Meet Our Staff
Liliana Soriano Garista
Director of Policy & Fiscal Affairs
About Liliana
Liliana (she/they) was born and raised in San Diego. She holds a B.A. in Political Science with an emphasis on Race and Ethnicity from the University of California San Diego. There she worked on mutual aid projects and voiced support for policies that would advocate for opportunities for the youth, affordable housing, and equitable transportation. Liliana has past experience working in local government and leading youth in a non-profit organization. They interned with Youth Will in 2020, in which she mobilized voters to support affordable housing. Most notably, the values Liliana holds of community and youth power are based on the principles Youth Will instilled in her.
liliana@youthwill.org
Claire Snyder
Director of Programming & Internal Development
About Claire
Claire (she/her) was raised in Sacramento and made her move to San Diego in 2016. She has a B.A. in Sociology from San Diego State University. During her time there, she was an active member of Planned Parenthood Generation Action and organized around reproductive justice. After graduating, Claire began her career providing services for system involved youth and youth experiencing homelessness. She has also been involved in mutual aid efforts and community organizing in San Diego since graduating. Claire combines her passion for supporting youth and organizing towards youth liberation and safe communities in her role as the Youth Organizer for Youth Will.
claire@youthwill.org
Tristin Beery
Youth Organizer
About Tristin
Tristin (he/him) was raised in Syracuse, Indiana until 2014, at which point he relocated to San Diego. He is a proud alumni of Monte Vista High School, Cuyamaca College, and San Diego State University where he studied Political Science with a minor in Humanities. Tristin interned with multiple social justice organizations where he worked on making San Diego more equitable for all by advocating for education, labor reform, and climate justice. He aims to operate on the foundation that the only way to guarantee an equitable future is to ensure our youth have every chance to flourish available to them.
tristin@youthwill.org
Meet Our Interns
Keala Minna-Choe
Research & Policy Intern
Keala Minna-Choe (she/her) is a junior in high school at Canyon Crest Academy. When she is not playing beach volleyball, Keala advocates for climate justice and youth civic engagement. Keala formerly held the position of the Youth v. Oil lead as a part of SanDiego350, and now serves on their board. Keala is currently the co-lead of the San Diego Climate Reality Project’s YEA Pod and is the Youth Ambassador for the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance. Keala is passionate about uplifting youth voices and improving opportunities for youth to take action.
Join Us and Become a Youth Member
Sign up here to get informed of action team meetings for community impact initiatives and how you can be a part of our movement.
Jennifer Nguyen
SEJ Intern
Jennifer (she/her) was raised in Pittsburg, California and currently is entering her fourth year at the University of California, San Diego in pursuit of her Public Health degree. Jennifer currently is a Social and Economic Justice (SEJ) intern for the Center of Policy Initiatives (CPI) whose vision includes advocating for a just system for working families. Growing up with undocumented refugee parents, Jennifer has firsthand experience with the nation’s unjust social system and the disparities it causes, which has in turn, fueled her passion for advocating for marginalized communities and striving for systemic change. Jennifer looks forward to interning with Youth Will in San Diego, where she aims to contribute to youth advocacy, empowerment, and policy change to build a more equitable future for young people.
Meet Our Youth Leaders
Jesus Martin Gallegos-Munoz
CA Opportunity Youth Network (COYN) Fellow
Deeq Ahmed
TechHire Intern
Victoria Dinov
Programming and Organizing Associate
Chloe Cohen
Monét Panza
TechHire Intern
Brittany Holman
Communications Intern
Hayley Rico
TechHire Intern
Khadijah Abdulmateen
Resources & Organizing Ambassador
Oscar Rendon
TechHire Intern
Sydney McKenna
Resources & Organizing Ambassador
Tyler Sepulveda
Communications Fellow
Joshua Piedra
Resource Ambassadors Program Coordinator
Laila Del Rio
Resources & Organizing Ambassador
Thomas Konrad
Policy Fellow
Carlos Torres
TechHire Intern
Yvania Rubio
TechHire Intern
Subrein Damanhoury
Resources & Organizing Ambassador
David Islas
TechHire Intern
Xzaveon Alvarez
TechHire Intern
Kathryn Poeschel
Policy Fellow
Precious Letchaw
Resources & Organizing Ambassador
Danielle Bongulto
Resources & Organizing Ambassador
Meet Our Mentors
Paul L. Watson, Jr.
Power-Building Mentor
About Paul
Formerly Executive Director of the Training and Research Institute for Residential Youth Centers in New Haven, CT; San Diego Youth and Community Services; and Watson and Associates International. Paul began his career as a youth organizer at the age of 17. He has a Master’s degree from Springfield College. He began a consultant organization in 1998 and specialized in Community Development, Youth Development, Child Welfare, and Organizational Development. He successfully completed International projects in Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan), The Netherlands, Brazil, Jamaica, and Egypt. He is a national trainer in Youth Development and a member of the Community Youth Development Design Team. He was trained as an ICA Participatory Facilitator. Paul has also served as faculty at Springfield College, New School of Architecture and Design, San Diego City College, and UC San Diego. Paul has won numerous awards and has published both books and articles.
Khea Pollard
Policy Mentor
About Khea
Khea Pollard (she/her) is a Justice Program Manager for the National Association of Counties, County Innovations Lab, serving County governments across the United States. Khea’s work focuses on the intersection of behavioral health; criminal justice reform; and equity, supporting counties participating in NACo’s flagship initiative “Stepping Up” to reduce the number of individuals with mental illness in county jails. Prior to this role, Khea was the Health and Human Services Policy Advisor and Community Representative for County Supervisor Greg Cox, advising the Supervisor on issues pertaining to children and youth, child welfare, juvenile justice, safety net and eligibility programs, behavioral health and the County Probation Department. She coordinated the Neighborhood Reinvestment and Community Enhancement grant programs on behalf of Supervisor Cox, allocating millions of dollars to community-based organizations over the course of six years. A native San Diegan, Khea graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) with a B.A. in English and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies. She held multiple leadership positions during her time at USD and is a recipient of the prestigious Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges, an award recognizing academic excellence, leadership in extracurricular activities, citizenship and services to the school, and potential for future achievement. She obtained her master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management at the University of San Diego and has worked on numerous nonprofit consulting projects in the areas of finance, strategic planning, civic engagement, human resources and more. Khea’s passion project is her coffee shop co-owned by her and her mother, Cynthia Ajani. Café X: By Any Beans Necessary’s mission is to build a sacred space that nurtures Black cultural heritage in San Diego while creating generational wealth for its members and surrounding community. Blending advocacy with organizational precision, Café X is connecting people throughout the San Diego region, developing a shared vision to improve the quality of life in marginalized communities – one cup of coffee at a time. Khea also serves on the Executive Committee of the Black Women’s Institute for Leadership Development (BWILD) and is a proud RISE Urban Leadership Program Alumni.
Tareq Haidari
Development Mentor
About Tareq
Tareq Haidari (he/him) has ten years of government and non-profit sector experience. He has acted as a direct lobbyist and political organizer for nonprofit organizations focused on community development and transportation. Tareq has researched and drafted white papers on a wide range of public policy issues including juvenile criminal justice reform, public transit investment, and youth development. He has a strong understanding of the state and local legislative process, and public budget development. Tareq obtained his BA in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and MA in Public Administration from San Diego State (SDSU).
Meet Our Board of Directors
Imani Marshal - President
Imani Marshall (she/her) was raised in Chicago and now lives and works in San Diego. Both cities have taught her about identity, power, health, and place, which she studied as a Political Science major at Amherst College. As a Bill Emerson Nation Hunger Fellow, Imani developed programs and conducted research to improve low-income mothers’ access to breastfeeding support and healthy foods and WIC’s national participation and retention rates. Now, as Mid-City CAN’s Evaluation and Learning Analyst, Imani applies her research, data analysis and evaluation skills to support Mid-City CAN’s programs, organizing, and advocacy. This work builds off her past community organizing experience with President Obama’s reelection campaign and contributes to continued local advocacy & community organizing efforts. She is passionate about working at the intersections of healthcare, public policy, and research to promote well-being in communities that are surviving systemic racism and oppression.
Margie de Ruyter - Secretary
Margie de Ruyter (she/her) is a coordinator with the San Diego County Office of Education’s College and Career Readiness department, providing career technical education support to K12 school districts and the County’s Juvenile Court and Community Schools. She participates on the community college regional consortium’s Strong Workforce Program workgroups to help inform priorities and goals for K-12 funding and provides support to the College and Career Readiness team in developing strategies to enhance and develop career pathways for K-12 districts. In addition, Margie has over 20 years of experience in the administration and oversight of workforce development funds for the San Diego County region. She led the design, development and implementation of youth and adult workforce training programs, managed procurement processes, monitored annual performance accountability and provided workforce board support. As a consultant with the Public Consulting Group, she led projects within the public workforce development domain, providing subject matter expertise to state and regional clients, designing and implementing best practice solutions. Margie is a workforce development coach for CA Workforce Development Board’s Workforce Accelerator Fund grantees. Margie currently serves on the board of Youth Will and Harmonium Inc. She has a B.A. in Human Services Administration from Springfield College, an Executive Management Certificate from UCLA, and will complete her MPA from Univ of Mass Global in June 2021. Margie enjoys travel and exploring the outdoors hiking throughout SD county.
Ashley Rodriguez - Chief Financial Officer
Ashley Rodriguez (she/her) is the Director of Development at Voice of San Diego. Originally from Northern California, she’s made San Diego her home after receiving her B.A. from San Diego State University and an M.A. in Nonprofit Leadership and Management from University of San Diego. She is passionate about the nonprofit sector and serves as the President of the Sherman Heights Community Center, Programming Chair for the San Diego Leadership Alliance, and member of the Victory Fund Campaign board. Ashley spends her free time bopping around San Diego with her two small dogs.
Joshua Piedra
Joshua Piedra (he/him) joined the Board in 2022. Growing up in a working-class immigrant family, Joshua learned the importance of community from a young age. His lived experiences have shaped his values of empathy, compassion, and justice. Personally, he is committed to empowering his community as a grassroots organizer and advocate for public policy that centers on social and racial equity. Professionally, he has worked in both labor and local nonprofit work.