeguard democracy—critical thinking, empathy, and the courage to challenge injustice.

More than an outlet for individual expression, the arts are a quiet training ground for the civic muscles that protect communities from harm. They shape citizens who can question authority, imagine alternatives, and resist the lure of passive consumerism. When those skills erode, institutions falter and public trust dissolves.

Rebecca speaks from experience. As a former Army interrogator and civil rights trial lawyer, she’s witnessed firsthand how the absence of these skills leaves both individuals and systems vulnerable. Today, as a children’s author and publisher, she works to strengthen them—inviting audiences to step into the world of creative rebellion and discover its power to defend, and even expand, justice.

Whether addressing cultural institutions, nonprofit leaders, educators, or community advocates, Rebecca equips audiences to reframe the arts as essential civic infrastructure, make a compelling case for unrestricted arts funding, and spot high-impact opportunities to support grassroots creativity. She leaves audiences not just convinced of the arts’ value, but prepared to champion them with the same conviction we reserve for other pillars of democracy.