Victor Ye is a 23-year-old storyteller, strategist, and civic entrepreneur working at the intersection of media, youth engagement, and cross-sector innovation. As the co-founder of UnTextbooked, a history podcast by and for young people, Victor has helped bring intergenerational conversations to over 150,000 listeners in more than 100 countries. The show, which has partnered with Penguin Random House and the Smithsonian Institution, was nominated for an Ambies Award as Best History Podcast and reached #2 on Apple’s U.S. History charts.

Victor has worked in tandem with TED Conferences and the Milken Institute to spotlight bold ideas on global stages, while also engaging with some of the world’s most influential voices in journalism, business, and politics. He currently works for U.S. Congressman Gil Cisneros in Washington D.C., where he helps advance responsive governance and community engagement. Victor has spoken at the United Nations General Assembly, advised Fortune 500 executives and elected officials on climate storytelling and civic trust, and developed communication strategies that connect policy to people.

His leadership and ideas have been recognized by institutions such as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, where he was invited for thought leadership on democracy education, and through fellowships with the Aspen Institute, CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), and Project Liberty. He also serves as a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum and was selected as a We Are Family Foundation Global Teen Leader.

While at the University of Southern California, Victor served as an undergraduate student government senator and was awarded distinction from the USC Center for the Political Future for his commitment to civic dialogue and bipartisan problem-solving. He was also one of a select group of student scholars taught by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on rebuilding global trust through bottom-up civic action. A first-generation college graduate, Victor earned his B.A. in Communication and a Master of Studies in Law from USC.

A polyglot and global citizen, Victor speaks English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese fluently, and studied Arabic in Morocco as a U.S. Department of State NSLI-Y Scholar. He has been honored with the Diana Award, named a Bezos Scholar, selected as an Ashoka Young Changemaker, and featured in The Hollywood Reporter, Vice News, and People Magazine.

Victor is driven by a mission to bridge culture, media, and leadership to address the most urgent challenges facing his generation—from democratic decline to climate change—with creativity, empathy, and bold collaboration.