Watch QYLA 2020 on Community TV
Santa Cruz Community TV Channel 27/73 every Thursday and Saturday until April 3, 2021! Special thank you to Community TV!
- Thursdays at 9 PM
- Saturdays at 9 AM
QYLA 2020 Program Booklet
Check out the 40-page QYLA 2020 Program Booklet featuring photos and bios of all the nominees and awardees, congratulatory messages from elected officials, businesses, and community organizations!
QYLA 2020 on YouTube
QYLA is proud to present the 23rd Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards that took place via live stream on Saturday, October 10, 2020. Congratulations to all the nominees and awardees!
- QYLA 2020 Red Carpet featuring Secretary John Laird and Congressmember Jimmy Panetta with host QYLA awardee Caleb Lennon.
- 23rd Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards
23nd Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards
- Queer Youth Leadership Award
- Ally to Queer Youth Award
- Organizational Ally to Queer Youth Award
Queer Youth Leadership Award, Nominees
- Abby Sotelo, New Brighton Middle School Student
- Anthony Flores, Watsonville High School Student
- Caleb Lennon, Cypress High School Student
- Camila Snyder-Alaniz & Matthew Domenichelli, Santa Cruz High School Students
- Guillermo Mares Cervantes, Watsonville high School Student
- Jeydon Hernandez-Cordero, Delta Charter High School Student
- Linus Harless, Soquel High School Student
- Nick Perry, Sequoia Junior High School Student
- Reyes Morales Warne, San Lorenzo Valley High School Student
- Tabitha Humble, New Brighton Middle School Student
Ally to Queer Youth Award, Nominees
- Dr. Faris Sabbah, Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools
- Michelle Brandt, Co-Facilitator, TransFamilies of Santa Cruz County
- Michele Delibert, Math Teacher, Sequoia High School
- Ryan Bosson, Spanish Teacher & QSA Advisor, Soquel High School
- Shannon Kelly, Director of Upper School, Mount Madonna School
- Yvette Castillo, Watsonville High School Student
Organizational Ally to Queer Youth Award, Nominees
- Santa Cruz Derby Girls and Santa Cruz Derby Groms
>> Read the biographies of all the nominees HERE
Watch the QYLA 2020 Nominees!
Theme for QYLA 2020
The New Brighton Middle School Queer Straight Alliance (QSA), who are hosting this year’s event, chose the theme of Speak Up for Equality. The theme was chosen to empower other queer youth to speak up for their rights, the rights that should be granted to them. This is an important topic, especially right now. Many queer students are faced with fear to come out and speak up to their peers. This is why the New Brighton Middle School QSA felt this was an important theme for this year’s QYLA.
Tune In to Listen to the QYLA 2020 Nominees!
- Talk of the Bay with Rachel Goodman, KSQD 90.7 FM / Listen to the May 14th show
- Out In Santa Cruz, KSCO 1080 AM / Listen to the May 16th show / Correction: Linus Harless pronouns are They/Them/Theirs
- Closet Free Radio, KZSC 88.1 FM / Listen to the May 18th show
A Message from Assemblymember Mark Stone
A Message from QYLA
QYLA is sponsored by the Queer Youth Task Force of Santa Cruz County, a fiscally sponsored agent of the Diversity Center. Co-sponsored, in part, by the Soquel Union Elementary School District (SUESD), New Brighton Middle School, and the New Brighton Middle School Queer Straight Alliance (QSA).