PYP's Annual Agents of Change

For the past 12 years, Pima YOUTH Partnership has endeavored to create healthy and safe environments for children, youth, and families in communities around Pima County.

In the course of our work, we have met a wonderful group of community members of all ages and backgrounds, who have made outstanding contributions resulting in change. The community members that make these changes, not as part of a paid job, but as part of a lifestyle and personal commitment to improving conditions within their neighborhoods.

As a community development prevention organization working to build on the strengths of our communities, we realized a need to acknowledge these outstanding Agents of Change in each of our communities and some of our programs.

This year, a new category was added — Youth Group Agent of Change. The new category is intended to celebrate the collective efforts of a group of young people who have created a significant change in community conditions.

Communities

Ajo

Briseida Nuñez

Miss Briseida Nuñez has been an active participant of PYP programs for the past four years. She is involved in Choices & Challenges, regularly participates in Youth Movie nights and the after school program, youth dances, abstinence programs, Burgers & Books™, and drug and alcohol prevention programs.

Miss Nuñez volunteers to help with PYP program and events even though she is a dedicated participant in the school band, Girl Scouts, Folklorico Dancing, the youth choir, and DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). Miss Nuñez's enthusiasm and willingness to help and get involved in her community make her a positive role model for youth and adults alike. Her passion and dedication as an 11-year old make her valuable to the community and the future of Ajo.

Lori Lopez

Ms. Lori Lopez has been involved with Pima YOUTH Partnership for three years. She has served as host for a Families for Families™ network, recruiting families, facilitating family events, and coordinating family trainings for the entire Families for Families™ program in Ajo. Ms. Lopez has volunteered many hours of her spare time to help with large-scale community events including Burgers and Books™, Family Movie nights, library events, and the program-wide annual family picnic.

A mother of two, Ms. Lopez is dedicated to youth in the community. She volunteers as a Girl Scouts/ Brownie leader, spending numerous hours making sure that girl scouts remains a part of our community, and holds a full-time job with juvenile probation. She is also very involved with Ajo Schools Parent Teacher organization. Her willingness to help and dedication to making a difference are characteristics of a great Agent of Change.

Catalina

Donald Herbster

Mr. Herbster has been an important part of PYP Teen Night activities for over a year. Through his long-standing involvement with the Sheriff's Department Explorers program, he has volunteered as a member of the security staff at the Catalina Recreation Center for the past year, ensuring that all teens are able to enjoy safe substance-free recreational activities held there.

His commitment to safety issues in the community goes above and beyond recreational activities, however. Mr. Herbster has been captain of the Neighborhood Watch program for his neighborhood and the area surrounding the Recreation Center for over six years. Through his dedication to his community, Mr. Herbster has made the streets of Catalina a safer place for youth and families.

Ina Mapes

Ms. Ina Mapes has made the biggest impact on the most people in her community through her five years of volunteer service with Catalina Helping Hands. She provides meals for senior citizens and those that aren't able to go shopping on their own, provides transportation to doctor's appointments, and spends tireless hours doing the administrative tasks required to ensure the organization's success in the future.

Her actions have benefited many people in the community and changed the conditions of the Village of Catalina as a whole. Her enthusiasm, dedication, and empathy are a shining example of the spirit and character of a true Agent of Change.

Marana

Joyce Yeomans

Ms. Joyce Yeomans has exemplified the spirit of giving and volunteerism in her community. She spearheaded the Halberg Park renovation project which formed to refurbish an old, dilapidated park located in the community of Avra Valley, creating a vibrant and inviting facility to serve as a resource for the community and a venue for youth and families to visit and enjoy. Her vision led her to devote countless volunteer hours organizing, grant writing, laboring, and seeking donations and support from a variety of sources throughout the community.

Ms. Yeomans is also dedicated to youth and adult collaborations. She recognizes that it is through investment of youth and adult collaborative projects that they will feel a sense of accomplishment and ownership and accomplishment, benefiting the community entire. Her commitment to the community and contagious positive attitude has made her a joy to work with and a definitive agent of change in her community.

Our Elders' Truth

Roque Gamboa

Mr. Roque Gamboa has been involved with PYP/Our Elder's Truth for two years. He enjoys facilitating meetings, teaching life skills, and working with the younger youth groups. His outgoing personality and willingness to help has made him a great role model for the youth in the area. He has also been instrumental as an advocate and in recruitment for the SMART Moves program.

His commitment to improving his community is not only seen in his participation in PYP programs, but also by his serving as a member of the "Tululi' Project" Task Force, a community beautification project. Mr. Gamboa is currently a sophomore at Cholla High Magnet School. His goal is to teach history to middle school students.

Monica Walters

Ms. Monica Walters has been an active member of the PYP/Our Elder's Truth Core Coalition since 1995, but her advocacy for youth began in 1986 with the Johnson O'Malley Parent Committee. M ore recently, Ms. Walters and other concerned parents helped advocate in support of a new school, the Lawrence Intermediate School, ultimately providing input in the building of the school.

Ms. Walters encourages the collaboration of youth and adults in the projects and activities in which she is involved. As mother of six children, she also recognizes the importance of education in the lives of young people. Through these activities, plus an unrivaled commitment to her community, Ms. Walters is making a positive impact on the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Tohono O'odham

Avery Augustine

Mr. Averille Augustine can always be counted on to volunteer to help the community in whatever way is needed. In addition to participating in PYP cultural ceremonies, he has worked tirelessly to help plan and implement community events, like the 4th of July Safe & Sober Celebration. His self-confidence makes him a natural leader, taking on leadership roles in both the village and at school.

Mr. Augustine dedication to the people in his village shows his integrity and honesty, as well as his ability to balance a busy life and still get things done. This summer, he assisted in writing a successful youth grant to address lack of family involvement with the youth in the community, and made sure the Tohono O'odham youth voice was heard in Washington, D.C. by Arizona's Congressmen. He is an excellent role model and has made a positive impact on his home village of Pisinemo.

Jose Garcia

Mr. Jose Garcia and his wife, Theresa, are active participants and facilitators in PYP programs and events. His life experiences have enriched programs like the traditional saguaro fruit harvest and O'odham Language Immersion Camp. A natural leadership team, they taught the youth and adult participants the traditional way of harvesting and preserving the saguaro fruit and told of their own experiences harvesting the fruit. Under his leadership, a group of community members formed the Pisinemo Cultural Singers, a cultural singing group, which performed for the students from Dickinson College who volunteered their summer break to do community service work in Pisinemo.

Through Mr. Garcia's vast experience as farmer, rancher, hunter, district councilman, district chairman, a storyteller, and cultural leader, he has restored cultural ceremonies and songs and enhanced the O'odham cultural experience of the youth and adults of Pisinemo.

Programs

Connect the Spirit (Ajo)

Erin Rodriguez

Over the past year, Miss Erin Rodriguez has not only completed the SMART Leaders program, but has volunteered her time to participate and help with all of the PYP activities in Ajo. She volunteers at Burgers and Books™, graduations, after-school programs, and any extra-curricular activity that PYP offers. She is always willing to help when there are activities or tasks that need assistance, providing leadership by example to others.

During times of change, Miss Rodriguez has stood strong for what she believed in and made the best out of any situation, showing her inner strength and self-confidence. Her positive outlook and bright smile have affected everyone around her and make her a true Agent of Change.

Mary Anne Fout

Ms. Mary Anne Fout has been an active PYP participant for over a year. She has volunteered to work at almost every FAN Club and PYP event held this year and worked hard to encourage other parents to do the same. She is so devoted to the program, not even a lack of transportation has kept her from assisting at PYP events.

Her dedication doesn't end with PYP programs - Ms. Fout is dedicated to the arts and enriching her community through activities like the Desert Music Club, the community chorus, and the Ajo Community Players. She also volunteers with the school music program, participates in the Ajo PTO and Reading is Fundamental programs, and is an active Girl Scout mother. Despite her busy schedule, she always has time for her children and her home is always open to the youth around the neighborhood. Her devotion to the community and generosity of spirit make her a role model in the community and a truly worthy Agent of Change.

Youth Group Agent of Change

The ERASE ("Erase Racism And Sexism Everywhere") Club is a group of students from Marana High School that formed in December 2001 in direct response to prevalent racist and sexist attitudes and incidents in the school.

The group pursues its objective by:

PYP's 7th Annual Agents of Change