Sarah Marquez
Sarah Marquez's interest in social justice began in the fourth grade. After seeing a boy harass her friend, Sarah was ready to tell their teacher. But her friend begged her to stay quiet for fear the boy would no longer like her. Witnessing the lack of self-esteem among girls in her community inspired Sarah to make change.
But she faced steep challenges in realizing her full potential as an advocate. Sarah endured multiple surgeries in childhood to treat spina bifida, a condition in which the lower vertebrae of her spine did not close properly before she was born. After high school, Sarah found herself too ill to work but still driven to do something positive with her time and energy.
It was during a chance conversation with a friend that Sarah heard about Act for Women and Girls in Visalia, which started in 2003 following a Women's Foundation of California event. The Foundation gave ACT their first grant.
Within hours of that conversation, Sarah attended her first meeting of ACT's Female Leadership Academy (FLA) and connected with the diverse group of young women activists who are leading efforts to improve their communities.
Sarah says, "My disability catches a lot of attention. ACT gives me the opportunity to turn that attention to issues closest to my heart, like access to reproductive health services and LGBT rights."
By engaging courageous young women like Sarah to find new solutions to existing challenges, ACT trains young women to become leaders and to engage in advocacy from protesting against gender-based violence on college campuses to lobbying for reproductive rights legislation in Sacramento. Recently, ACT partnered with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte to open a satellite office that provides reproductive health services for young people in Visalia. FLA is now pioneering a grassroots street outreach campaign to raise awareness and increase access to these vital services. So far their outreach has resulted in a 25% increase in clinical visits, which they believe will lead to decreased teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates.
"I have to stand up for the people who support me. That's an old Central Valley tradition. By funding ACT, the Women's Foundation funds my voice. To be seen for what I'm capable of, instead of what I'm incapable of, instead of what I'm incapable of, is an honor."
Read about:
Kimi Lee's experience with the Garment Workers Center
Eveline Shen's work organizing nail salon workers in California
Masen Davis and the Transgender Law Center