09-10 Commissioners

Our youth commissioners have done a great job this year. Below you can read a little more about each commissioner.

Kavya Shankar

My name is Kavya Shankar and I am your District 1 Youth Commissioner from Lynbrook High School. Two years ago, as a sophomore, I joined the Youth Commission with the sole intention of serving as the liaison between the City of San Jose and the 10,000 youth within my district. I was amazed to find out the infinitely more opportunities in this organization that has defined my high school career. With this position, I am interested in empowering the youth of my district and city by providing the necessary resources to succeed. With strong interests in business, civic engagement, the environment, and business, I strive to dedicate myself to these areas through not only the Youth Commission, but also other organizations.

In addition to the Youth Commission, I’m also actively involved in Future Business Leaders of America, serving as the National President’s Assistant, California State Parliamentarian, and Lynbrook High School Vice President. Working off of my passion for education, I am one of the founders and the Director of Public Relations for Project Yes We Can, an organization aimed at improving school relations and environments. Finally, I play an active role in school leadership in order to ensure that students are getting the most out of their years spent in high school. In my free time, I enjoy reading satirical news in The Onion, learning how to play pop culture songs on the violin, and writing fan fiction.

This year, I challenge all of the youth of San Jose to be bold and become a voice by demonstrating passionate, active leadership, and I hope to assist each and every one of you in achieving this. For more information or to join the Youth Advisory Council of District 1, email Kavya Shankar at D1youthcommission@gmail.com  

Annie Chung

My name is Annie Chung and I am currently a junior at Oak Grove High School. Since my freshman year, I have been involved in many different community service clubs such as Key Club, the Vietnamese Student Union Club and Interact Club. I also volunteer as a teensreach member for the Edenvale Library. I spent last summer as a student math teacher at my old junior high, Caroline Davis Intermediate School.

Last year I attended the Youth Commission’s Youth Conference. I was inspired to see so many young people learning about youth issues and what they could do about it. I wanted to join the Youth Commission because I like volunteering and want to make a difference in my community. I feel that gangs and academic awareness are two big challenges for teens and I hope to do something about it as commissioner.

I am also Vice-President of our Environmental Club on campus and this year we hope to be able to take our program to middle schools so they can also learn how to start taking care of the
environment. For more information or to join the Youth Advisory Council of District 2, email me at D2youthcommission@gmail.com 

Aaron Carrera

My name is Aaron Carrera and I am the commissioner for District 3. I am 17 years old and I am a freshman at San Jose City College. The reason I joined the Youth Commission was because I want to make a change in my community. Some of my hobbies are playing soccer, handball, listen to music and volunteer in the community. I am part of the Saqrado Corazon church youth program. I also volunteer at the Washington United Youth Center. In addition I also am a part of PACT, which is an organization that invests in youth to make sure that they graduate and succeed in life.

Some of the things I would want to accomplish from being a Youth Commissioner are to help my community and to make my district a little safer for youth. I would really like to work close SJPD and gang prevention programs to help youth in my district find alternatives to joining gangs. This is the biggest issue in my district and I believe that it is possible to make the city safe and crime free with the help of community members, police and parents. For more information or to join the Youth Advisory Council of District 3, email me at D3youthcommission@gmail.com 

Kasey Ong

My name is Kasey Ong and I am a junior at Piedmont Hills High School. I have always been really active in my community. I volunteer at the Joy of Dancing Studio where I also take dance lessons and am an assistant instructor. I spend a couple hours a week working as a tutor for middle school students to help them in their math skills. I am also very active in leadership at my school.

I enjoy dance and supporting our school sports team through various fundraisers. I try and attend one game for each sport in order to show school spirit. I wanted to become the voice of our district and become a figure who is willing to listen and help. My goal is to make sure the youth community members each have a voice in what they need to have a successful future. I hope to make our district a well-rounded and educated public. For more information or to join the Youth Advisory Council of District 4, email me at D4youthcommission@gmail.com 

Nicholas Taxera

My name is Nicholas Taxera and I a junior at Del mar High School. Go DONS!!! I am a 4th generation Bay Area resident, and I am very proud of that. My brother, mother, father and I are proud citizens who value education awareness of the world. I have long loved politics and being involved in my community. I volunteered for the presidential election and some of the local measures and propositions. History, the stories and trials of individuals and the triumph of justice are the basis for my activities. Aside from the Youth Commission I am also involved with Congressman Mike Honda’s Student Advisory Council which, like the Youth Commission, works to improve the lives of our fellow youth.

As a new Youth Commissioner I have many new exciting ideas. Among them are a city-wide youth clean-up day and proposing anti-smoking legislation to the San Jose City Council. Being a commissioner is an exciting experience and if anyone would like to join the District 6 e-mail me at D6youthcommission@gmail.com

Amanda Aldama

Hello my name is Amanda Aldama and I am the Youth Commissioner for District 7. I am a senior at Silver Creek High School. I have been on the commission since September of 2007. I have been involved in the community for as lo g as I can remember, helping to coordinate neighborhood events for the West Evergreen Neighborhood Association for the past four years. My personal hobbies are writing songs and poems. I also enjoy making movies; someday I would love to be a movie director. Photography is also a love of mine, as you can see I have many interests.

The district 7 Youth Advisory Council has been included in many volunteer activities, we are an active bunch and enjoy helping out in the community. In the past we have helped out with neighborhood carnivals and clean ups. If you are interested in joining the District 7 Youth Advisory Council please contact me at D7youthcommission@gmail.com  

Nwakaego Uzoh

My name is Nwakaego Uzoh. I am currently a junior at Presentation High School. I joined the commission because I wanted to make a change in my community, empower youth of San Jose and make them more environmentally conscious. I really enjoy listening to all kinds of music from screamo to country and techno to rap. I like traveling and learning different languages. My hobbies are playing guitar, robotics, reading, gardening, and graphic design. I plan on majoring in biochemistry and environmental science.

If you are interested in becoming a part of the District 8 Youth Advisory Council please send me an e-mail at D8youthcommission@gmail.com  

Daniel Stromfeld

My name is Daniel Stromfeld and I am a sophomore at Leigh High School. Last year I served as the freshman class representative where I helped to plan fundraisers, dances, and spirit days. I am involved in my school’s Gay Straight Alliance, Drama Club, JSA, Science Club and Jewish club.

I participate on our school’s mock trial team. In fact, I was the only freshman defense attorney last year. I am a part of the school’s advanced choir and I play tenor saxophone in a jazz band. I also volunteer at Kiwanis Band Camp where I teach kids to learn the basics of music.

I was excited to serve in last year’s Youth Advisory Council and now I am excited to serve as Youth Commissioner. I feel that a challenge that teens face is a lack of funding for education; I hope to be able to address this issue as commissioner of District 9. If you are interested in becoming a part of the District 9 Youth Advisory Council please send me an e-mail at D9youthcommission@gmail.com 

Nicholas Polussa

Hello! I'm Nicholas Polussa, the District 10 Youth Commissioner of San Jose. I go to Leland High School in the Almaden Valley. I was born in Danville, Illinois, but I moved to Susanville, California when I was two months old. I lived there until the summer of fourth grade, when I moved to San Jose. I went to Randol for one year, than I went to Bret Harte Middle School for all three years, and then Leland.

I've become a commissioner because it is important to me to better Almaden Valley. I've been hearing people say that Almaden Valley is "boring" and I know that Almaden Valley does not provide nearly enough activities and opportunities for teens and other youth to be productive. It irks me that such a large city is not able to provide sufficient support for the youth. I intend to change this. In addition to being a Youth Commissioner, I volunteer a lot. I do speech and debate at my high school, play soccer, and run track.

I don't very much like to do track, but I am in love with soccer. I play soccer every day during the winter, and for the majority of the week during the rest of the year (I play club soccer). I play right and left defense, and I like to play right midfield. I like to read, do science experiments and learn history; I've a great history teacher (Mr. Kerwin!). If you would like to be a part of the District 10 Youth Advisory Council please feel free to e-mail me at D10youthcommission@gmail.com  

Veronica Ruiz

Hello my name is Veronica Ruiz and I am part of the San Jose Youth Commission Staff. I am currently a full time student at San Jose State University perusing my degree in Child and Adolescent Development. I hope to be teaching in a classroom in the next year. I have always wanted a career working with children youth. For the past ten years I worked for a non-profit called City Year and know serve on the Alumni Advisory Board for City Year.

I love working with the Youth Commission because I believe that given the opportunity, young people can not only make a difference in their communities but they can change the world. I strongly believe in the power of young people and I love that the mission of the Youth Commission is “uniting to create an empowered voice for youth.” If you have any questions about the Youth Commission or if you know a 14-20 year olds that would be a great addition to our Youth Advisory Councils please contact me at veronica.ruiz@sanjoseca.gov or call me at 408-793-5598.

The Youth Commission is always looking for new talent. If you would like the Youth Commission staff to come to do a presentation top your youth group, organization, or school OR if you would like more information sent to you about the Youth Commission, please feel free to contact me.