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Southern CA

Youth Advocate Alicia deLeon-Torres Named Woman of the Year Assemblymember Susan Davis has selected Alicia deLeon-Torres as Woman of the Year for her service and commitment to young people in San Diego. "It is my pleasure to be able to recognize Alicia for her outstanding advocacy on behalf of youth and her proven success in working with troubled teens," explained Assemblymember Susan Davis. In 1996 Ms. DeLeon-Torres spearheaded the Filipino-American Youth and Family Empowerment project in response to alarming statistics which revealed unusually high rates of suicide and attempted suicide among Filipino-American girls. Today she continues to provide support for Filipino and other Asian youth as the Youth Prevention Services Manager for the Union of Pan Asian Communities, which serves the County of San Diego. According to deLeon-Torres, the personal accomplishment she is most proud of is her success in "making youth more comfortable about who they are." She says she enjoys working with young people rather than adults because "youth have the vision, enthusiasm and optimism that adults often have lost." Alicia deLeon-Torres knows all too well that in addition to the usual stresses that all teens face, teens from new immigrant families experience additional pressures not always understood by friends, teachers and classmates. Cultural clashes between teens and their parents can result in feelings of isolation and despair. Ms. deLeon-Torres wants every young person to be able to define and recognize the strengths from the culture they come from and the culture they are in now. The "Woman of the Year" awards are sponsored by the Women's Caucus of the California State Legislature. This year marks the tenth annual ceremony in recognition of Women's History Month. Recipients of the award will spend a day in Sacramento learning about the state legislature.

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