Hello, there...I'm Liz!

My name is Liz Sterba and I am a Junior at California State University, Sacramento. I am the Youth Representative for the Tahoe/Colonial Collaborative, a grass-roots children's advocacy group located in the Tahoe Park and Colonial Park neighborhoods in Southeast Sacramento!

I also work as the Event and Volunteer Coordinator at a children's park called Fairytale Town, and I serve on a number of boards and committees in the Sacramento area, including the Stockton Boulevard Neighborhood Accountability Board and the Sacramento City Youth Commission.

I am supported by a wonderful mom, a great dad, an awesome 18-year-old sister, a cool 15-year-old brother, a super family, three beautiful god-kids and the best of friends. The love and support that all of these people have given me is what has pushed me to become involved so deeply in the fight for healthy and safe children, families and neighborhoods!

My Work with the Collaborative

As a youth member of the board, I have a special role: I am able to lend a younger perspective to the ideas that come to the table, and I am able to gain an immense amount of wisdom from some truly fantastic people. The board is made up of teachers, parents, businesspersons, students, doctors, and neighbors--all salt of the earth, the best people you could ever wish for in a community.

I work to recruit more youth involvement in Collaborative activities and in the board itself, as well as assisting in the planning of events, the staffing of programs and helping with the writing of reports. Each of my tasks has helped me to gain many necessary skills. From preliminary grant-writing, to the co-authoring of an evaluation report, to administering huge surveys and providing child care, I have acquired a wealth of beneficial and meaningful experience through my involvement in the Collaborative!

And I Beg of Thee...

There are many things that I have been blessed enough to learn from my family, friends, god children, and mentors in the community. They are things that have helped me to become productive, responsible, strong, healthy and happy. They are things that I would plead for everyone to do!

* believe in yourself, those around you and your dreams * never give up on even the most hopeless situations, in their darkest moments * stand up for what you believe in, and then FIGHT FOR IT * tolerating differences isn't enough...we must embrace and appreciate them! * when in doubt, look in the eyes of a child * get involved in your community...YOU are the only thing standing in the way of positive change, if you aren't actively involved in it * do more celebrating of the small, wonderful things than stressing over the big, ugly things * be true to yourself * work harder than hard but always take plenty of vacations * remember that at all times someone is loving you, someone is needing you and someone values you * change really does happen one person at a time * stop thinking such bad thoughts about today's youth...we really are a great bunch! * find something beautiful in each and every single day *