Stuart Rosenstein
Chair, Queer Youth Task Force
Stuart Rosenstein, chair of the Task Force since 2000, has worked on queer youth issues for the last 16 years. He has also served on several boards that address the needs of the general LGBTIQ community including PFLAG-Santa Cruz County and the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County. He is an alumni of UCSC, Kresge ’99, where he studied American Studies. Before moving to Santa Cruz in 1997, while living in Los Angeles, he was a board member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, Western Region. The homophobia he faced growing up in Texas feeds his hopes in creating a safer space for queer youth and the community at large.
Ron Indra
Director, Safe Schools Project
Ron Indra, who has lived in Santa Cruz for the past 38 years, has been teaching at Harbor High School for over 31 years and has been active in the teacher’s union for the past 25 years. He was the founding GSA Advisor for Harbor’s “Rainbow Society” GSA 14 years ago. He is also a member of the Santa Cruz City Schools (SCCS) GLBT Task Force and the Santa Cruz County Office of Education Task Force, helping to implement AB537 in the SCCS school district and Santa Cruz County. Currently, Mr. Indra is the AB 537 officer at Harbor High. Mr. Indra has degrees in Political Theory, Philosophy and a JD and sits on a number of boards of directors as their legal advisor. He also has run summer camps for teenagers and has been a financial consultant. Mr. Indra has been nominated as an “Educator of the Year” in California, as a QYLA “Ally to Queer Youth,” and was honored with a County Proclamation at the Santa Cruz County Gay Pride for his work with queer youth in schools. Recently, Mr. Indra received an Outstanding Teacher (grades 9-12) award at the 2010 Eddy Awards sponsored by the Santa Cruz Education Foundation.
Interns: 2016-2017
The Queer Youth Task Force is proud to be working with outstanding students from Santa Cruz County to help support LGBTIQ/Ally Youth.
- Adrian Viloria
- Ellis Olivas
- Noah Hartman
The Queer Youth and Allies Council of Santa Cruz County (QYACSCC)
- Mission Statement: Founded in 2012 by a group of Santa Cruz County queer and ally high school students, the Queer Youth and Allies Council of Santa Cruz County (QYACSCC) was formed in response to the chronic lack of cohesion among the area’s Queer-Straight Alliances (QSAs). The Council endeavors to heighten a sense of community and solidarity among Santa Cruz’s queer and ally youth by organizing themed events for young LGBTA people and strives to combat prejudice in local secondary schools by promoting networking and collaboration among the County’s QSAs on such issues as bullying and campus culture.
- Vision: The Queer Youth and Allies Council of Santa Cruz County (QYACSCC) seeks to foster a robust, healthy, and happy LGBT youth community comprised of young people on all life paths: from the closeted high-school student to the youth activist, from young queer person of color to the gender-nonconforming middle-school student, as well as every other intersectional identity in between – whether in terms of sexuality, gender, race, class, religion, ability, or other factor – the QYASCC strives to be tool of support and empowerment for local youth.