Youth
How youth-led action is helping tackle America's medical debt crisis
Medical debt is a systemic challenge. An initiative called Shred the Debt demonstrates how young people and local leadership can scale solutions.
Gustavo Garcia
Gustavo Garcia is a J.D. Candidate at McGeorge School of Law, dedicated to leveraging existing systems and institutions to drive meaningful community impact and systemic reform.
Previously, Gustavo served as the Workforce Initiatives Manager for the Climate Careers Program at Rising Sun Center for Opportunity. In this role, he managed a youth workforce development program across the California Central Valley’s 18-county region, expanding equitable access to clean energy transition jobs through paid training in residential energy and water efficiency.
An active leader in the nonprofit sector, Gustavo served as the 2024–2025 Curator for the Global Shapers Sacramento Hub. During his tenure, he created Shred the Debt, a nationwide initiative that leverages the secondary debt market to purchase and abolish medical debt. To date, he has helped eliminate over $4.3 million in medical debt for thousands of Americans.
He is also the co-founder and President of Young Futures Forward, a nonprofit fiscal sponsorship organization providing the financial infrastructure and management support needed to empower youth-led community projects.
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