Yesenia (she/her) was born and raised in the Salinas Valley, in a small town that was proactively taking action to increase youth voice. While in high school, Yesenia helped form two Youth Commissioner positions and helped create a Youth Council providing youth opinions and youth voices to the town. Yesenia went on to serve as one of these Youth Commissioners for two years. Her passion for social justice continued when she attended UCSC, majoring in Community Studies and Legal Studies while serving on the Oakes Student Senate for three years. Yesenia started working at Coleman in 2018 on her field study, which led her to her current position at Coleman Advocates as a Children Making a Change (CMAC) Organizer. As someone given the opportunity to have her voice heard as a youth, Yesenia wants to help other youth have that same opportunity in their cities. In 2020, Yesenia’s role expanded to include being Coleman’s Digital Organizer.