Hello, Marin 9 to 25 Community!

My name is Gabriellah “Gabby” Agar and I am interning with Marin 9 to 25. I wanted to take the time to introduce myself and share how I approach this work.

I graduated from Dominican University of California in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Global Public Health and a minor in Leadership. Currently, I am a graduate student attending the University of Nevada Reno where I am obtaining my Master of Public Health.

My background of working in youth programs goes all the way back to high school and little did I know, was the start of my passion for public health. The Teen Action Committee (TAC) was put together in my hometown, Elk Grove, CA, under the Parks and Recreation Department. Their mission was to plan and host safe and fun alternative events for the teens in my area to attend. I joined because I was dissatisfied with the events hosted in my community. I felt that the issues facing teens in my community were drugs, alcohol, and bullying, so I set out to create fun alternative events that were a safe place. This is what helped get me the role of President for two years in a row.

Out of the many events I hosted, one event stands out in particular. This was Teen Unity Day, which was inspired after hearing from the teen community about the amount of racism and stereotypes teens held against each other. My committee and I planned it intending to make Elk Grove a more peaceful and safe place to be and break down social barriers and stereotypes through leadership and team-building exercises. At the event, I was amazed by how many teens wanted to promote peace and kindness throughout their schools and community. We all decided that change starts with us and our actions. To be committed to creating environments that empower, inspire, and educate all teens to discover and maximize their unique leadership potential and embrace the diversity and equal value of everyone. At that moment, I felt that inner spark. This event ended up being one of my proudest accomplishments and is now an annual event in my hometown.

That said, I truly relate to the mission of Marin 9 to 25, and I hope to apply my past experiences to help the youth meet their goals. Marin county will always be home to me as I lived there during my developmental years as a young adult attending Dominican.

I will always be a youth advocate and currently work at Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco within their Marketing department. My passion for public health is community-driven, pushing for health equity/justice within the youth population. I plan on having a career in public health communications and marketing and look forward to growing as a professional within my internship!

If you would like to connect with me, I encourage you to reach out to me on my Linkedin.