How A Young and Celebrated Advocate Took Inspiration From the UWS: ‘A Really Big Impact’

By Gus Saltonstall

Arielle Geismar has already gone far in her 23 years of life.

The Upper West Side native is an organizer and advocate who has advised President Joe Biden’s transition team and the British Parliament, helped pass legislation around gun control and domestic violence, and currently serves as the co-chair of a nonprofit that does advocacy to help build a better internet for young people.

Last week, Geismar was named to the prestigious Forbes “30 Under 30 Social Media 2025: The Creators Pioneering The Future of the Internet Through Content, Research and Advocacy.”

Prior to all this, though, Geismar was a kid growing up on the Upper West Side.

“Just walking around the Upper West Side growing up and saying hi to random people, mom and pop shops that I’ve been going to ever since I was a kid, those really make a big influence and impact in the way that you see the world,” Geismar said in a phone interview with West Side Rag. “That has had a really big impact on how I view advocacy, which is about community.”

In terms of favorite places in the neighborhood, she named Zabar’s, Barney Greengrass, and Young Cleaners, a dry cleaner on West 86th Street, among her favorite local spots.

“My family has been with them (Young Cleaners) for 25 years,” Geismar said. “They did my graduation dress, my Bat Mitzvah dress, there is something just really special about going in and seeing their friendly faces, and getting to catch up.”

Geismar got her start in organizing and advocacy as a 16-year-old student at Beacon High School, when she led a walkout in schools across New York City to rally against gun violence.

From there, she went on to serve as the New York State president of Team Enough, a gun control group, where she worked with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help draft and pass statewide legislation that prevents individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others from buying or possessing guns.

Currently, she works for the nonprofit Design It For Us, which is a youth-led coalition that advocates for safer online platforms and social media. The coalition started in 2022 as a campaign to support a bill in California that requires companies to consider possible harm their products might cause for young users.

Most recently, Geismar and her organization are leading a support campaign for a bill against fake depictions of people on the internet, and violence against women online.

Geismar emphasized that the intersection of her “Jewish values” along with her upbringing on the Upper West Side, plays a leading role in how she thinks about advocacy work.

“That’s my background, that’s my family,” she said. “My grandmother is a Holocaust survivor and she also came to New York City. I think a lot of that backdrop inspired me to become active, when you see something wrong, you have to say something, you have to get active, you have to do something about it.”

“And that’s very much the Upper West Side environment I grew up in,” she added.

Geismar and her family are members of the B’Nai Jeshurun synagogue on the Upper West Side.

When it comes to receiving the individual recognition from Forbes, she also kept it about community.

“I’m beyond humbled. It is incredibly exciting and I feel incredibly appreciative of the people who have supported me throughout this,” Geismar said. “I also view it as a community win as well, which is why I am excited to talk to West Side Rag. The Upper West Side has so much value to me and I feel like I’m bringing a lot of the advocacy back to home turf, and that means a lot to me.”

You can check out Geismar’s full Forbes’ profile — HERE.

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