Through hands-on research projects, workshops, and interactive discussions, ONE Archives Foundation mentors a core group of high school student leaders from across Los Angeles to become ambassadors for LGBTQ history in their communities and schools. The Youth Ambassadors for Queer History Program will meet at ONE Archives at the USC Libraries for two Saturdays per month throughout the 2019–2020 academic year. The program includes LGBTQ history presentations by community organizers, group discussions on LGBTQ topics, research and workshops, and field trips to LGBTQ organizations and landmarks throughout Los Angeles.

Ultimately, the program activities will guide each student to create a personal passion project that displays their knowledge of LGBTQ history and culture. The culmination of these individual projects will be showcased as a collective exhibition at ONE Gallery, West Hollywood. Through the Youth Ambassadors program, not only will students be able to utilize their perspectives in depicting LGBTQ history, but they will also gain community service hours, professional research experience, project development skills, and tools to increase visibility of LGBTQ history and culture in their communities. We look forward to expanding this program to statewide and nationwide levels within the near future.

To learn more, please email Erik Adamian, Associate Director of Education, at eadamian@onearchives.org.

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. Read more about our Program Founders here.