Lhadze Bosiljevac is a recently accepted civil engineering student at the University of New Mexico from the San Francisco, Bay Area. She has been an avid volunteer for the community as she hopes to graduate and serve underrepresented communities here in the state if given the opportunity. Her driven passion to work with minority/indigenous communities, especially women and children, stem from her childhood experiences growing up in the Navajo Nation, Southern California, and the Bay Area. Lhadze has also been a strong advocate of CARE International, AAUW, TANC, as well as ¡Explora! here in Albuquerque.

Adrian N. Carver is a non-profit professional seeking social and restorative justice through the culturally, socially, and community competent implementation of innovative initiatives and solutions. A seventh-generation New Mexican, Adrian is a hardworking and committed advocate who stands with marginalized communities and young people in New Mexico. Having started as a community organizer in middle school, he has served on a number of boards and been honored with Albuquerque Business First’s top 40 under Forty award, The Fueling Increasingly Relevant Education Award, New Mexico Voices for Children’s Amy Biehl Spirit of Youth Award, and Molina Healthcare’s Community Champion Award.

Zack Freeman is a looping, sampling acapella performer. He hangs a looper around his neck and samples his way through break-beat and funk improvisations. While primarily a beatboxer/vocal percussionist, Zack also is a serious lyricist. He takes the struggles of the ordinary and brings them to center stage, placing the humanity in a groove that moves the heart and body. The majority of his inspiration comes from his life as a Husband and father and son in a mixed race family. Zack is simple person trying to explain complex problems…which is why he uses beatboxing to make one-sided arguments through music. At his current job, he is a one man production team doing design, motion graphics, video and music production…for the government.

Joshua Goldstein is 13 years old and currently attending Van Buren Middle School (VBMS). He enjoys sports, such as track, football, and martial arts, but also loves his fair share of video games, and performing. He is witty, enjoys a good laugh and is often found with his nose in a comic book (preferably “Calvin and Hobbes”). An Air Force BRAT, Joshua has consequently moved and lived all over the United States. He hopes to attend the United States Air Force Academy and perhaps one day join the Secret Service or the FBI. He is a co-founder of the Goody2Shoes project at VBMS and hopes to make a difference for those in need in the Albuquerque area and beyond by providing gently used shoes and other pantry/sundry items.

“We created Goody2Shoes because we believe that EVERYONE, young or old, can help to change our world for the better.”

Plan. While going through his high school career André Gonzales was taught to plan his life as much as possible because it would make everything so much easier when it came time to start applying to colleges. Well that time has come and André has one question, “What happens if things don’t go according to my plan?” André is a senior at Centennial High School and has worked to get the youth voice out and into his community while also being advocate for youth issues.

Former army medic Christopher Jaramillo is an entrepreneur and veteran looking to create a better future for mankind through obvious, yet undone work. As of right now, he is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Finance with a concentration in Entrepreneurship with a goal to start his own technological firm.

He is a strong believer in the “common sense” approach. When it comes to world advancements, his goal is to bring outreach programs of financial literacy to local public schools of Albuquerque. He would also like to help businesses succeed with the ever revolutionizing technology. Ultimately, his end goal is to help in the advancement of humanity to what would be possible within a man’s life expectancy.

Scott wholeheartedly believes that Clerks is the greatest film ever written, which for this particular talk, is very important. Besides that fact, he loves movies and tries to watch at least one a day so when he says Clerks is the best movie ever made, that means a lot. He has probably seen the film upwards of one-hundred times and has personally analyzed it in just about every way one can think of and has probably in many ways overblown pieces of the film in his own mind but, as he says, “You have to trust me it’s the greatest movie ever.”

Angie Romano is a pianist and composer. She has been playing piano since she was five years old and composing since she was about nine years old. Angie currently takes a film class at Washington Middle School where she enjoys making movies and documentaries as well as composing scores for them. Her YouTube channel focuses on makeup and beauty and she also really enjoys braiding hair. Last summer, she created a hair braiding stall at the Downtown Growers’ Market with the sole purpose of raising enough funds to meet her family in Italy, which she was able to do this past summer.

Stephen Joshua Torres is an artist. At 18 years old he puts pride and his strongest effort into everything he does. From designing his high school’s entire yearbook to composing original electronic music; he paints, he draws, he creates. For Stephen, art is a voice and our voices are art. He believes, “If we want something or believe in something we need to exercise our voices to be heard. To let the world know who we are, we have to be ourselves.” Throughout his whole life he has been taught two things; being himself and using his voice. He loves art, and he loves to see people make art.

“I want to make the world colorful.”

Sarita Sol Gonzalez is a Performance Poet and fifth grader from Albuquerque, NM. Writing her first poem when she was in second grade, Sarita is one of the youngest writers in the Albuquerque poetry community. Her poetry reflects her love of her community and passion for her culture. She has been published in various anthologies including Kids With Causes: A Poetry Anthology of Youth Voices and Las Palabras: Mothers and Daughters (Swimming With Elephants Publications). She has also self-published a chapbook titled Solita. Sarita has shared the stage with poetry duo Sister Outsider (Denice Frohman and Dominique Christina), Albuquerque Poet Laureate Jessica Helen Lopez, and many others from Albuquerque’s vibrant poetry community.

Marina Weber was born in Seattle and now lives in Santa Fe, NM. When Marina was just learning to talk, one of her first sentences was- “I do it!” Her independence and her quest for justice continue to define her. When she was 6, she began sending letters about endangered animals, to President Obama. When she was 7 ½ she decided to write a book to send to him, entitled, The Global Warming Express. The book became the inspiration for a website and a By Kids/For Kids movement by the same name. Marina is now a 12-year-old climate activist and author.

Born in London in 1935, Barbara came to Albuquerque in 1988 and immediately started volunteering. She has volunteered for 27 years at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. There she has been a docent/tour guide, editor of the Pueblo Horizons newsletter, Education & Program Chair for the Friends Lecture Series, organized trips for the volunteers, and anything else that needed doing. Some of her many volunteer roles include: Volunteer at the Folk Festival, Film Festivals, RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program) for Special Events. She also enjoys volunteering as an Usher at Popejoy Hall, which she has done for 18 years now. She loves reading, giving parties, cooking, nature, travel, driving, family, theatre, films and volunteering.