Community Services Department
DATE: May 13, 2025
TO: Council Youth Services Committee
FROM: Lauren Eck, Recreation Coordinator
Greg Milano, Recreation Supervisor
SUBJECT: 2025-26 Youth Advisory Committee Applicant Selection and Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION
Forward a recommendation to the City Council to approve the reappointment of 12 current Youth Advisory Committee members and six current members-at-large, along with the appointment of three new members and five new members-at-large, to the Youth Advisory Committee for the 2025-26 term.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On September 11, 2007, the City Council approved Resolution No. 17235 establishing the Youth Advisory Committee (YAC). The resolution states that the YAC consists of a combined maximum of 15 middle school and high school students who are Mountain View residents. YAC members are selected through an application and interview process facilitated by the Community Services Department’s Recreation Division and appointed by the City Council.
On June 13, 2024, the City Council appointed 15 members and 10 members-at-large to the YAC for the 2024-25 term. Twelve (12) of the 15 members are eligible for reappointment, and three are graduating from high school, making them no longer eligible for the 2025-26 term.
Staff requests that the Council Youth Services Committee (CYSC) consider the following 12 returning YAC members as candidates for reappointment:
1. Dylan Andrzejek, freshman at Mountain View High School
2. Jiwoo Oh, junior at Castilleja School
3. Jayan Nair, freshman at Mountain View High School
4. Kaelyn Tan, sophomore at Mountain View High School
5. Kaitlyn Byon, sophomore at Los Altos High School
6. Kavya Wazhi, junior at Mountain View High School
7. Leilani Montano, freshman at Los Altos High School
8. Meital Zayats, freshman at Mountain View High School 2025-26 Youth Advisory Committee Applicant Selection and Recommendation May 13, 2025
9. Ryan Jhin, sophomore at Mountain View High School
10. Shahana Rajasekaran, junior at Los Altos High School
11. Sophia Lew, junior at Mountain View High School
12. Victoria Ma, junior at The Harker School
Recreation Division staff recruited students earlier this spring to apply for the 2025-26 term.
Recruitment efforts included making school announcements, talking to students at career fairs, posting applications on the YAC website and at The View Teen Center, a recruitment ad in the Recreation Activity Guide, postings to the Mountain View Recreation Division and The View Teen Center social media accounts, and emailing applications directly to school staff to share with students. A record number of 46 applications representing students from 14 different schools were received for the remaining three member and four member-at-large spots.
Staff conducted in-person interviews in early April and requests the CYSC to consider the following three new candidates for appointment as YAC members:
1. Harshini Nagappan, sophomore at Los Altos High School (current member-at-large)
2. Kai Cheng, junior at Mountain View High School
3. Shreyas Nayak, sixth-grader at Graham Middle School
Each of these applicants effectively articulated their desire to be a member of the YAC, communicated how they may contribute to the YAC’s overall goals, and showed commitment to the 2025-26 term.
In addition to the staff recommendation of 15 candidates for appointment, staff requests that the CYSC recommend the following 11 candidates be named members-at-large. Members-atlarge receive ongoing YAC communications, an invitation to attend meetings as a nonvoting public participant, and opportunities to volunteer at YAC and City-sponsored special events.
Staff requests that the Council Youth Services Committee (CYSC) consider the following six returning YAC members-at-large as candidates for reappointment:
1. Alyson Lu, freshman at Mountain View High School
2. Katherine Xu, sophomore at Mountain View High School
3. Katherine Li, eighth-grader at Crittenden Middle School
4. Oliver Pollock, eighth-grader at Crittenden Middle School
5. Samuel Li, junior at Saint Francis High School
6. Sarp Akalin, freshman at Los Altos High School
2025-26 Youth Advisory Committee Applicant Selection and Recommendation May 13, 2025
In addition, staff requests the CYSC to consider the following five new candidates for appointment as YAC members-at-large:
1. Alexa Swanson, freshman at Menlo School
2. Amanda Ni Lewis, eighth-grader at Graham Middle School
3. Ari Lulla, junior at Los Altos High School
4. Maya Hsu, freshman at Waldorf School of the Peninsula
5. Vijay Sidhu, freshman at Los Altos High School
Based upon the interview process and the limited number of positions available, 39 of the 46 new applicants were not forwarded for appointment at this time.
NEXT STEPS
Following CYSC consideration and recommendation, staff will forward the list of recommended candidates to the City Council for a formal appointment at the June 10, 2025 City Council meeting.
LE-GM/6/CSD
256-05-13-25M