What keeps Ella Emhoff motivated during tumultuous times

including politics biggest stressors for Americans and political gender gap As this grows among young people, it can be difficult to stay motivated at a time when divisions are more contentious than ever.

Few people understand this like Ella Emhoff, daughter of former U.S. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and stepdaughter of former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Going offline is a good first step.

“I think what motivated me the most about politics and social change was seeing everyone else being empowered by that, coming to things like ZCON and being able to talk about it,” Emhoff told CNBC Make It recently at a Gen Z-focused conference hosted by United Talent Agency. “When we’re online, we can feel very insular and like everything is happening to us, whether it’s immigration, wars, genocide, climate.”

With so much going on, Emhoff says he finds it difficult to focus on the small changes within his control and the actions he can take to address them.

“Small changes affect big change,” he says. “Even going to a shelter, volunteering with dogs, or feeding the homeless will make a positive impact. The more you engage with this in your daily life, the more greater things will feel achievable.”

Hospice medical director and author who wrote about the cause, Dr. Jordan Grumet previously told Make It that these small, ongoing purposeful projects are more achievable and enjoyable than large, abstract goals, regardless of the outcome.

On the other hand, scrolling and consuming every bad headline doesn’t do much for your emotions or your ability to implement small changes. “Put down your phone, join your community,” says Emhoff. “This will make you feel better. I promise.”

The 26-year-old says she’s turning to offline creative pursuits, such as her work as a textile artist and her recently relaunched work Soft Hands Knitting ClubIt also helps.

Working in a creative field has its own challenges. But Emhoff says his mother, Kerstin, who works as a filmmaker and runs a creative entertainment studio, says: always gave him the best perspective on his career.

“One of the best things he told me was not to give up,” he says. “When you’re on a non-traditional career path like me, it’s really easy to want to give up when the income stream is cut off or you feel like your engagement is diminishing and you want to quit and get a regular job. I like to threaten her that I’ll go get a corporate job, but she’s always been a really big advocate for my message about mental health, craft, and community, and that’s pushed me so much further than I thought I would.”

Emhoff says he also got good advice from his stepmother, Harris, about rebounding from defeat, especially after losing the 2024 presidential election.

“After he gave his concession speech, he sat down with us and said, ‘This is not the end. This is just a bump in the road.’ And I truly believe that,” Emhoff says. “There have been difficult times before. We are going through a particularly difficult time. But we have come out of difficult times and the only way to get through this is to believe and not give up.”

“I think we collectively need to get into the same ass-kicking headspace,” he adds.

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