When:

Tuesday, February 9th | 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. PST

About the Event:

At the Partnership’s virtual Youth in the Lead Orange Day Q&A, youth leaders will develop and ask questions of state policymakers about what they’re doing to support the issues they identify as important. Youth will also provide context for their questions by sharing their own experiences in the work to prevent teen dating violence, advocate for healthy relationships, heal from trauma, and engage in interconnected forms of social justice.

Thank you for showing your solidarity during Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month in February!

Zoom Information:

https://zoom.us/j/92270731108

Meeting ID: 922 7073 1108

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Meeting ID: 922 7073 1108

Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention, Orange Day & Prevention Fact Sheet

Throughout the year, and especially in February, we can all participate in TDVAPM by hosting educational workshops addressing healthy relationships, communication, conflict resolution, and respect. Encourage youth to design art that promotes the values of healthy relationships. Engage elected officials in events where youth can address the issues that matter to them. Share information about the resources available for the prevention of teen dating violence and the services for those who have been impacted by violence or abuse.

+Read More | +Visit our Youth in the Lead Campaign Page

Get Social

Tag us! | Facebook: @CAPartnershiptoEndDV  | Twitter: | @cpedvcoalition Instagram: @ca_partnership

Hashtag: #OrangeDay #Orange4Love #YouthInTheLead

Event Program and Bios

Youth Leading the Land Acknowledgement:

Liam Quisquis | Youth Leader with Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition

Gender Pronouns: He/Him/His
 

Opener, Closer, and Moderator:

Ben Salemme | HARRT Youth Leader with Haven Women’s Center of Stanislaus

Gender Pronouns: He/Him/His 
Bio: “Ben Salemme is a senior at Enochs High School. He has been in the HARRT Program for 3 years and he is very passionate about the issues that his peers and he face daily. Ben enjoys advocating by standing up in front of his community and addressing issues, such as teen dating violence, and encouraging everyone to help with prevention.”

Panel One Speakers:

Rosalio Castellanos | Youth Leader with My Sister’s House

Gender Pronouns: He/Him/His
Bio: Hello, My name is Rosalio Castellanos. I attend The Oakland School of arts and my major is vocal and my minor is social advocacy. I love to sing in my spare time as well as hang out in my social clubs. In the future I would love to peruse being a life coach. I honestly love being able to be a voice for my generation and my peers, our future depends on us taking action now so I plan to share everything I learn with anyone I can knowing that it may save a life.

Deyanira Vargas | Youth Leader with WomenShelter of Long Beach

Gender Pronouns: she/her/ella
Bio: My name is Deyanira Priscilla Vargas and I am currently 16 years old and a junior at Warren High School. About a year ago, my poetry book was published, “Turning My Scars Into Stars” which is a 3-chapter poetry book about how I healed from my childhood trauma. Today, I am currently working on bringing awareness to trauma and the healing process. Although I am very young, I am very passionate about spreading awareness and can’t wait to see what I accomplish as a person.

Estrella Torres | Youth Leader with Center For A Non Violent Community

Gender Pronouns: She/her/hers
Bio: My name is Estrella Torres. I am an 8th grader at Connections Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Summerville High School. I volunteer as a Youth Mentor at Center For A Non Violent Community, in Sonora, CA. I aspire to be a leader and role model for my community. I enjoy listening to and playing music on my guitar and piano.

Senator Susan Rubio | Representing District 22 – Baldwin Park

Gender Pronouns: She/her/hers
Bio: Senator Susan Rubio was born in Juarez, Mexico and is the proud daughter of a former bracero worker and housekeeper. She was elected to the California State Senate in 2018. 

Previously, she was a public school teacher for 17 years in Baldwin Park and Monrovia school districts.

Senator Rubio was first elected as City Clerk in Baldwin Park in 2005, where she focused on providing equal service, transparency, best practices, and protecting democracy for city residents. In 2009, she was elected to the Baldwin Park City Council, where she helped balance the city budget during the recession while protecting vital services like public safety. She also worked on policies that gave women equal representation on city commissions, creating domestic violence programs and implementing tougher environmental rules. 

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Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer | Representing District 59 - South Los Angeles

Gender Pronouns: He/Him/His
Bio: Serving as the voice of the people of California’s 59th District in the State Assembly, Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr. was elected to the State Legislature in November 2012 and re-elected in 2014 and 2016. The district he represents encompasses a wide-range of diverse, culturally rich and dynamic communities. It lies entirely within Los Angeles County and includes the neighborhoods of South Los Angeles, Florence-Firestone, Walnut Park, and a portion of Huntington Park. 

As the people’s voice for the 59th District in the State Capitol, Assemblyman Jones-Sawyer has worked hard to put local neighborhoods first and to deliver results for his constituents. He’s played a key role in California’s economic recovery, helped invest more in local neighborhood schools while making higher education more affordable and accessible, advanced job creation policies, pushed for protections for immigrants –  like driver’s licenses for individuals who pass all required exams and tests as well as healthcare for immigrant children- advocated for smart environmental protections that promote clean energy and green jobs, supported more safeguards for working families and their rights, and he’s spearheaded forward-thinking policies that both promote public safety but also enhance justice in our criminal justice system to make it more fair and transparent for all communities.

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Panel Two Speakers:

Marissa Williams | Youth Leader

Gender Pronouns: She/her/hers
Bio: Marissa is currently a high school senior at Helix Charter High School. Marissa has been a resident of San Diego for 4 years, but she was born and raised in the bay area of California. She plans on staying in San Diego where she will attend Grossmont community college, then transfer to Howard University where she plans to major in communications. Marissa loves to expand her knowledge about social justice issues by learning more about them and actively being involved in her community. Some of her favorite topics to learn about are the socio-economic status and how that affects their life, agriculture, government, and history of all peoples.  

Jacob Elliot | Youth Leader

Gender pronouns: He/Him/His/Él
Bio: Hello comrades. My name is Jacob Liam Elliott and I am a 2nd-semester college freshman at the Santa Rosa Junior College. I want to major in psychology to pursue a career in emotional counseling for youth who are affected by family and friends who abuse substances. Dating violence is a massive problem in my community and as a youth, we are often conditioned to avoid talking about our traumas surrounding it. As such we are often forced into a cyclical nature of students unable to recognize what an abusive relationship looks like, let alone how to manage the emotional trauma that accompanies that. I wish to combat the ouroboros of childhood trauma.

Alyza Gonzalez | Youth Engagement Coordinator with East Los Angeles Women’s Center 

Gender pronouns: She/her
Bio: In 2017, as a Senior in high school, Alyza Gonzalez joined the East Los Angeles Women’s Center as part of the Youth Empowerment Program. After completing the agency’s Youth Leadership Development Training, she chose to stay with the Youth Leadership Program and became a Youth Leader.  Through mentorship and involvement in various youth led summits, Alyza was trained to facilitate empowerment workshops for high school aged students that focused on building healthy relationships, teen dating violence prevention and gender-based violence. Following her participation as a youth leader, she completed the California Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Advocate Certification Training and became more engaged in violence prevention and intervention work as a volunteer. Alyza, joined the ELAWC staff as the community engagement specialist where she provided education on mental health resources for community members at large. Alyza has now transitioned to the Youth Engagement Coordinator role where she continues to grow professionally and thrives in assisting participants in learning to understand the roots of violence, how to create healthy relationships and the overall impact of violence in their community. Alyza is a native of Boyle Heights, CA, a student at East Los Angeles Community College and is working toward the completion of her bachelor’s degree.

Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager | Representing District 54 – Los Angeles

Gender Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Bio: Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles) represents the 54th Assembly District, encompassing Baldwin Hills, the Crenshaw community, all of Culver City, Ladera Heights, Leimert Park, Mar Vista, Mid-City Los Angeles, Palms, Pico-Union, Westwood and Windsor Hills.

In 2020, Kamlager passed AB 1950, the most transformative probation reform legislation in the country. The bill set maximum terms of two years for felony offenses and one year for misdemeanor offenses. Prior law authorized courts to enforce misdemeanor probation terms for a maximum of three years. Felony probation may have been enforced for as long as the maximum possible prison sentence for the offense. Reforms created by the legislation will save millions in taxpayer dollars and help many thousands of Californians exit the criminal justice system and stay out of the system. In 2019, Kamlager guided six of her eight bills into law. 

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Assemblymember Buffy Wicks | Representing District 15 – Oakland

Gender Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Bio: Assemblymember Buffy Wicks represents the East Bay in the California State Assembly. Elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2020, her district spans the communities of Oakland to Richmond, and includes the City of Berkeley.

Asm. Wicks’ work in the Assembly focuses on housing, expanding the social safety net, protecting consumers’ privacy, and championing the rights of women and working families. Governor Gavin Newsom signed eight of her bills in her first year in office, and – despite the challenges brought on by the COVID pandemic – signed seven of her bills into law in 2020. 

A lifelong community organizer, Asm. Wicks previously served on both of President Barack Obama’s campaigns, and worked for him in the White House. She lives in Oakland with her husband, Peter, and daughters, Jojo and Elly.