Michigan's statewide youth advisory council on sexual health!
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What is MY Voice?
MY Voice is the youth advisory council that MOASH coordinates. MY Voice exists to inform the services, programs and materials created for youth by MOASH and other community partners. In addition, MY Voice members are involved in various youth advocacy efforts throughout the year and use their voices of experience to improve services for youth across the state. MY Voice members have the opportunity to be trained on a variety of sexual health topics, undergo leadership development, gain communication skills and work on advocacy efforts. Members are typically 16-21 but younger youth can be accepted on a case by case basis. The council meets monthly, often in Lansing but also occasionally in other areas of the state. |
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Meet our 2018-2019 MY Voice members:
xander bailey
Xander Bailey is a freshman at Michigan State University majoring in the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science at Lyman Briggs College. He is heavily involved with speaking to education professionals on how to be more accommodating and responsive to trans youth. He became involved with MOASH in 2017. Along with advocacy his interests include public speaking, reading cooking. He can be reached at BaileyA944@gmail.com.
maddi carpenter-crawford
Maddi is a curious person. Especially about people, their ideas, their uniqueness, their experiences. And wanting to learn about people, Maddi cannot help but get involved with people. On any given day, you'll find Maddi balancing her International Baccalaureate program at school, assistant directing in youth theatre, participating in civics through the Mayor's Youth Council and Arts Commission, chasing a perfect moment with her camera, facilitating social justice dialogues, or counseling at a camp, and whatever comes up in between. She wants to always explore, grow, and make the world better (don't we all) connection by connection. Through MyVoice, she hopes to get to know some great people, learn from them, and push for the implementation of more inclusive, practical sexual education in Michigan.
GRACE Trombley
Grace Trombley (she/her) is a senior at Adrian High School. This is her first year being involved in MY Voice. She is passionate about many subjects, especially making contraceptives or healthcare in general available to everyone, no matter their age or income. Her hopes for the future is to major in Environmental Policy and Analysis at Bowling Green State University, in pursuit of a career in politics, public relations and conservation. Her hobbies include participating in her school’s marching band, choirs, Students Against Destructive Decisions club, Robotics team, Gay Straight Alliance, and much more. She can be contacted at graceetrombley@gmail.com.
hiran dewar
My name is Hiran Dewar (she/her/hers) and I am a senior at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I joined MY Voice to learn more about sexual health and how to help teens in my community combat problems that they face every day. I also joined to be a representative for my community and speak up against problems that teens deal with daily. One day, I hope to get a medical degree and then work in public policy/health. This stems from my passion for social justice and interest in medicine, so adolescent sexual health has been a core part of my interests throughout high school. Other sexual health spaces that I work in include Peer Education for Planned Parenthood (teaching health classes about topics such as contraception and LGBTQ+), and Ann Arbor Sexual Health Education Advisory Committee (working with educators around Ann Arbor to approve curriculum and impact change regarding sexual health education). I participate in a wide range of extracurriculars outside of sexual health, from Varsity Lacrosse to research at University of Michigan’s Cancer Center. I am incredibly excited for this opportunity to work on MY Voice with amazing youth to better my community. I can be contacted at hmdewar01@gmail.com.
darien mccowan
Darien McCowan (they/them pronouns) is a high school graduate from the Holland, Michigan area who is passionate about sexual health education and related issues. This is their second year in the MY Voice program. They can be contacted at darmccowan@gmail.com.
emily nyquist
My name is Emily Nyquist and I am a sophomore at Northview High School. In my freetime I enjoy reading, writing, acting, and watching anything Star Wars. I’m on my school’s student council board, as well as a part of the WAVE (welcoming, accepting, valuing, everyone) club there. I joined MY Voice this fall (2018) because I am involved in a similar organization, YLAV (Young Leaders Against Violence). I'm passionate about sexual health and education because I've seen the consequences of an non inclusive health program, and I believe that if we want anything to change, we must be the driving force of that change. I'm also passionate about other social justice issues such as gun violence and equal rights for all genders. My goal is to get into University of Michigan where I'd like to pursue a career as an attorney for sexual assault victims. I can be reached at enyquistgr2552@gmail.com
alexandria piette
I am Alexandria “Allie” Piette, a nineteen-year old student and activist from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I applied to MOASH’s MY Voice team to implement change regarding sexual health and its impact throughout communities across the state, which are two topics I feel strongly towards. When I am not finishing my diploma or working through MY Voice, I am typically found writing, reading, creating art, and devoting time to my family of (currently) eight. I am impassioned towards my involvement in the foster care system and with at-risk youth. I aim to become a social worker to improve the quality of lives of children throughout foster care, in juvenile detention, LGBTQ+ homeless youth, et cetera. I hope to make a change in sex education programs across the state, and to strengthen reproductive healthcare access in low-income communities. I can be contacted at alexandriapiette@gmail.com.
graceanne powelL
Graceanne Powell (she/her/hers) is a junior at Yale high school. She hopes to help the youth in her community get easier access to resources and help people learn more about sexual health. This is her first year being involved in MY Voice. She hopes to make a career in the engineering or medical field. In her free time her interests includes reading, being in nature, and volunteering in her community. She is passionate about being open and helping people get through tough situations. She can be reached at powellgraceanne@gmail.com
lexi raymond
Lexi Raymond is a senior at Rockford High School in the Kent County area. She is a transgender activist with a focus on creating policy increasing and defining students rights. Lexi comes from a life of being discriminated by their transgender status. She refuses to be talked down to and responds to problems with actions. The more work she has to do the better. She has been educated in Spanish fluently from rogue wood elementary. She is additionally a student of Kent Innovation High, a excellent project-based learning school. She is a natural leader and is trained to work in groups in norms of collaboration. She plans to have a life in transgender activism or political running. On another note, Lexi is part of an eSports team called Team AKWA. She enjoys video games and the theatrical arts. She has written 3 plays and attends Michigan Thespian Festival. She performed at 20 Monroe Live with the show Zombie Prom. She loves to make paper airplanes. And she when she needs to relax she will go to the park and skip stones and fly kites while listening to podcasts. Lexi is excited to be the MY Trans Voice liaison to MY Voice. And looks forward to being involved with the groups work. You can find contact info on most social media platforms @DuarfS
shane shananaquet
Shane (he/him) is a senior at Adrian High School. This is his second year in MY Voice. He has been involved in political activism for the past 4 years. Throughout his activism, he has spoken at Michigan PRIDE, organized rallies, attended conferences, and sat on councils to fight for lgbt+ rights, gun control, and healthcare. Although he is unsure of where he is going to college, he hopes to double major in mechanical engineering and political science. He is fully enrolled in the IB Diploma Program at his school and has a part time job at Starbucks. He can be contacted at shananaquet02@gmail.com.
julia sickrey
My name is Julia Sickrey, and I graduated from Rockford High School in 2018. I am currently a freshman at Grand Rapids Community College. In my free time I enjoy reading, drinking coffee, listening to music, and going for bike rides. I joined MY Voice in the fall of 2018, and joined because of another club I had been a part of called Young Leaders Against Violence(YLAV). YLAV deals with sexual assault and domestic violence, and I believe a change in sexual health could help with those issues. I am also passionate about social justice, and I am involved in political activism throughout my community. In the future, I plan on transferring to a four-year university and majoring in political science and minoring in women’s studies to help those without a voice. I can be contacted at juliasickrey@gmail.com.
ariana thornton
Ariana Thornton (She/They/He) is a Culinary Arts major at Grand Rapids Community College looking to get her degree and go on to work in the Catering or Medical industry. This is her second year on the MYVoice board, which she joined because of her passion for a better sexual education and support system for youth, especially younger LGBT+ people and people of color. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and crafting, and can be reached at thornton.ariana@gmail.com.
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© 2019 MOASH (Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health)