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As a young artist and activist, Sage Dolan-Sandrino’s advice to other teen advocates is this: “get a seat at the table.” 

After socially transitioning at 13 and experiencing discrimination from school officials and students, Dolan-Sandrino became a public voice for trans student rights—working with organizations like the Human Rights campaign and the National Center for Transgender Equality. 

As an Afro-Cuban, she grew up with a richly diverse community in Washington, D.C., but never saw her Black and brown peers centered in mainstream media. “I noticed that [we] Black and brown creators never got to see ourselves in narratives of joy, celebration, love, and happiness, and I wanted to change that.”

In 2020, Dolan-Sandrino founded a creative studio and digital zine, TEAM Mag. With her fearless band of “TEAMmates,” she explores radical forms of media-making with BIPOC creativity and joy at the center.

When she’s not serving as the Co-Director of TEAM, Dolan-Sandrino advocates for trans rights on the national level as a journalist, with several hard hitting articles published in Teen Vogue—the magazine’s first trans youth writer to do so.

Never missing a chance to use her voice for good, Dolan-Sandrino became an ambassador for The White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for African Americans under the Obama Administration. She was among the group of students who developed the Obama Title IX protections for trans youth. 

Looking to the future, Dolan-Sandrino wants to expand her artistic practice through screenwriting and film production, while enrolled at Bard College. “I’m going to school for film. I see my art as an ally to activism. Because it’s ultimately the same mission: to normalize the trans community and bring authenticity to the stories we tell,” she tells Mashable.

As it turns out, the kids are more than alright. They’re leading the revolution.