Shiwani Lata

Position: Chairman
Appointed: April 2018
District: North Merced
High School: El Capitan High School

Activities Involved in: Team Captain for Tennis, currently active in school Leadership Activities and Senior Class President.

Why I Joined the Youth Council: I joined the Youth Council so I can have a say in what is going on in my community. I am very excited to work with the council to help our community. I would like to accomplish my goal for being confident in what I do for the benefits of others.

Sarah Schmidt

Position: Vice Chairman
Appointed: May 2018
District: Central Merced
High School: Golden Valley High School

Griselda Gonzales

Position: Secretary
Appointed: May 2019
District: South Merced
High School: El Capitain High School

Activities Involved in: Some activities that I am involved in are link, AVID, the MCTCP (Merced County Tobacco Control Program)

Why I Joined the Youth Council: I joined the Youth Council because I wanted to be active in the community. In my other programs we don’t really focus on the community. When I heard about the Youth Council I thought this is a great way to be more involved. During my term I would like to get more youth involved in the community because there isn’t many teens involved.

Mayra Lua Reyes

Position: Public Coordinator
Appointed: May 2018
District: South Merced
High School: El Capitan High School

Activities Involved in: Academic Leadership, Interact Rotary Club, CSF ( California Scholarship Federation), AVID, Link, and ESA ( Environmental Science Academy)

Why I Joined the Youth Council: I joined the Youth Council because I want to become more involved in my community. I have volunteered before with organizations and for local events, but I want to be more directly involved and help host the events in Merced. I also want to be aware of any new projects or developments so that I can share this information with other youth in our community and encourage them to come to our public meetings and share their insights. During my term on the Youth Council, I hope to become a role model for the youth in South Merced and remind them that their voice can bring change to our community.

Bella Neugebauer

Position: NA
Appointed: January 2019
District: Central Merced
High School: Merced High School

Tessa Gonsalves

Position: NA
Appointed: October 2019
District: North Merced
High School: El Capitan High School

Activities Involved in: High School Leadership, El Capitan Softball, VSA Travel Softball, Academic Mentoring, and the Gay-Straight Alliance Club.

Why I Joined the Youth Council:

I joined the Youth Council because I desire to be more involved in my community and get more youth interested in what the community of Merced has to offer. I am excited to be a bigger influence on my community while helping others enjoy their time at community events. During my term, I plan on working to include the youth in well-planned events throughout the community. I would like to help create fun and positive events that not only interest families with small kids, but are also of interest to teenagers. I believe if more people are involved in the community of Merced, we will be able to have more resources to plan big events and reach out to everyone. 

Kaylie Escobar-Islas

Position: Historian
Appointed: October 2019
District: District
High School: Merced High School

Activities Involved in: activities

Why I Joined the Youth Council: I joined because...

Hilda Barragan-Reyes

Position: Ex-Officio 
Appointed: Active since October 2019
District: South Merced
High School: Merced High School

Activities Involved in: activities

Why I Joined the Youth Council: I joined because...