Introducing our leadership team and focus for the coming year

I’m honored to introduce the team that will lead Canway Youth in 2023-2024:

Ari Alvidrez is our Engagement Vice President. Ari has a long standing interest in local and global community involvement and will lead our efforts to make Canway Youth resources more broadly available to fellow students. This summer Ari will be volunteering in Tierras Altas in Panama at a non-profit program with a focus in organic farming and agricultural impacts of environmental challenges. Upon his return he will be working to expand volunteer engagement with Canway Youth.

Mihlaan Selvaretnam is our Marketing Vice President and will be working on membership growth and fundraising. Mihlaan is a varsity wrestler at Gunn High School, and this summer he will be in Japan, taking part in a competitive wrestling program. Upon his return Mihlaan will also lead our efforts to increase student outreach this coming year.

I have been very lucky to be accepted for a summer internship at the GRIPS program (Genomics Research Internship Program at Stanford), and will be splitting my time between that and training with the Gunn High School varsity water polo team.

The three of us believe that there is an opportunity to expand Canway Youth’s concerns from topics such as anxiety and depression among students to matters affecting youth well being more generally. According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, “more than 1 in 4 U.S. children reported having a seasonal allergy, eczema, or food allergy in 2021,” and so areas of interest may include how allergies affect students among other research areas such as how food intake choices and gut health impact mental well being.

We look forward to a great year ahead, and encourage any interested students to contact us via this form: https://www.canwayyouth.org/contact