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Meet City Year is a story series that highlights our corps, staff and alums across the country, showing different aspects of our work; our lasting impact; and the human connection that drives everything we do. Meet City Year #1; Meet City Year #2

After college, NYC native Primo Lasana served with City Year for two years in Chicago, the second as a team leader. Today, he works as Chief Impact Officer at the Forum for Youth Investment, a national leader in positive youth development. This summer he was appointed to New York City’s (PEP), a 24-member voting body overseeing the nation’s largest public school system.

Along the way, one theme has remained constant: a belief that service, collaboration and empathy can bring people together and strengthen communities.

We recently caught up with Primo to discuss his City Year experience, his career journey, and why public service matters more than ever. The conversation below has been lightly edited for clarity.

City Year: What first inspired you to serve with City Year Chicago?

PL: The short answer is that I saw City Year’s spirit in action. A friend invited me to an MLK Day of Service event when I was a senior in college, and I was struck by the energy in the room. I was surrounded by diverse, idealistic young people who were committed to making a difference, and I wanted to be part of that.

The longer answer is that I graduated during a challenging job market and wasn’t entirely sure what came next. I was interested in service, education and community change. City Year offered the chance to learn, grow and contribute in a meaningful way. It also gave me an opportunity to leave New York for the first time and experience another city through service.

City Year: What did you gain from serving in Chicago?

PL: It broadened my perspective in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. Chicago’s schools and neighborhoods were very different from the public-school experiences I had growing up in New York City. Being immersed in a new community challenged me to listen more closely, learn more deeply and better understand how different systems and communities operate.

Service gave me a front-row seat to the realities students, educators and families experience every day. Those lessons continue to shape how I think about education, leadership and social change.

City Year: You returned for a second year as a team leader. Why?

PL: I loved the work. Honestly, I felt like I had just figured out how to do the job well when my first year ended. I wanted the chance to deepen my impact and continue growing as a leader.

Serving as a team leader also gave me an incredible opportunity to support and develop other young people who were committed to service. Looking back, those leadership experiences were foundational to the career I’ve built since then.

City Year: What lessons from City Year still guide you today?

PL: So many. City Year has a culture that stays with you long after your service ends.

One lesson I return to often is the famous starfish story. When people wonder whether they’re making a difference in the face of enormous challenges, I think about the idea that helping even one person matters deeply. Impact happens one life at a time.

I also carry forward City Year’s emphasis on creating your own environment for success. Preparation matters. Flexibility matters. Having a plan A, B and C matters. And there’s tremendous value in showing up every day with a positive attitude and a willingness to contribute. Those ideas have been guiding principles throughout my career.

City Year: Today you’re Chief Impact Officer at the Forum for Youth Investment. Tell us about your work.

PL: The Forum for Youth Investment works to improve outcomes for young people through research, policy, advocacy and program quality improvement. We help strengthen out-of-school-time and after-school programs, conduct research and evaluation, and advance policies that support young people, including opportunity youth who are disconnected from school and work.

As Chief Impact Officer, I oversee the organization’s major program areas and help ensure they work together effectively. Whether we’re talking about research, policy or youth programs, the goal is the same: creating better opportunities and stronger systems for young people.

City Year: You were also recently appointed to New York City’s Panel for Educational Policy. What motivated you to take on this new role?

PL: I’ve spent much of my career focused on education and youth development. While my current work takes a national perspective, I wanted to stay closely connected to the school system that helped shape me.

I attended New York City public schools and went on to the City University of New York. Public education has had an enormous impact on my life. Serving on the Panel on Educational Policy gives me an opportunity to contribute directly to the future of New York City’s students and schools.

City Year: Throughout your career you’ve emphasized service, volunteerism, collaboration and empathy. Why are those values so important today?

PL: Because they help us understand one another.

One of the biggest challenges we face is that people often listen to respond rather than listen to understand. Real empathy requires us to step outside our own experiences and genuinely learn from others.

Service and volunteerism create those opportunities. Whether you’re serving full-time as an AmeriCorps member or volunteering one hour a week, you’re connecting with people whose backgrounds, experiences and perspectives may differ from your own. That exposure builds understanding, strengthens communities and ultimately makes society better.

The more connected we are to one another, the stronger we become.

City Year: You’ve remained engaged in public service throughout your life. Why?

PL: I’ve always believed that change starts close to home. Over the years I’ve served on community boards, advisory boards and alumni boards because local engagement matters.

Sometimes the challenges facing the world can feel overwhelming. But everyone has the ability to make a difference in their building, on their block or in their neighborhood. Public service isn’t limited to elected office or major leadership positions. It can be helping a neighbor, mentoring a young person or volunteering in your community. Every act of service contributes to something larger.

City Year: What would you say to someone considering City Year today?

PL: City Year is one of the primary reasons I’m on the path I’m on today.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to learn, lead and serve, City Year is an incredible place to start. You’ll develop professional skills, gain leadership experience and make a real difference in the lives of students and schools.

Most importantly, education and direct service need talented, committed people. If you believe you can lead, then consider putting those leadership skills to work helping students, supporting educators and strengthening communities.

You’ll grow, you’ll learn and you’ll discover just how much impact one year of service can have, both on others and on yourself.

Learn more about serving with City Year

From Chicago classrooms to national youth-development leadership and now a role helping guide education policy in New York City, Primo Lasana’s journey reflects the power of service. His story demonstrates that when people choose empathy over division, collaboration over isolation and action over inaction, they can help build stronger communities and more opportunity for the next generation.