Queer Youth Leadership Award – Awardees:
ALEX TRASK | Awardee
he/him/his & they/them/theirs
Student, Delta Charter High School at Cabrillo College | Member, Queer Student Union (QSU) | Member, Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) Club | Resource Fair Coordinator, Queer, Trans & Allied Summit
Eli Romero Ortigosa is an immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico, and member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community whose leadership is highly influenced by his upbringing. He entered middle school without speaking English and is one of 2,242 national finalists recently awarded the prestigious QuestBridge Scholarship, which provides him with a four-year scholarship to attend Stanford University beginning this fall. As co-president of Watsonville High School’s Dream Club, Eli helps create a welcoming environment for undocumented students and their allies, promotes higher education, and organizes cultural events. His other passion is the fashion runway. Since the 6th grade, he has been actively involved in Fashion Teens Santa Cruz. For this annual show, students create designs from recycled materials to express social and environmental concerns. Eli’s designs have increased visibility about mental health and oppression.
CARLOS JOEL GONZÁLEZ | Awardee
he/him/his
Student, Watsonville High School | Co-President, Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Club | Leader, PRISM Student Coalition for Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
Carlos got involved in LGBTQ+ activism as early as 6th grade when he joined Lakev – iew Middle School’s QSA club and later earned his position as QSA President. Now a junior at Watsonville High School, Carlos is the Co-president of the GSA club as well as a PRISM leader, mentoring middle and high school students in the Watsonville community. By sharing his experiences as an openly bisexual Latino youth, Carlos has helped build a more inclusive and open-minded community. Carlos is also a very talented performer, well known in the local musical theater community. He has not only performed in Watsonville High School’s musical theater productions, but has also been featured in Cabrillo’s productions of In the Heights, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Spongebob: The Musical, and now, the All About Theater production of Hadestown. Carlos is also no stranger to the Queer Youth Leadership Awards, volunteering to perform a beautiful rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in last year’s event.
ENALAYAH RIVERA NEESE | Awardee
she/her/hers & they/them/theirs
Student, Delta Charter High School at Cabrillo College | Leader, Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) Club
Enalayah is a strong, resilient woman of color who fights for justice for herself and her community. In their leadership class, Enalayah initiated a project to collect and distribute resources to Santa Cruz’s unhoused population. Their efforts included presenting at the Sunrise Rotary to request financial support, organizing a bake sale and an online donation system, establishing a clothing and food drive, coordinating with Food Not Bombs to distribute the supplies to unhoused people downtown, and collecting requests for the next distribution. As a leader in Delta High’s QSA Club, Enalayah helps make agendas and leads group discussions, ensuring every – one feels safe, supported, and heard. Motivated by recent threats to LGBTQ+ and undocumented youth, Enalayah pushed for the principal and board to keep student information private and establish protective protocols should ICE come to campus. Enalayah also writes and performs poetry, welcomes prospective students to the school, and has taken on additional projects like writing a coming-of-age memoir and researching the effects of drugs on teen mental health.
IZABELLA LEON | Awardee
she/her/hers & they/them/theirs
Student, Pajaro Valley High School (PVHS) | President, Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club | Commissioner of Multicultural Events, Associated Student Body (ASB) |
Co-chair & Youth Commissioner, City of Watsonville Teen Action Council (TAC) | Member, Youth Action Network | Member, Parks & Recreation Commission
As the President of PVHS’ GSA Club and ASB Commissioner of Multicultural Events, Izabella facilitates activities and events like the Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day and PVUSD’s first joint National Coming Out Day. Izabella is also involved in Ethnic Literature Studies and Student Action Council where they revised the PV student handbook to better define hate motivated speech, and helped English Learner students with their CARE presentations about issues like the history of slurs and maladaptive coping strategies. With the Youth Action Network, Izzy connected, and provided resources to youth-serving organizations and urged the City of Watsonville to adopt a universal standard for youth behavioral health: the 41 Developmental Assets Framework for Youth. As the Co-chair and Youth Commissioner for Teen Action Council, and as a member of Watsonville’s Parks and Recreation Commission, Izabella is bridging the gap between local government and youth, fiercely advocating for systemic change with more youth representation on boards like CASA and Santa Cruz’s Youth Council, more substance abuse and mental health resources, and more funding for afterschool programs.
Queer Youth Leadership Award – Nominees:
ALICE SOLDATE | Nominee
she/her/hers
Student, Harbor High School | Leader, Queer Straight Alliance (QSA) Club | Member, Santa Cruz Queer History Podcast
As a leader and designated “Cookie Fairy” at Harbor High’s QSA, Alice is a cornerstone of the club, bringing sweet treats to the club’s meetings and events, and providing a welcoming and enjoyable space for LGBTQ+ students. During meetings, Alice is outspoken and unafraid to share her perspective on subjects she’s passionate about, leading the way and setting an example for other students to have open, honest conversations about LGBTQ+ issues. Alice also provided technical support and helped research and write interview questions for the Santa Cruz County Queer History podcast, a platform for the older LGBTQ+ generation to share their experiences and offer advice. Whether she’s meeting with QSA, training with the swim team, or discussing books with the school’s literary reader’s club, Alice’s upbeat energy, self-assurance, and infectious joy permeate everything she does. She doesn’t mince words when sharing her point of view and is always ready and willing to stand up for what is right.
EVAN JACQUES-MAYNES | Nominee
he/him/his & they/them/theirs
Student, Aptos High School | Leader, Rainbow Alliance Club | Leader, PRISM Student Coalition for Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
As a leader in Aptos High School’s Rainbow Alliance Club, Evan is passionately vocal about social justice and the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ youth. Over the years, Evan has spoken at many Pajaro Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) school board meetings as a Student Senator, advocating for the importance of ethnic studies and the need for more gender-neutral bathrooms. Evan also attended and spoke publicly at an impactful and moving PVUSD community meeting in 2024, courageously sharing his experiences as a trans student and expressing the difficulties they and their friends have faced trying to access all gender restrooms. Starting out as a member of Watsonville’s GSA club, PRISM, Evan quickly established himself as a leader in the group, sharing his artistic skills and inspiring other members to take pride in their identities. Evan is also a talented performer and visual artist, acting in their school’s theater programs, providing free art workshops for students, and making and donating ceramic bowls to a Second Harvest Food Bank organization called Empty Bowls.
HEX BAILEY | Nominee
all pronouns
Student, Harbor High School | Creative Director, Queer Student Alliance (QSA) Club | Member, Santa Cruz Queer History Podcast
Hex is a student at Harbor High School who has also been an active participant in the Santa Cruz Queer History podcast. Working in collaboration with other queer youth in the county, Hex helped interview local Santa Cruz elders about their unique experiences related to queer history. They not only came up with interview questions and helped others formulate questions, but were also one of the primary students who conducted the interviews. As a calm, confident, and familiar interviewer, Hex was easily able to put interviewees at ease, greatly contributing to the podcast’s success and expanding their reach, not just within the queer community, but beyond as well. They have a spirit of volunteerism that really shines, being the first to raise their hand if the podcast needs artwork, or if someone needs to be interviewed at lunch. Hex is also very artistic and creative, acting as Harbor High’s QSA Creative Director and taking the lead on all artistic projects for the club.
MARK, ADEL MENDOZA LUENGAS | Nominee
he/him/his, she/her/hers & they/them/theirs
Student, Pajaro Valley High School (PVHS) | Member, Student Action Council | Leader, PRISM Student Coalition for Gender, Sex, and Sexuality | Member, Youth Advisory Task Force
Mark’s social justice activism began as a member, then the President of his middle school’s QSA club where he led a school-wide National Coming Out Day and a Day of Silence. Now a member of the Student Action Council at PVHS, Adel continues to speak publicly, advocating for herself and other queer and trans students. For two consecutive years, Adel has spoken at the district-wide Harvey Milk Day event and acted as a student advocate at PVUSD’s LGBTQ+ committee meeting regarding all-gender restrooms. Adel bravely shared their experience with gendered restrooms, explaining the daily fear and stress trans and gender diverse students face regard – ing bathroom safety and use. When Watsonville’s PRISM club for LGBTQ+ youth and allies launched, Mark was a leader from the start, volunteering and acting as a role model for other members. Mark also contributes to their local community as a member of the Santa Cruz Youth Advisory Task Force and continues to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights, most notably, by proudly leading the Santa Cruz Pride parade with a non-binary flag.
SADIE BELL | Nominee
they/them/theirs
Student, San Lorenzo Valley High School | President, Trans Student Union | President, Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Club | Co-president, Interact Club
For over three years Sadie has been an LGBTQ+ club leader, advocate, and role model, providing safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth to build friendships, feel accepted, and succeed academically. As President of the GSA club as well as the Trans Student Union, they have created a welcoming community for LGBTQ+ youth to support each other. They have also initiated important conversations with students, staff, and district members unfamiliar with the issues facing the LGBTQ+ youth. Sadie’s self-ef – ficacy, resilience, and ability to empower is also apparent in their role as Co-presi – dent of San Lorenzo Valley High School’s Interact club. After returning to in-person learning, the club suffered a significant decline in interest but Sadie’s leadership and direction helped rebuild the team, allowing their first community-wide, char – itable event to take place since Covid. Outside of school, Sadie collaborated with the Diversity Center to develop the Santa Cruz Queer Youth Prom for next year, and has taken on the roles of lighting designer and technical director in over a dozen productions for their theater program.
