TAYSF is proud to introduce our Young Adult Advisory:
Astrid Carolina Moscoso – Tenderloin, SF
Homeless At-Risk Transitional Students (HARTS), City College of San Francisco (CCSF)
Now a student at City College of San Francisco, Carolina intents on making it as a Judge in the Juvenile Court. She works with homeless and the unstably-housed student population at City College, with an organization called Homeless At-risk Transitional Students Program, or HARTS. Since the age of 16 until Carolina moved in to her new place, Carolina didn’t have a stable living situation. For the last five years, Carolina has had a passion to help youth. She wanted a way to fight back. Now focused on attending Mills College and likely law school, Carolina will keep fighting. [Read Carolina's interview for TAYSF's newsletter on Youth Housing & Homelessness].
Carlos Gonzalez-Tostado, Visitacion Valley, SF
Migrant Ed SFUSD
Carlos has been working with youth since his days in high school. In 2008, he became an outreach worker for the “DJ Project” program, located at the non-profit Horizons Unlimited. In that same year he also became a scholarship award recipient of the Maisin Scholar award, Latin American Teachers Association (LATA), and the California Federation of Teachers. Currently he is working as a student Mentor/Migrant Advocate for SFUSD’s Migrant Education program. He hopes to one day become a teacher that will empower youth. He is currently attending San Francisco State University majoring in Raza studies as an Undergraduate student. He plans on receiving a Ph.D and to hopefully one day make positive changes in the public education system.
Dolores Lockwood “JD” - Hunter’s Point, SF
CA Youth Connection (CYC); Fostering Art
JD loves to play sports and help people out. He works at San Francisco Conservation Corps (SFCC) and is part of street soccer team for homeless. JD loves basketball too. He is planing to go back to college in spring or next fall. JD is a photographer and going back to school for sound engineer photography, Spanish, coaching basketball, and few other subjects.
Jose Luis Alberti Jr. – Richmond District, SF
Juvenile Advisory Council (JAC), Juvenile Probation Department
Born and raised in the city of San Francisco’s Mission District, Jose grew up in a Latino community impacted by gangs, drugs, and violence which guided him down the wrong path. Since 2003 he’s been putting his life back together, working with multiple community non-profit organization leaders. Fortunately, they have been helping him up the right path at the same time giving the motivation to help youth that were in his position. Now currently enrolled in City College of San Francisco for spring2011, Jose is still working with the community.
[Read Jose's interview for TAYSF's newsletter on Education]
Catherine-Mercedes Judge – Sunset Parkside, SF
Tobacco Use Reduction Force (TURF); Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)
Catherine was born and raised in San Francisco and got her start in activism at an early age learning from her father’s role with different movements since the 1960s, and continues to organize support for her mother’s union (UNITE HERE Local 2). She graduated with honors from Queens College with a B.A. in Urban Studies and has led programs and chapters with youth, political, community and labor organizations in the Bay Area and New York City.
Catherine currently provides technical assistance to community based organizations, and coordinates a group of young advocates in the Tobacco Use Reduction Force program “TURF” at the Youth Leadership Institute. She also serves on the board of the South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) and promotes local, politically conscious, independent artists with PapaLoDown.
Arturo Zavala – Lakeview, SF
Inner City Youth
Arturo is a lifelong San Francisco resident who is employed at Inner City Youth (ICY) as an Assistant Sound Engineer in their recording studio for at-risk youth. He is studying entrepreneurship at a local college. He loves music and is a rapper currently working on his first mix-tape. Arturo’s a huge 49ers fan. Issues that are important to him are: increased affordable housing for at-risk transitional age youth, violence in our City, criminal justice issues, and employment for ex-offenders. He is from Lakeview and want to represent the young men from that neighborhood who have no opportunities.
Claudia Mendez – Mission District, SF
Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP); Fostering Art
Claudia sits on the Youth Council where she brings the information from the Young Adult Advisory, and influences funding and the prioritizing services for the TAY population. Claudia also works with the Independent Living Skills Program as the Spanish Life Skill Classes Organizer, working with 10-13 monolingual Spanish speaking foster youth.
Around 3 years ago, she decided to advocate around the issues and challenges that current and former foster youth were facing. Last year was her first year advocating for the whole TAY population instead of just foster youth. Claudia will graduate from San Francisco State University and attend law school to become a dependency lawyer, which advocates for foster youth.
Nicole Bivens – Castro, SF
New Door Ventures
Nicole is a student at CCSF studying to get her bachelors degree. She has participated in many programs in San Francisco, including Larkin Street Youth Services, New Door Ventures, LYRIC, and other community-based organizations. Nicole has siblings in foster care that have inspired her to make change for youth and advocate for them.
Nicole has lived in transitional housing and wishes to see more opportunity for transitional aged youth who are “stuck in the middle.” She recognizes there is not as much support for these youth as there is for foster youth in San Francisco. Her goal as a member of the Advisory is to speak for others whose voices aren’t heard in this community. Nicole is a writer and has many hobbies including traveling and photography.
Yeashan Banks – Bayview/Hunter’s Point, SF
POWER
Yeashan is a San Francisco native, originally from Bayview Hunters Point. Yeashan has been doing social justice work at Youth Uprising in Oakland since 2007, focusing on health policy issues and serving as a Youth Researcher for the California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative. She has also done volunteer work for Congresswoman Barbara Lee and sits on the steering committee of the Black Organizing Project (BOP). She graduated from The Center for Third World Organizing’s (CTWO) Movement Activist Apprenticeship Program (MAAP) in 2010. She has since then joined POWER as an Organizer for the Bayview Hunters Point Organizing Project. She is passionate about uplifting communities of color in the constant fight for equality. Yeashan lives by the mottos “nothing lasts forever” and “what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger” because these combined bring her the strength to know she can overcome any struggle.
Robin Bonner – Mission, SF
S.F. Youth Commission
Jennifer Salcedo – Hunter’s Point, SF
Boys and Girls Club
Arielle Piamonte – Silver Terrace, SF
Christ the Living Savior Church; Youth Speaks; Visions of La Moda Fashion Studio for Youth
Raised mostly in San Francisco’s South of Market Area, Arielle has always let her passion for art and God overcome her struggles with bullying, domestic violence, and homelessness throughout her childhood. She uses various art mediums from fashion to spoken word to express her devotion to God, and hopes to inspire younger women to enjoy “the beauty and healing of art ”. She is currently an evangelist in-training at her local church, her school’s representative of the Student Led Arts Movement (SLAM) Union at Youth Speaks, and also a design & merchandising student and blogger for Visions of La Moda Fashion Studio for Youth.
Grecco Balatbat – SOMA, SF
South of Market Action Community Network (SOMCAN)
Wilson Lin – Excelsior, SF
Communities in Harmony Advocating for Learning and Kids (CHALK)
Chanella Hunter – Sunnydale
Coleman Advocates
Rene Ontiveros - Mission District, SF
S.F. Youth Commission; YA BASTA @CCSF
Carlos Martinez -
Students Advocating for Equity (SAFE); Students Making A Change (SMAC); Associated Students Council (ASC ), CCSF;
