Organizational Ally to Queer Youth – Awardee:
WATSONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL
The Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) has worked since 2012 to highlight Latine filmmakers and stories that illuminate our shared humanity and inspire positive change, and has made it a priority to feature films with LGBTQIA+ stories, characters, and themes. WFF director Consuelo Alba and her staff are strong allies to the LGBTQIA+ community who work with local youth filmmakers to present their work in the festival. WFF is described as an organization that has and continues to make a profound impact on the Watsonville community by uplifting the voices of youth, LGBTQIA+ people, and other marginalized groups. WFF supports the LGBTQIA+ Latine community and inspires local LGBTQIA+ youth with positive representation on screen and showing them that their stories and their culture matter.
Organizational Ally to Queer Youth – Nominees:
LIGHTSPEED MARTIAL ARTS
Lightspeed Martial Arts is a martial arts studio in Scotts Valley that consistently creates and maintains safe and supportive athletic opportunities for its students. Under the leadership of owner and Master Matt Salisbury, Lightspeed Martial Arts ensures that spaces and events that are typically aligned to a gender binary are safe and open for people of all genders. In a time when states are enacting legislation to ban transgender and nonbinary athletes from competition, Lightspeed Martial Arts celebrates them by ensuring restrooms and changing rooms are safe for all genders, that tournaments and martial arts belt testing are nonbinary and trans inclusive, and that all staff and participants respect names and pronouns. Lightspeed Martial Arts is a place where LGBTQIA+ athletes can be their authentic selves.
NIJI DOJO
Niji Dojo is a martial arts studio in Santa Cruz that offers Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing, self defense, yoga, circuit, and recovery classes in a welcoming and affirming place for LGBTQIA+ people. Niji Dojo is described as a special place without the “macho attitude” often associated with martial arts. Niji Dojo is upfront about their inclusion policies and maintains a safe space for trans and nonbinary people to train, and is intentional about being inclusive of all bodies. Niji Dojo provides scholarships to support LGBTQIA+ youth who may be struggling with body image, lacking a feeling of belonging, or just lacking the funds to participate, which has allowed several LGBTQIA+ youth to feel more at home in their bodies and experience the fun and joy of movement.
SAN LORENZO VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL (SLVMS) GSA
San Lorenzo Valley Middle School (SLVMS) GSA club is described as a “safe haven” for LGBTQIA+ and allied students. Under the leadership of Co-Presidents Kel Dennis and Victor Ersunay, and Advisor Rex Olivieri, SLVMS GSA has fostered important conversations among school staff regarding the importance of consistently using accurate pronouns and supporting LGBTQIA+ students at school. This school year the club attended the Queer, Trans, and Allied Student Summit of the Central Coast and provided opportunities for adults on campus to show support for LGBTQIA+ students. SLVMS GSA members are described as determined and self-reliant and as some of the kindest students you’ll ever meet. SLVMS GSA provides a much needed queer space in a more rural part of our county.
TEMPLE BETH EL
Temple Beth El has celebrated its queer and transgender members for over thirty years, and its member congregants have long believed that in order for LGBTQIA+ people to feel whole, their spiritual communities must support them wholly. As a founding member of Out in Our Faith, Temple Beth El provides faith services that are inclusive of LGBTQIA+ individuals. Temple Beth El celebrates an annual Pride Shabbat, supports temple youth in their exploration of their sexualities and gender identities, and celebrates LGBTQIA+ youth in their confirmation classes, Sunday school, and Beyt Mitzvah classes. Temple Beth El serves as a model for welcoming and inclusivity of LGBTQIA+ individuals for its congregation members and for all faith organizations in Santa Cruz County. Temple Beth El was a QYLA awardee in 2007.
