Outstanding Local Young Adult and Youth Leaders Honored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes

(Redlands, California)— On Monday evening, Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) honored 30 leaders under the age of 30 at her annual event on the campus of Esri Learning Academy, hosted in the tradition of former Assemblywoman Wilmer “Amina” Carter. Each honoree lives, works or volunteers in the 50th California State Assembly District, which Reyes represents. This year, her office received over 100 nominations from across the district. Honorees’ achievements included dedication to public service, the arts, community service, entrepreneurship and more.  

 “This remains as one of my favorite events every year because it reminds me of our hope for the future,” said Reyes. “Annually, we receive nominations that far outnumber the 30 awards we hand out. This year, we once again celebrated the best of the best, and I know we will see years of positive change in the Inland Empire thanks to the ongoing leadership.”

The 2023 50th Assembly District 30 Under 30 honorees were:

• Biridiana Aguilar, the Senior Constituent Services Representative for Congressmember Pete Aguilar’s San Bernardino County office, always goes the extra mile in her work, exhausting every resource in order to serve her community, assisting hundreds of constituents with federal agency issues;
• Nathan Aguilar graduated from Fontana’s A.B. Miller High school with his diploma and a private pilot’s license before earning a scholarship to learn more advanced skills at flight school;
• Austin Alaniz, a hard working member of Carpenters Local Union 909, raised in Fontana and now living in Ontario, overcame adversity to create a better life for his family;
• Delilah Alvarez, a 9 year old Legacy Brownie of Bloomington’s new Girl Scout Troop 448, dedicates herself to volunteerism while remaining active as a student and athlete;
• Leah Amaya graduated from San Bernardino High School in June and has established herself as a volunteer leader on issues including incarceration prevention, bullying, domestic violence and more;
• Jhala Angelique, a 16 year old from Rancho Cucamonga, uses her success as a singer, songwriter, recording artist, actress, model and author to speak out against bullying;
• Benjamin Bartlett, a UC Berkeley undergraduate from Redlands, researches, writes and advocates on environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights and neurological equity;
• Melina Beadle of Ontario uses their passion for technology and innovation to create change through community service, benefiting the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, their Girl Scouts Troop and more;
• Barbara Bolivar, a student at Loma Linda University (LLU) School of Medicine, founded the LATINIDAD medical student association, serves as LLU’s President of the Latino Medical Student Association, and is organizer of the Hispanic Medical Club;
• Nikki Butler, a Learning Development Specialist at a nonprofit affordable housing developer, also teaches as a part-time adjunct professor at Chaffey College, all while pursuing her Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and remaining active in volunteerism through her church;
• Brooke Carlson, Miss Colton 2023 and a University of California, Riverside Native American Opportunity Plan recipient, serves as a student role model and mentor, always aiming to treat others the way she wants to be treated;
• Yolanda Aguilar Candelario of Fontana, the leader of the Ambassador Program at California Environmental Voters, aims to increase turnout amongst low-income and BIPOC communities who have been affected and displaced by the warehouse boom so that they can enact change on this issue;
• Aaron Dill from San Bernardino oversees and manages the Community Economic Resilience Fund at Inland Empire Growth and Opportunity, while also serving as the Issues and Actions Chair for The Group, which addresses issues affecting the Inland Empire African American community;
• Samantha Elizalde, a graduate of Fontana High School and former Assembly Fellow served in the office of Assemblymember Reyes, staffing several pieces of legislation that were signed by Governor Newsom and helping the Assemblymember secure $20 million in state budget funding for the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, is now pursuing her Master’s Degree in Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University;
• Bernard De La Garza, born and raised in San Bernardino, works with Inland Empire United and the Inland Empire United Education Fund to bring about progressive change within the Inland Empire;
• Lara Hafez from Rancho Cucamonga, a Stanford University student, serves as President of the Muslim Student Union, President of Students for Justice in Palestine, and Vice President for the Arab Students Association at Stanford, while also remaining active in other campus leadership roles and becoming a published author;
• Allan Icarangal, Jr., a graduate of Rialto’s Carter High School and CSUSB, uses his role as the Marketing Specialist at Omnitrans to showcase the agency’s efforts toward diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging;
• Bhavin Jindal, Loma Linda City Councilmember, also serves on the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors, the Solid Waste Management Board, as well as the 2023 League of California Cities Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations Committee;
• Caitlyn Kautzman, a Shelter Advocate for the Family Assistance Program’s LGBTQIA+ transitional age youth program “Welcome Home,” also volunteers for the Family Assistance Program’s Anti-Human Trafficking Department and as Co-Chair for the San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health’s LGBT Subcommittee;
• Javier Fernando Lopez II grew up in Rancho Cucamonga and, after graduating from CSUSB, opened Assure Behavioral Services in order to provide Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services to underserved families;
• Kyanna Marcellous of Fontana served the community through the In Home Support Services Public Authority and is now pursuing her Master’s in Psychology with the goal of serving youth in underprivileged communities;
• Tristan Patel, a full time student seeking a Masters of Science in School and Professional Counseling, works to curb the school to prison pipeline, serves the Undercover Anti-Bullying Team, and assists with the student-run San Bernardino Restorative Youth Court;
• Alexandra Pizano of Ontario, an Executive Assistant for Inland SoCal United Way, also serves her community by contributing to Feed the Homeless events and by volunteering for her daughter’s school;
• Anne Ragni, a recent graduate of the University of Redlands, is an accomplished cellist and works as the Office and Business Manager for the Redlands Symphony Association, dedicated to its mission of supporting the community;
• Julia Ruiz, from Redlands, chairs the CSUSB Santo Manuel Student Union’s Recreation and Wellness Board of Directors, serves on the California Endowment’s President’s Youth Council, and has volunteered at Riverside Community and San Antonio Regional Hospitals;
• Evan Sanford, the Executive Director of the Redlands Chamber of Commerce, has, among other accomplishments, revived the “Leadership Redlands” program while also serving as a member of the Redlands Rotary and other Inland Empire organizations;
• Ryan Stanly became the Creative Director of Downtown San Bernardino’s Enterprise Building at 15 years old, achieving success through events and projects, and has since also engaged with the community through membership in local nonprofit organizations such as Native Sons and the San Bernardino Historical Society;
• Rebekah Vanaken works for the San Bernardino County’s District Attorney’s Office while also attending school and volunteering for the Colton Chamber of Commerce and the Ari Strong Foundation.