Ally to Queer Youth Award – Awardee:
ASHLYN ADAMS
Pronouns: she/her/sir | Youth & Young Adult Services Manager, The Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County
Ashlyn is the Youth and Young Adult Services Manager at the Diversity Center, and has previously served as the Interim Co-Director of the Center. Throughout her different roles, Ashlyn has worked tirelessly to continue to hold safe and brave spaces for our LGBTQIA+ youth during the pandemic, including holding online youth group meetings, running a twenty-four hour youth group Discord, and conducting a cooking show on Instagram to keep youth connected, supported, and engaged. Ashlyn has intervened to provide lifesaving mental health support to young people in crisis and has coordinated mental health services for young people in need. Ashlyn continues to give workshops on LGBTQIA+ youth issues and works with youth, schools, and organizations throughout the county to help our LGBTQIA+ youth.
Ally to Queer Youth Award – Nominees:
ADINA LICHT
Pronouns: she/her/hers | Girl Scout Leader, CountyTroop 15502 and Community Advocate
Adina Licht is a Girl Scout Leader and a community advocate working in Scotts Valley. As a Girl Scout Leader, Adina has helped two scouts who took on community projects that support the LGBTQIA+ community for their Gold Awards. Adina helped her openly trans child Q Licht with his Purple Sticker Project, inviting media influencers and politicians to the Gold Award Ceremony to highlight this important work. Adina is currently helping with another scout’s project to get free menstrual products in all gender bathrooms on school campuses. As an Ally parent, Adina has advised many other parents of LGBTQIA+ youth who have questions and concerns about how to support their children. Adina is described as a dedicated, loyal, passionate, and tenacious advocate for LGBTQIA+ youth.
ANDREA DAMON
Pronouns: she/her/hers | Lead Meeting Facilitator, TransFamilies of Santa Cruz County
Andrea Damon is the Lead Meeting Facilitator for TransFamilies of Santa Cruz County, where she has been a passionate advocate for transgender and gender expansive youth since 2017. Andrea leads two online meetings each month for TransFamilies, and during COVID stepped up as a volunteer at Gender Spectrum to temporarily run their online parent group to ensure a continuity of support for parents around the world. Andrea has participated in two Understanding Gender Workshops for Parents and Adult Allies and was instrumental in creating the smooth transition to the online platform during COVID. Andrea also created and presented a talk with Dr. Jen Hastings on Understanding Gender to the staff at Ohana Center for Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health to help them better support gender expansive youth in treatment.
CELINE CUNEO
Pronouns: she/her/hers | Teacher and Advisor, Sexuality and Gender Acceptance Club of Watsonville High School
Celine Cuneo is an English teacher at Watsonville High School and advises the school’s Sexuality and Gender Acceptance (SAGA) club. Celine is described by her students as someone who is extremely kind and who cares deeply, always going above and beyond to support students both academically and emotionally. As the SAGA advisor, Celine has created a safe space for students of all backgrounds and identities, and she worked hard to keep SAGA members connected during distance learning, raising money for and helping students design SAGA merch so they could represent the club from home. Celine has also chaperoned students at the YES Conferences; helped plan the 2017 Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summit; and was a chaperone for the 2018 Creating Change Conference in Washington, DC.
FARIS SABBAH
Pronouns: he/him/his | Superintendent, Santa Cruz County Office of Education
Dr. Faris Sabbah is the Superintendent for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (SCCOE) and is committed to ensuring LGBTQIA+ students feel safe and affirmed. Dr. Sabbah has worked on several initiatives to support LGBTQIA+ youth in schools and in the community, including helping to establish and fund the work of the SCCOE LGBTQ+ Task Force, and ensuring his staff receive professional development on LGBTQIA+ issues. Dr. Sabbah collaborated with the Diversity Center to connect local LGBTQIA+ youth to critical mental health resources during the pandemic, promising that no student would be denied mental health for any reason. Dr. Sabbah is working with county schools to raise the Pride Flag at their sites and attends many local LGBTQIA+ activities and events to continue to show his support.
JAMIE CUTTER
Pronouns: she/her/hers | Advisor, Queer and Trans Youth Council of Santa Cruz County and Author, Inclusive Sex Education: A Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Curriculum
Jamie Cutter is a teacher and QSA advisor at Delta High School, the advisor to the Queer and Trans Youth Council of Santa Cruz County (QTYC), and the Director of Health Curriculum at the Safe Schools Project. Jamie has generously given her time to countless LGBTQIA+ projects and initiatives over the past decade and is currently supporting the QTYC on an ambitious project to survey and support all local public high school students on safe access to all gender bathrooms. Jamie is the author of Inclusive Sex Education, an LGBTQIA+ affirming sexual health curriculum that has been adopted by Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s high schools and is currently being used by schools across the county and beyond. Jamie was an Ally to Youth Awardee in 2018.
JEN SALINAS-HOLZ
Pronouns: she/her/ella | Member, PVUSD LGBTQ Task Force and Advisor, Lakeview Middle School QSA, Alianza Charter School QSA and Rainbow club, Watsonville Charter School of the Arts middle school GSA, GSA Junior, and Be Yourself Clubs
Jen Salinas-Holz is a member of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) LGBTQ Task Force and an advisor to six different elementary and middle school GSAs in PVUSD. Jen is a vocal and consistent advocate for LGBTQIA+ youth in Watsonville, where her presence as an openly queer adult helps youth feel accepted and affirmed at school. As a Task Force member, Jen works to keep PVUSD moving forward on LGBTQIA+ issues in schools. Jen is a frequent volunteer at queer and trans youth events, and has collaborated with TransFamilies of Santa Cruz County and Gender Spectrum to create and present the Understanding Gender workshop for parents and adult allies at the Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summits. Jen was an Ally to Youth Awardee in 2019.
LUPITA SANCHEZ
Pronouns: she/her/hers and they/them/theirs | Programs Manager, “Food, What?”
Lupita Sanchez is the programs manager at Food What?! and is described as a queer person who centers unapologetic self-love as a radical and revolutionary act. Lupita’s intentional non-gendered language, the topics and themes of the workshops she curates, and the authentic example she leads every day provides a grounding presence and creates a safe and affirming place for LGBTQIA+ youth at Food What?!, particularly queer and trans youth of color. Lupita has centered LGBTQIA+ rights and the intersections of gendered violence in her workshop on healthy relationships. Lupita makes sure crew members respect each other’s pronouns, and invites curiosity and critical thought from youth when regarding the gendered dynamics of labor in the kitchen and on the farm, guiding youth to challenge stereotypes and think beyond the binary.
RALPH ALPERT
Pronouns: he/him/his | Community Donor
Ralph Alpert has been an advocate and donor for the LGBTQIA+ community for decades. A retired author, Ralph is a visionary for raising the visibility of LGBTQIA+ youth in schools and has been instrumental in funding LGBTQIA+ causes. Ralph has generously donated to numerous organizations working to support LGBTQIA+ youth over the years, including the Diversity Center, the Queer Youth Task Force, Triangle Speakers, the UCSC Lionel Cantú GLBTI Resource Center, and more. One of the Diversity Center’s original donors, this year Ralph answered the call to support our youth who were struggling with isolation and mental health concerns during the pandemic. His additional $10,000 contribution specifically to fund mental health counseling for LGBTQIA+ youth has saved lives. Ralph was an Ally to Youth Awardee in 2007.
