One Institute mentors an annual cohort of high school student leaders from across Los Angeles County to become Youth Ambassadors for Queer History in their schools and communities.
From September through January, Youth Ambassadors examine LGBTQ+ history in interactive workshops with LGBTQ+ scholars, activists, and artists. Through the course of the program, each student develops a creative passion project from their research in the ONE Archives at the USC Libraries. These projects are exhibited in a culminating celebration at One Gallery in West Hollywood, where families, community members, and local officials celebrate and learn from our Youth Ambassadors. While building college-ready skills, and creating affirming relationships with mentors and peers, our Youth Ambassadors discover career paths in LGBTQ+ humanities, social services, and advocacy.
Youth Ambassadors meet bi-weekly on Saturdays from September through June, primarily at the One Gallery in West Hollywood. All graduating seniors who complete the program receive a $1,000 scholarship from our partners at the Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance (UGLA). First-year students, sophomores, and juniors receive a $500 stipend upon completing the program, courtesy of UGLA and One Institute. Additional stipends are provided on for students with transportation challenges.
Check out this story from L.A. Blade on our 2023-2024 cohort, and explore the online exhibition you are here, featuring projects from the 2019-2020 cohort.
Our youth programs are led by Trevor Ladner, Director of Education Programs, a licensed California history teacher. Please direct all inquiries to [email protected].
2024-2025 Youth Ambassadors
The Home We Build: In 1984, Audre Lorde proclaimed that, to build a world without racism and homophobia, we must “learn how to take our differences and make them strengths. For, the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Our 2024-2025 Youth Ambassadors use the joys and challenges of our queer history and elders as tools to build their own home. From lesbian photography and immigrant experiences, to teacher activism and the history of gender-affirming care, their work grounds us in our shared history to imagine our liberation
2023-2024 Youth Ambassadors
History Within Us: James Baldwin remarked in 1965 that “the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us.” By exploring the joys and challenges of the queer past — from lesbian publishing to AIDS fundraising and a high profile murder case — the work of our 2023-2024 cohort helps us to know ourselves and our community better, and imagine new possibilities for our future.
Thank you to our Youth Ambassadors for Queer History Program Founders, Rob Saltzman and Ed Pierce!
Rob and Ed have been strong supporters of LGBTQ organizations both locally and nationally. Rob and Ed met as students at Harvard Law School in the late 1970’s. They were together as a couple for 36 years from 1979 until Ed’s death in 2015 at age 63. Rob and Ed were legally married in California in 2008. Their lives together were focused on friends, family and children, combined with a lifelong passion for social justice and community service. In 2023, Rob joined One Institute’s Board of Directors. Read more about our Program Founders here.
Our 2024-2025 program was made possible through the generous support of Amazon, David Bohnett Foundation, Dwight Stuart Youth Fund, and Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance. AMAZON and the AMAZON logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
