Ariyanna Fernandez
(She/Her/Theirs)
King County
Ariyanna is a second year Music and Communication Studies double major with a minor in Business Administration at Seattle Pacific University, Ariyanna strives to be a positive force and representative of the LGBTQIA+ community. As a GSBA Scholar and Pride Foundation Scholarship recipient, Ariyanna works hard for the community that supports her in her education. Ariyanna is passionate about music production, songwriting, and partakes in Christian worship. It is her goal and dream to be part of the bridge that brings unity, community, education, and empathy between those of religious backgrounds and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
In her future, Ariyanna plans on becoming an International Student Services Advisor and Music Event Coordinator, as well as continuing LGBTQIA+ advocacy during her journey.
Desi Quenzer
(Any pronouns)
Yakima County
Desi Quenzer is an 18-year-old from Yakima, Washington. She has been an LGBTQ+ activist since she began working with Yakima Pride at age 14. From there they
worked with the Washington State Department of Health and the Legislative Youth Advisory Council to advocate for LGBTQ+ individuals living in rural communities. Throughout high school they were the theatrical state manager and FFA Vice President. She also showed cows and chickens for 3 years and ran for West Valley Fair Royalty. Desi graduated from high school and college with her AA in 2024 and now works with children with special needs. They hope to attend university to study communications and nonprofit administration in the spring.
Emma Blue Esquivel
(Any Pronouns)
Whatcom County
Emma Blue moved to Washington state in 2015 and began involvement in various activism and prevention related clubs and organizations in 2020. They are a freshman at Whatcom Community College and are on a pathway to obtain a social services degree. They worked as a peer educator and advocate with Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services for two years and now are an executive board member for Whatcom Prevention Coalition. They are also very passionate about suicide prevention and mental health awareness and hold a position as a community training facilitator with M.A.D.-H.O.P.E, a youth suicide prevention organization. Emma Blue has loved education and prevention work and known it was their life’s purpose since a very young age and believe they can use their queer identity and voice to help create more inclusive and accepting spaces everywhere.
Felix Painter
(He/Him/They/Them)
Spokane County
Felix Painter has recently started their term on the LGBTQIA+ Youth Advisory Council; and has the current role of one of two Community and Outreach Coordinators. He is also the president of his high school’s GSA. Felix hopes that during their time on the council, they can advocate and help provide resources to make queer youth feel safe and heard in their state.
Izzy González
Spokane County
Hi I’m Izzy González, I'm a freshman at Ferris High School in Spokane, WA with a passion for cooking and baking. When I'm not whipping up something delicious in the kitchen, you can find me spending quality time with my family and hanging out with my dog. I'm also a huge Taylor Swift fan; her music is the perfect soundtrack to my life. Excited for the adventures ahead!
Jaanvi Ganapathy
King County
Jaanvi Ganapathy is a nonbinary Indian American high school student living in Bellevue, WA. As a person with intersectional identities, they understand the importance of celebrating diversity and creating spaces for people to share their experiences. Outside of the Youth Advisory Council, Jaanvi is involved in all sorts of projects with topics ranging from social justice to medicine. They co-founded Soul Connections, a nonprofit focused on assisting unhoused communities in the Greater Seattle Area. Jaanvi is also involved in the Legislative Youth Advisory Council. Through their activities, Jaanvi hopes to create a more equitable world where people approach new experiences with curiosity rather than judgment.
James Young
(he/him)
King County
James Young is a current Junior in high school and is passionate about social justice and advocacy work. Particularly, he’s focused on the inclusion of often ignored stories into school curriculum, working with both school clubs and national organizations to advance equality in our curricula. In line with this, he is currently serving as the King County Student representative for the Puget Sound Educational Service District and works to represent the student voice in its mission of closing equity gaps in education and promoting racially just curricula. He’s excited to serve on the LGBTQ+ Commission YAC to advance equality for queer youth in Washington state through both legislative advocacy and educational initiatives!
Ling Lomanog
They/Them/She
Whatcom County
Ling Lomanog uses They/Them/She pronouns but isn’t bothered by any pronouns you’d used for them. She is a Sapphic, Gender queer, diabetic, Filipino based in Bremerton Washington, Kitsap County. Running their high schools GSA since 2022, they had made it appoint to make sure the school has a safe space for LGBTQ+ people. They have spoken up about the banning of LGBTQ+ books in their own library. As well-spoken up to the silencing of queer voicing in the school’s pride month announcement. While being in GSA they have worked and collaborated with other schools GSA’s and people in their area. They have hosted an annual GSA get together with in the school district for 2 years called the GSA Jamboree. And recently has been able to host their schools annual pride event while in drag. She loves being unapologetically herself and helping people throughout their journey of self-identity.
Mateo Acuña
King County
Mateo Acuña is a poet, writer, and activist. He is gay, trans, autistic, and writes about those identities in tandem with being multicultural, Latino and Indigenous as a Peruvian-American. Settler-colonialism, ecology, history, and personal and collective mythologies are also prominent themes in his work. The 2023-2024 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate, he currently serves as the Auburn Poet Laureate. He is the author of Dear Spanish, a chapbook of poetry about identity, heritage, and belonging published through Poetry Northwest Editions and librettist for Blood Dawn of the Inti Sun, a twenty-minute chamber opera developed through the Seattle Opera Creation Lab that reimagines The Legend of the Ayar Brothers. In 2024 he was awarded the Dwone Anderson-Young Youth Legacy Award by the Alphabet Alliance of Color for his work in
the community. He is a GSBA scholar and double majoring in Visual Arts and Creative Writing at the University of Washington.