Patricia Barraza

Peer Leader, Luther Burbank Middle School and Balboa High School

"Patricia has committed her life to serving the needs of young people by making sure that they are heard and provided with the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. She has embodied this commitment in every role she has had over the last 20 years, in both her paid and volunteer work in schools and community. Patty has been a part of Peers since high school. She credits Peers and United Playaz for helping her find her voice and become a lifelong advocate for youth and for her City. She spent almost a decade at John O'Connell High School managing the afterschool programs with the Love It, Plan It, Do it, Change It mentality. She has been instrumental in developing young leaders from the Mission District. She is currently director of the Denman Beacon and is continuing to hire and train youth to be scholars, teachers, and most importantly doers. Patty has taken Peers' motto of "Love it, Change it, Plan it, Do it" to heart and instilled it into the hearts of others. She shows up to advocate for youth at school board meetings, protests in the streets, hearings with shady real estate developers who want to build unlimited luxury condos, and in the library before finals. The youth who know her, leave school knowing she has their back for life."

Patricia Barraza is the daughter of immigrants who came to the US to build a family, met in the Mission, and raised their family there. Her mother and grandfather instilled in her the pride and need for being bilingual. At a young age Patricia was a youth worker helping out with CCD at her local church. This was further cultivated when she met Ms Annette from Peer Resources in 1990 at Luther Burbank Middle School. There, she was trained in conflict mediation and peer helping; her Peer Resources Journey has been steady ever since, including at one point running the program at Balboa High School as a High School Student in-between coordinators. She was instrumental in the founding of United Playaz and in her own endeavor into non-profit work with PurpleSun, a program founded by Peer Alums and former director Lorne Needle. As her career has taken off recently, having taken on the leadership role as Director at the OMI/Excelsior Beacon, she has always stayed a true supporter of Peer Resources as an Advisory Board member and advocate.

"My tag line, #hugyourteenager, and my given nickname, Ms.Makeithappen, are real time acknowledgements of my commitment to the work of empowering young people in San Francisco. My personal goal of every SFUSD school being led by an SFUSD alum is building steam as I am a constant advocate for young adults moving into their careers in SFUSD."

Patricia Barraza