Let Them Lead: Building Confidence & Connection Through Creativity

Facilitated by Naeemah Elias

Free and Virtual on Wednesdays: December 6th and 14th, 2026

Creativity is about much more than being able to draw, sing, dance, or act. Young people are creative when they tell stories, develop strategies, experiment with fashion, invent games, solve problems, make people laugh, move their bodies, and find new ways to do familiar things. The challenge is creating spaces where they feel confident enough to explore that creativity.

In this highly interactive two-part series, participants will explore how play and creative experiences can build confidence, connection, engagement, and youth ownership in out-of-school-time programs. Rather than simply collecting a list of activities, participants will experience creative approaches themselves, examine what makes young people willing to participate, and practice adapting activities based on the interests, energy, and dynamics of the young people in front of them.

Throughout the series, participants will explore a central question: What changes when we stop creating everything for young people and start creating with them? Participants will leave with practical activities, adaptable tools, and strategies they can use immediately, along with a framework for helping young people recognize, develop, and lead with their own creativity.

OBJECTIVES

By the end of this two-part series, participants will be able to:

• Recognize and name creativity in its many forms, helping young people see creativity in interests, skills, and activities they may not traditionally consider “creative.”
• Create conditions that make creative risk-taking feel safer, using modeling, vulnerability, choice, encouragement, and gradual participation to build confidence over time.
• Read the room and adapt in real time, recognizing resistance, group dynamics, energy, and different comfort levels to determine when to encourage, modify, offer another way to participate, or move on.
• Shift young people from participants to creative leaders, inviting them to modify activities, share their interests and expertise, teach one another, and influence the experiences being created for them.
• Transform familiar program moments into creative experiences, using simple approaches that incorporate play, movement, music, storytelling, performance, problem solving, and other forms of expression.

Naeemah Elias is an award-winning professional actress, leadership strategist, speaker, and executive coach who has spent her career exploring how people build the confidence to take risks, express themselves, and connect with others. A former professional actress and puppeteer, Naeemah performed with the American Repertory Theatre and received Elliott Norton, IRNE, and Best of Boston awards before spending 13 years as a corporate leader.

A Harvard graduate in psychology and mother of three creative young adults, Naeemah brings together her experiences as a performer, parent, leader, and facilitator to help people think differently about creativity and confidence. Her own children grew up writing plays, making art, designing fashion, and turning everyday experiences into opportunities to create, while Naeemah learned that fostering creativity often means making room for experimentation rather than having all the answers.

Today, through Elias Presence Ventures, Naeemah designs highly interactive learning experiences that invite participants to play, experiment, take risks, and learn from one another. Her work is grounded in a simple belief: creativity is not reserved for artists. Everyone is creative, and the right environment can help people recognize it, build confidence in it, and use it.

SOCIALS

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/naeemahelias 

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/ladyelias 

Parenting YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@luckeymommey

Elias Presence YouTube: https://youtube.com/@eliaspresence