May 4th: Stuart Rosenstein, Queer Youth Task Force

 
 
Stuart Rosenstein, Director of the Queer Youth Task Force of Santa Cruz County, will give a brief overview of the Task Force's Leadership Development Program for Youth, Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Summits, Safe Schools Program, Adult Ally Project and it's upcoming 18th Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards, which honors LGBT Youth Leaders & Allies who work to make the community a safer place. Volunteer opportunities and a Q & A will follow.

About the Queer Youth Task Force of Santa Cruz County


Our Vision of the Future

A vibrant community where every youth thrives in their expression of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

Our Mission

The Queer Youth Task Force (QYTF) is comprised of individuals and organizations that work with, or support, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning (LGBTIQ) youth.  We strive to improve the quality of life for all LGBTIQ youth in our community, as well as children raised in homes where LGBTIQ people live by:

  • Fostering strong inter-generational collaboration by soliciting feedback from, and working with, youth.
  • Identifying queer youths’ unmet needs and evaluating responses.
  • Strategizing and implementing new resources, and improvements to existing resources.
  • Improving awareness of available community resources and fostering collaboration of services.
  • Supporting LGBTIQ related education, advocacy, inter-agency interactions and media opportunities.
  • Addressing perceptions of queer youth by themselves, their families, their schools and the community.

Our mission is intended to proactively enhance understanding and respond if oppression occurs.

Our Programs

  • Safe Schools Project
  • Trans* Teen Project
  • Queer Youth Leadership Awards
  • Adult Ally Project
  • Leadership Development
  • Community Engagement
  • Queer Youth & Ally Council

For more information, visit http://www.QYTF.org

 

About Stuart Rosenstein

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 13 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.