A group of young people from the Northeast Bronx got a firsthand look at entrepreneurship, investing and college life this summer as Council Member Kevin Riley expanded a program aimed at introducing local youth to new opportunities.
Riley’s third annual “Roads to Invest Fest: From the Bronx to Atlanta” brought 60 young people between the ages of 14 and 21 from Council District 12 to Atlanta for Earn Your Leisure’s Invest Fest, held Aug. 7–9. The program grew from 40 participants in previous years.
The trip was organized in partnership with Roads To Success and AIMHIGH Empowerment Institute and focused on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, mentorship and exposure to higher education.
This year, the experience began before the group reached Atlanta. Participants attended workshops and leadership programming in New York and stopped at James Madison University for the program’s first college visit. They also participated in the inaugural Earn Your Leisure Earners Academy before attending Invest Fest.
For returning participant Michael Collado, the trip also came with another opportunity to put what he had learned into practice.
Collado, who won the High School Pitch Competition in 2025, returned to the competition this year and earned a $1,500 prize. Two graduates of AIMHIGH also received $250 each to open their own investment portfolios.
“When we launched this initiative three years ago, our vision was simple: make sure Bronx youth have a seat at the tables where wealth is built, businesses are created, and futures are shaped,” Riley said.
Riley said the goal has been to make the trip more than simply attending a conference.
“We are exposing them to possibilities, connecting them with industry leaders, and giving them the tools, relationships and confidence to see themselves as entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and future leaders,” he said.
Collado’s return to the pitch competition also showed how the program has grown beyond a one-time experience. Participants continue working with Roads To Success and AIMHIGH after returning to the Bronx, receiving mentorship, investment education and leadership development.
For Riley, who represents District 12 in the Northeast Bronx, giving young people that continued exposure is a major part of the program.
“Seeing Michael return to the pitch competition and win again, while two of our young people received their first funds to begin investing, shows what can happen when we give our youth access and an opportunity to put what they are learning into practice,” Riley said.
Now three years into the initiative, the program has grown both in the number of young people participating and in what they experience along the way. For this year’s group, that meant a college campus, financial education, conversations with business leaders and, for several participants, their first chance to begin putting those lessons to work.
