On September 12, 2026, Westhampton Beach hosts a different kind of leadership gathering. The TRIIBE Next-Gen Summit, themed From the Ground Up, convenes young founders, philanthropists, executives and youth advocates for a program built around leadership, service, health, philanthropy and the growing influence of a new generation.

The premise is straightforward: leadership can be cultivated early, strengthened through access and responsibility, and connected to institutions that turn ideas into lasting work. Rather than treating the next generation as an audience for established leaders, the summit puts emerging leaders in substantive conversation with them.

The participant list reflects that intergenerational design. Nayla Jimenez, founder of the Philippine Health Initiative, brings a founder’s perspective on health-focused work, where empathy has to be matched with organization, partnerships and continuity. Shrusti Amula, founder of the Rise N Shine Foundation, represents young nonprofit leadership already in motion, not waiting for a distant stage of adulthood.

H.H. Prince Mario Max joins as a media executive, speaker and philanthropist, connecting the summit’s emerging-leader focus with the worlds of communications and philanthropy. Media fluency matters enormously to modern social-impact leadership: founders have to explain what they’re building, why it matters and whom it serves, and a clear public profile can open doors that substance then has to keep open.

Megahan Peterson, CIO of The Family Offices Global, brings the institutional and investment perspective. Family offices sit at the intersection of wealth stewardship, investment, legacy and charitable engagement, and her presence places financial sustainability alongside social purpose. For young founders, understanding budgets, governance, risk and long-term planning is what turns a compelling mission into a durable organization.

Moderating is Derin Sezgin, president of SDG Youth Connect, giving the conversation a youth-centered framework tied to the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs let local projects connect to a recognized global agenda, helping emerging organizations find collaborators and speak within established development priorities.

The Hamptons setting is deliberate. The area has long mixed business, culture, philanthropy and social networks, and a next-generation summit there can connect emerging initiatives with established circles while keeping the focus on the practical work of building organizations from their earliest stages.

From the Ground Up describes a process, not a destination. Foundations matter: a compelling mission needs operational structure, ambition needs patience, and early visibility has to be backed by work that continues when attention moves on. In Westhampton Beach, several forms of leadership experience, founder energy, philanthropic strategy, investment stewardship and youth advocacy, meet in one conversation about how the next generation builds things that last.

Originally published on Times Square Chronicles.