A New Chapter at Purpose Commons: Introducing Jenin Sabbah
Over the past year, we’ve engaged in deep learning, listening, and co-designing. We’ve heard the call for bridging academia, youth, and practitioners to ask relevant questions, design reciprocal studies, and ensure tangible pathways for translation.
Building on our 2025 design research report and the November Purpose Jam, we’re now accelerating the work while doubling down on authentic co-design. The next phase will be driven by Community Fellows: powerful collaborative groups of youth, researchers, and practitioners who will identify pressing questions and launch impactful projects through design teams. This work will simultaneously advance the science of purpose and create significant field impact.
To execute this vision, we must resource the work fully, focusing not just on coordination but on the intentionality and relationship building essential for authentic partnership.
We are thrilled to announce a significant step forward: the introduction of Jenin Sabbah, the newest member of the Purpose Commons team, who will lead this foundational effort. Jenin brings the perfect mix of lived experience, curiosity, and passion required to support youth and catalyze shifts within the systems they navigate.
Meet Jenin Sabbah and join us as we build, learn, and create, together!
Beyond your title. Who is Jenin? What’s your story? Tell us about your journey that brought you to Purpose Commons?
I’m a wife, a mom, a sister, and a daughter before anything else. My family means the world to me. I grew up surrounded by my uncles, aunts, and cousins, and that sense of closeness shaped so much of who I am. In many immigrant families like mine, there’s an unspoken understanding that your success isn’t just your own. It’s something you carry for the people who raised you, supported you, and believed in you. That sense of responsibility and pride was one of my earliest understandings of purpose.
I was born in Detroit and raised just across the border in Windsor, Ontario, and spent a couple of years overseas, as well. Growing up between places and cultures shaped how I saw the world early on. What stayed with me most was noticing how differently young people experienced the same systems.
Some kids seemed to instinctively know the unwritten rules, how to talk to teachers, what opportunities to pursue, and how to position themselves for success. Many of my friends were just as talented and hardworking, but it often felt like we were trying to decode the system as we went. That observation stayed with me and eventually shaped the direction of my career.
At first, I believed the gap was about mentorship, so I became a mentor. Then I thought it was about access to opportunities, so I joined organizations working to expand pathways for young people. Over time, I realized that what I was really trying to support all along was something deeper: helping young people discover what motivates them, what they care about, and where they see themselves making a difference.
In many ways, I had been circling the idea of purpose my entire life without naming it.
Throughout my career (as a youth program leader, COO of a global nonprofit, and most recently CEO of a research organization focused on antiracist assessment) I’ve stayed grounded in that same goal: creating the conditions where young people can explore, build confidence, and see possibilities for themselves.
When I first read the job description for Purpose Commons, I remember turning to my husband and saying out loud, “Was this actually written for me?” It felt like someone had finally put language to the work I had been trying to do for years. The idea that purpose isn’t something young people simply “find,” but something that can be cultivated through relationship, exploration, and exposure to new possibilities deeply resonated with me. Joining this ecosystem feels like stepping into a conversation I’ve been part of for a long time, even before I had the words for it.
What excites you most about this role? What do you hope to build with the Commons?
What excites me most is the opportunity to bring people together who care deeply about young people and are asking similar questions from different angles: researchers, practitioners, funders, and youth themselves.
At PC, we have a chance to build something that doesn’t exist in the field yet: a space where research and practice are in constant dialogue with each other while also centering the youth and community voice. The Design Teams we are launching at the end of this month are meant to do exactly that: bringing diverse perspectives together to identify the questions that matter most and explore how we can better support youth in cultivating purpose.
What I hope to build is an ecosystem where people feel connected to one another’s work and where ideas move more quickly from research to real world impact. Ultimately, the goal is simple: to ensure that more young people have the relationships, opportunities, and support they need to discover who they are and where they want to go.
What’s your secret sauce for building genuine connections with young people?
I think young people can tell very quickly if someone is being genuine with them. For me, that connection comes naturally because I’m deeply passionate about serving youth and my community. I don’t see this work as just a job - it’s something I deeply care about, and I think that authenticity shows in how I listen, show up, and how I engage with youth.
Youth have incredible insight into their own lives and systems around them, and when we create a space for them to share honestly, they bring perspectives that adults overlook.
Some of the most meaningful moments in my career have come when youth felt comfortable enough to challenge an idea, ask a hard question, or propose something completely different than what the adults had planned. Those moments create space for them to lead, thrive, and be creative–and seeing the confidence and growth that comes from that is incredibly meaningful to me. They remind me that when we truly trust youth and invite them into spaces, they don’t just participate, they lead.
What personal values drive you in your work, especially when connecting with diverse groups?
The values that drive my work are authenticity, humility, and justice.
As someone who grew up navigating multiple cultures and identities, I’ve learned the importance of creating spaces where people don’t feel pressured to shrink parts of themselves in order to belong. I believe the strongest communities are the ones where people can show up fully as who they are.
That belief shapes how I approach collaboration and leadership—I try to create environments where people feel respected, heard, and invited to contribute their unique perspectives.
What else should our network know about you?
Outside of my work, my most important role is being a mother. Becoming a parent has deepened my sense of responsibility to the work we’re doing. It reminds me daily that every young person we talk about in research or programs is someone’s child.
That perspective keeps the work grounded for me. At the end of the day, the goal isn’t just to advance ideas or build networks–it’s to create a world where young people have the support, opportunities, and encouragement they need to build meaningful lives.
Family, community, and faith are what ultimately keep me grounded and give me the sense of purpose that continues to guide my commitment to serving youth and communities they come from. Every young person deserves the chance to discover who they are and what they’re here to do.