CA Futures Hub
The California Futures Hub is a statewide narrative and content lab that's building civic power by connecting culture, creators, and movements.
What / Initiatives
Building the Future
We turn narrative research into action by partnering with grassroots organizations, creators, strategists, and community leaders to reach new audiences and build durable civic power.
Mission
To grow inclusive storytelling that empowers multiracial, under-invested communities across California to see themselves in democracy and shape the future together.
Goals
- •Connect creators and movements across California
- •Build shared narratives that break through polarization and disengagement
- •Bridge digital engagement into civic action
- •Create trusted, sustained pathways for participation
Team
Reshma Shamasunder
Executive Director
Asian American Futures
Gabby Agustin
Communications & Development Manager
Asian American Futures
Anita Vukovic
Project Lead
CoLAB
Cynthia Buiza
Strategic Advisor
CoLAB
Other Ongoing Initiatives
Our South Asian Future
We launched Our South Asian Future, a storytelling project spotlighting South Asian American artists, organizers, and cultural leaders. Through visual storytelling and profiles, the project uplifts changemakers reimagining community, culture, and belonging.
Research
Unpacking Resentment and Belonging in a Polarized Moment
Anti-democratic drift among Asian Americans is often shaped by resentment rooted in fear, exclusion, and feeling unseen. Experiences of violence or global crises, paired with a perceived lack of solidarity or institutional response, can lead people to believe their pain is overlooked or minimized.
These feelings fuel zero-sum thinking around merit, resources, and fairness, and erode trust in government and multiracial coalitions. At the same time, the need for belonging can make right-wing spaces feel affirming even when values do not fully align.
Understanding key audiences within the AAPI community
Building narrative power requires activating a broad majority within the AAPI community for civic, community, and political participation, including audiences not yet aligned on key issues.
Through qualitative research, we developed six audience personas reflecting the values, tensions, and lived experiences of Millennial and Gen Z AAPI audiences. In 2023, we expanded this work through NHPI-centered research.
Testing cutting-edge narrative techniques in the field
Ahead of the 2023 Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action, we partnered with community organizations to test messaging that could move audiences toward support for race-conscious policies.
We applied a similar approach to mental health stigma in AAPI communities, pairing message testing with creator partnerships and community feedback to ensure culturally grounded, movement-relevant content.