Layla Zaidane

President & CEO

Layla Zaidane is President & CEO of Future Caucus, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the United States. Future Caucus works with more than 2,100 Millennial and Gen Z elected leaders in Congress and state legislatures to bridge divides, collaborate on future-oriented policy, and scale a healthy culture of democracy. A nationally recognized expert on youth engagement and political leadership, Layla has been featured in outlets including Forbes, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News. She has given talks on stages including at TEDx, SXSW, and the Skoll World Forum. In 2025, she was named to the TIME100 Next list and received the McNulty Prize.

Prior to joining Future Caucus, Layla served as the Managing Director for Generation Progress at the Center for American Progress, where she led integrated communications, policy, and advocacy efforts around challenges facing today’s youth, as well as spearheaded innovative new global youth engagement efforts. She helped launch and manage the It’s On Us campaign in partnership with the White House in 2014, and launched the Higher Ed, Not Debt campaign in 2013, a coalition group of dozens of organizations working to make higher education accessible and affordable for all.

Layla graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and holds a BSFS in international politics. She is a Fellow of the Ascend and the Civil Society Fellowships and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and serves on the Advisory Boards of Braver Angels, More Perfect, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and American Promise.