YUCA: Meet the Staff

Meet the Staff
	Anna Turner, FIRE Coordinator Anna first joined YUCA as a volunteer in January of 1999 at the age of fourteen. As a volunteer Anna played a crucial role in the campaign to stop a concrete batch plant from entering East Palo Alto. In her four years as a Higher Learning core member, Anna also was a key organizer of the South Bay Coalition to Stop Prop 21, and the Environmental Justice Accountability Campaign to shut down Romic. In 2000, Anna was selected as one of the only youth in the country to participate in a peer/organization evaluation process for the Public Welfare Foundation. Upon graduating from high school, Anna joined the staff as Junior Regional FIRE Coordinator and most recently, as the Administrative Coordinator. Anna also served as the staff representative to the Board. Anna has been able to travel to Brazil as a member of JustAct’s Core Group and the Global Grassroots Justice Network Representative at the World Social Forum. Anna has been the FIRE Coordinator for over five years. Her current focus is on the Youth Environmental Justice Network, which is a collaboration of environmental justice organizations in the Bay Area and Central Valley. During her spare time, Anna expresses her creativity by making jewelry, concocting different foods, and is a member of the Divas, an all-women’s motorcycle and social club in the Bay Area. You can email Anna at aturner@youthunited.net
	Annie Loya, Executive Director Annie has over 11 years of experience with YUCA. She volunteered at 13 and joined the Higher Learning Core at 14. Since then, Annie has been a key youth organizer within the Environmental Justice Accountability Campaign. Annie then transitioned into staff at 18 years old as Assistant HL Coordinator, where she then supported young people’s development into HL. She drew from her myriad of experiences as a youth to then restructure the HL program as Program Coordinator to add more components that addressed the holistic development of youth, expand the membership to offer more opportunities for young people to get involved, and expand the number of campaigns at YUCA to address both environmental and economic justice issues in the community. Annie was a crucial lead in the campaign that led to the historic shutdown of Romic, a negligent toxic waste facility in East Palo Alto. Annie has taken on a leadership role in her community and in the larger movement for environmental and social justice. At 25, Annie is an experienced organizer, trainer, and speaker. She has developed and led workshops for YUCA, spoken on panels, given keynote speeches, and led various community campaigns around issues affecting youth. She sat on the Ad Hoc Committee that led to the structure of the Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing, was a representative to the Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition, the East Palo Alto Air Resource Team, the Community Advisory Group, Environmental Justice Group, and the Ravenswood Business District Coalition. She brings years of experience as a previous HL Staff and core member to the Director’s position. Her passion for community change is evident in her commitment to the work. Annie also sits on the board of Greenaction. You can email Annie at annie@youthunited.net
	James Turner, Administrative Coordinator James Turner, 23, has a long history of involvement in the East Palo Alto community, starting when he was 8 years old helping in community service projects in East Palo Alto – including building our YUCA home that we would occupy years later. He first joined YUCA when he was 15 years old as a core youth organizer involved in our anti-gentrification campaigns that would displace businesses and residents in our community. He then became part of staff when he turned 19 as our Administrative Coordinator. A crucial part of our organization, James handles the maintenance of our organization in every which way possible, and does so with care, heart, and commitment. He is also a budding poet, great writer, and aspiring dj who gets his breaks at YUCA events. You can email James at james@youthunited.net