Grace Alvarez, Isaac Sanchez, Cassandra Reyes, and Andrew Perez symbolize the power and synergy that comes from working together to make a difference. With a shared vision of hope and opportunity, they’ve lobbied for queer rights in public schools, helped plan the Queer Youth Leadership Awards for the past two years, stood out as the only teen participants at the LGBTQIA College Conference at UC Riverside, sought out training from the GSA Network to support Watsonville High’s GSA, planned and coordinated the Annual Alphabet Soup Queer Youth Conference and Leadership Training, addressed the Watsonville High School teaching staff and the PVUSD Administrative Leadership Group with the support of Triangle Speakers and STRANGE, and as a group, they are among the most active and consistent participants in STRANGE. Courageous and committed in their desire to make Watsonville High School and the greater community in which they live safer and more accepting, their work reaches outward to the other schools in Santa Cruz County, the adult population, and beyond. Their impressive breadth of involvement is exceeded only by their wisdom in knowing that they can accomplish more by working together than they, or any of us, can individually.

Ronnie Childers has been a very visible leader in his community. As the student body president, Ronnie was instrumental in organizing an annual school-wide Red Cross Blood Drive. On the day of the event, Ronnie himself was denied the right to give blood by Red Cross workers, based on his response on a required form regarding his sexuality. Challenging the Red Cross’s policy head on, Ronnie, along with the other ASB officers, and Harbor’s Administration, composed a letter that was eventually sent to the FDA, the American Red Cross and several elected representatives. While in the local and national media spotlight, Ronnie handled himself with maturity and dignity. As student body president, Ronnie also successfully organized an ambitious Halloween fund-raiser. Ronnie began a crusade that raised donations well over $15,000 in cash, materials, and professional labor, as well as approval by the fire department and school administrators. Meeting and exceeding every requirement made of him, Ronnie demonstrated his ability to communicate a shared vision and take extraordinary action toward making that vision a reality. Ronnie also participates in countless extracurricular activities, such as teaching dance at Magic Apple After School and Pacific Collegiate School. He has just finished a season with Escapade Dance Company, as well as choreographing the production of Bye Bye Birdie, while maintaining a high academic average.

Michael is a member of the Teen Dance Production at Synergy Studios and has brought the group to a place of fun, friendship and “getting’ down to work” with his infectious love of dance and the desire to better himself. Even a brief inquiry of those who know him uncovers a consistent theme: Michael not only finds his own voice through his love for dance, he also actively supports and encourages others to excel. As the parent of one of the younger dancers in the studio said, “I just love being able to explain to my kids that Michael is a gay man so that they can understand that means that gay people are not angry, ashamed, or hiding, but they are proud, vital, supportive, giving, talented, regular, special people.” Despite Michael’s passion for dance, his involvement has not always been easy. His father, who died in a motorcycle accident when Michael was in eighth grade, was not supportive of Michael’s love for dance and the arts. Despite that disapproval, even at a young age Michael found his own path of joy and passion, all the while nurturing others to experience the same magic in dance that he has found.

Rodger Storment is an exceptionally well-rounded young leader and gifted communicator. As president of the Conflict Resolution Team, Rodger has led prejudice reduction workshops for all of the 9th grade students and all 7th grade students at San Lorenzo Valley Middle and High Schools. Rodger has been an active member of the Students Making a Difference Club for three years. He also assisted the GSA Club with a Valentine’s project and participated in an interview to help the Diversity Center determine queer youth needs. Additional achievements include leading trainings at the state conference for Friday Night Live Club, assisting in the county youth leadership team’s conference at Cabrillo College, challenging himself academically with college prep and advanced placement classes, participating in many plays, and being a member of the cross country and track teams. Being such a self-possessed and accomplished out young man with strong communication skills makes him an inspiring role model for other queer youth, and an excellent ambassador to the non-queer communities.

Mikey Rempillo has demonstrated that whatever he strives for in the future, it will make the world a better place. Being the only out gay student in a small school, Mikey took the initiative to begin the formation of a Gay Straight Alliance in order to educate the current student body and faculty about the obstacles gay youth face, as well as to create a welcoming environment for future queer students at Renaissance High School. After coming out, Mikey also became active in several queer youth events and organizations, such as the Queer Youth Leadership Awards and STRANGE. He also became a regular at the Diversity Center’s Queer Youth Safe Space where young people from throughout the county meet periodically to form friendships, hang out, and just be queer without fear of oppression. Mikey approaches everything he does with a positive attitude, a sense of humor, and an inquisitive intellect. Never afraid to speak his mind and always willing to lend a helping hand, Mikey is a role models for others — gay and straight alike.

Luigi Fabritzio Tufo demonstrates leadership through service to others and his strong sense of self. Growing up in a family that operates a rest home, for his whole life Luigi has been actively involved in serving the residents, not only in their care, but creating an atmosphere of life by performing for them musically. In school, he volunteered as a teaching assistant for two years, and became an irreplaceable force, assisting the teacher and helping maintain unity in the classroom as she went through a debilitating health condition and aggressive surgery. He’s the natural leader in the room who “rolls up his sleeves” to help the students, encouraging them to do their best work. It’s his nature to have a generous spirit, and by choosing to be out in his school’s sometimes-unsupportive environment, he helps tear down misconceptions and prejudice simply by being out as a person of integrity and compassion.

Ralph Alpert is a pillar in our community whose commitments of time, intellectual capital, and financial resources have had tremendous impact in support of queer youth. An active and longtime member of the Community Foundation’s Diversity Partnership Advisory Committee, Ralph has been an advocate for supporting activities that increase the visibility of queer youth in schools, public media, health, faith-based organizations, education, and youth-serving groups. Ralph has been a long-time donor to the Queer Youth Task Force, STRANGE, the Diversity Center, Triangle Speakers, and the UCSC Lionel Cantú GLBTI Resource Center. Ralph also supported a Queer Zine Project (The Big Q) based at UCSC, which included the voices of many of the area’s queer youth. In addition to his own substantial financial contributions, Ralph has organized others to form ADAM, a group of individuals who contribute funds to be pooled and used toward queer youth projects.

Laura Garnette works to protect the interests of queer youth in juvenile detention systems. Laura has worked this year with the Superintendent of Juvenile Hall to make sure that safe space signage and diverse family images are displayed in juvenile hall. Laura has also worked for many years training probation staff across the country about queer youth issues in general, as well as the probable over-representation of queer youth in detention systems. This year, Laura has worked to pressure the Annie E. Casey Foundation to conduct a pilot research project to determine whether queer youth are actually over-represented in detention systems across the country, a project that falls within the larger Annie E. Casey Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, which is working to create equitable detention processes and conditions of confinement across gender, race, and ethnicity. Laura is one of three national leaders who is placing pressure on this initiative to also include sexual identity as a source of oppression and inequitable institutional treatment.

Vietta Helmle has used her leadership role as the Executive Director of the YWCA of Watsonville to ensure queer youth and their families feel welcome in the broader community. Vietta’s office door is always open, and she always makes an effort to greet youth with a warm smile when they visit the facility. Vietta has supported Latinas Lesbianas y Aliadas (LyLyA), as well as PFLAG en Español, which meets monthly at the YWCA facility. At staff meetings, Vietta makes sure staff are aware of LGBT program activities and progress, and she creates a safe space for LGBT program staff to report comfortably, often prefacing verbal reports with accolades on their work. She also works to make sure queer-related programs have funding to continue providing services to our community. At times when LGBT participants in YWCA programs have shared confidentially with staff about the homophobia they face out in the community, Vietta has advised program staff on ways the YWCA can offer direct support to their members in combating that homophobia.

Valerie Quandt, as Assistant Principal of Watsonville High School and formerly as a teacher at Scotts Valley High School, is consistent supporter of queer students and their allies. An active supporter of the Watsonville High School GSA, Valerie helps creates a safe environment for queer youth, who know they have her support in standing up against homophobia and intolerance. She is active in enforcing the state law AB 537 and encourages other allies on campus (administrators, teachers, students, and parents) to support the implementation of queer and anti-bias education into the school curriculum. As one of the students at Watsonville High said, “she uses her authority to assist us … around the fight against homophobia.” Valerie has supported programs that spread awareness of queer youth issues and has created a positive atmosphere for everyone. Valerie also facilitates the Equity Team at Watsonville High School and serves on the district’s Equity Team. She truly is an ally who has devoted her time and energy to make a difference in the GLBTQ community.

Glenn Soma is the kind of parent who not only goes the extra mile for his own bisexual daughter, who graduated from Scotts Valley High — he continues to be an active force advocating for GLBTIQ youth in the Scotts Valley Unified School District and surrounding areas. By visiting with School Board members, serving on the SVUSD Strategic Plan Task Force, and serving on committees within the school district, he strives to make sure the schools are safe for all youth. Over the past two years, Glenn has spoken openly of his love and commitment to his daughter, and with his wife Winona, joined PFLAG in order to better understand how to support his daughter and in turn provide support for parents, friends, and family of all GLBTIQ persons. When called upon to participate in the Strategic Planning process, he helps assure that the concerns of GLBTIQ students, staff, and faculty are included in the discussion, advocating for inclusiveness and being a voice in the system for those who deal with opposition and intolerance every day.

Elizabeth Tapia understands the importance of close-knit groups and face-to-face interaction as a foundation of the GLBTIQ community. A Mexican immigrant and longtime member of Santa Cruz County’s lesbian community, Elizabeth began actively volunteering three years ago when she began working with the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center. She was a founding member of the first ever Latina Collective to create a Spanish monthly segment of the Closet Free Radio Program at KZSC Radio that reaches queer youth. Last year, she began collaborating with Triangle Speakers and LyLyA to ensure Spanish PFLAG monthly meetings in Watsonville. Last winter, Elizabeth opened her home to create a space for Latina lesbians of all ages to socialize, relax, create, recreate, and learn from one another. Elizabeth has also helped organize meetings of the first ever GLBT Latino Retreat 2007, and is an active member of Latinas y Lesbianas y Aliadas/YWCA of Watsonville and the Líderes Lesbianas Latinas, two groups dedicated to serving the queer Latina communities in Santa Cruz County.

Susy Zepeda has consistently made her commitment to making Santa Cruz County a safer place for LGBTIQ youth a top priority. Susy’s initiative as a founding member of the Queer Latina Network (QLN) is a testament to her commitment to creating spaces for young Latina lesbians to share life experiences and grow as both individuals and as a community. Likewise, through her work at Triangle Speakers as both a director and volunteer, Susy shares her life experiences with youth, especially Latino/a youth in Santa Cruz County, in order to reduce homophobia in the Latino/a community and to create a positive space for young Latino/a GLBT people to come together and collaborate. Susy is also a founding member of Latinas y Lesbianas y Aliadas (LyLyA) and Líderes Lesbianas Latinas (LLL), two groups dedicated to serving the queer Latina communities in Santa Cruz County. Some of their work includes planning a retreat for Queer Latinos/as in the county and sponsoring culturally-informed events for all people in Santa Cruz County.

For the past 15 years, Temple Beth El has supported its queer and transgendered members and actively promoted inclusion in the broader community. Temple Beth El’s clergy and its member congregants have long believed that in order for queer folk to feel whole, their spiritual communities must support them wholly, including one’s sexual and gender identity. Through their continued community work with Out in Our Faith, Temple Beth El has been a local religious leader in creating a world where discrimination and prejudice are replaced with inclusiveness and understanding. This year, Temple Beth El partnered with its well-known early childhood program, Simcha Preschool, to expand their commitment to queer youth and families by offering a three part anti-bias workshop series on children’s developing gender identity, alternate family structures, and LGBTIQ cultural competencies. One workshop is designed for early childhood educators, one for religious school educators, and one for parents of young children. By starting with the premise that inclusiveness is best taught at an early age, Simcha Preschool and Temple Beth El help to create not only supportive environments, but also grow the future ranks of peer allies to our GLBTIQ youth.

Ceres Policy Research is a local program evaluation business that focuses primarily on programs that serve youth. Ceres Policy Research also provides opportunities for UCSC and Cabrillo students to complete paid internships that focus on social justice research. In the past year, the institute’s principal researcher, Dr. Angela Irvine, has published several evaluations on organizations and issues affecting queer youth. Dr. Irvine’s evaluation on Triangle Speakers presented specific recommendations to take the program to a higher level. A drug and alcohol survey for youth by youth showed that LGBT youth are more apt to use alcohol and drugs at a higher rate than their heterosexual peers, and for different reasons. These results provide the justification for more targeted programs to address the unique needs of these often-overlooked group. The institute also recently created a proposal to survey the number and treatment of LGBT youth involved in the juvenile justice system nationally. Dr. Irvine also produced findings on Girls Circle, incorporating direct questions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity to allow service providers the opportunity to provide appropriate services to queer youth. Dr. Irvine’s organization has made social justice of all types a top priority. In doing so, she has incorporated the needs of queer youth and their allies in all of her research, making sure service providers have the information necessary to respond to the needs of this specific community.