Sookie Ramos is a Community Impact Coordinator with United Way of Santa Cruz County, supporting United4Youth. A proud Watsonville native and daughter of immigrant strawberry farmers, Sookie is a senior at CSU Monterey Bay pursuing a B.S. in Business Administration. Her background in community service and her previous work with Your Future Is Our Business, supporting career exploration and mentorship, have shaped her dedication to youth development.

Gregor Veble Mikić is Head of Flight Research & Flight Physics at Joby Aviation and a member of the executive leadership team. He leads a team of over 100 engineers developing the next generation of sustainable aircraft. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and was an Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Nova Gorica before moving into the aviation industry.

Born and raised in Silicon Valley, Alexi earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2006. He began his career as an applications engineer at Linear Technology before becoming one of the founding members of Armature Systems, an enterprise networking and security consulting firm that continues to serve many Fortune 500 companies.

Yvette Lopez Brooks serves as Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Santa Cruz County, where she leads the organization’s mission to improve health, education, financial stability, crisis response, and racial equity for every resident in our community.

Regina Langhout is a Professor in the Psychology Department at UC Santa Cruz. She is also affiliated with Latin American and Latino Studies, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, and Community Studies. Her research examines empowerment in schools, neighborhoods, and the workplace. She has published over 50 journal articles and book chapters. As a critical social-community psychologist, she is best known for her youth participatory action research with 9-12 year old children. Indeed, she has been asked to speak about or has given workshops on yPAR with children across the Americas.

Lilly Galvan is a Community Impact Coordinator with United Way of Santa Cruz County, supporting both the Youth Action Network and Jóvenes Sanos. She holds a B.A. in Collaborative Health and Human Services with a concentration in Social Work from CSU Monterey Bay. Guided by her passion for education, service, and youth empowerment, Lilly works alongside young people to amplify their voices and strengthen collaboration with partners across the county.