Youth leaders are a crucial advocates in the GUB community, with BVSD representatives from Boulder High School. These student advocates work with staff to facilitate collaborations with schools throughout the county.
Lerato Osnes, Fall Youth Leader 2020
Lerato is a Senior at Boulder Highschool. Throughout her life, she has been very politically active and motivated to make positive social change happen. Lerato is motivated by care, compassion, and empathy. She has been a part of a vocal empowerment group throughout high school that enables her to present at conferences, attend protests, and find the importance and power of voice. Because of her political engagement, she was discovered by Mara Mintzer and invited to join Growing Up Boulder’s Youth Leaders initiative. Lerato is very excited to be a part of this group and is especially looking forward to doing what we can do involving police reform. She is grateful to have the opportunity to voice her opinions as well as have open conversations about important community issues. In her free time, Lerato enjoys playing guitar, hiking, making music, and photography.
Paola Garcia, Fall Youth Leader 2020
Paola is a senior at Boulder High School as well as an engaged youth member in her community. She has been a member of Boulder’s Youth Opportunity Advisory Board (YOAB) and the Latino Student Organization club at her school. Paola is the Co-President of the Boulder High School Panther Z Club, a role that gives her the opportunity to empower other young women and girls through community service and advocacy. Youth engagement has always played an important role in her life because she believes that youth should be encouraged to participate in decisions that affect them and initiate positive change for the future. In fall 2019, Paola first interacted with Mara and Cathy through the Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB). She worked on an outreach program with Mara and her team for the East Boulder Sub-Community Plan. As a young woman in Boulder, Paola wants to make a positive impact in her community by showing teens they can make a difference through social engagement. In her free time, Paola appreciates spending time with loved ones, reading inspiring books, and she is passionate about social justice.
Eliana Valenzuela, Fall Youth Leader 2020
Eliana is a 2020 graduate from Fairview High School and is in her freshman year at CU Boulder, majoring in Journalism. While being on a Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) for the City of Boulder, Eliana was introduced to Growing Up Boulder and is excited to partner with the team to work on various projects that will improve our community resources. Something Eliana is always wondering about is, why change isn't happening more often? In her free time, she enjoys reading a good book, hanging out with her friends and family, and watching television.
