Aliyana Montevirgen, a recent graduate from Sonoma State University with her Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice and Criminology is from Fairfield, California. She is passionate about child welfare policies, juvenile justice, advocacy, legislation and uplifting foster youth voices! She dedicates her time to serving foster youth and juvenile delinquents through her work as a case supervisor writing court reports for the dependency and delinquency court system and supporting youth with resources in Sonoma County’s CASA program. Along with her work as a case supervisor, she is also a part of California CASA’s DEI Task Force and TAY Support Program for California. She also juggles a second job as a Lead YEP Ambassador with the Child and Family Policy Institute of California supporting Fresno, Glenn, Butte, and Yolo County’s social services department. She collaborates with partnering organizations that support foster youth and provides lived expertise. She most recently was the co-chair for California’s Statewide Collaborative Prevention Convening to discuss child abuse with over 1,800 professionals across California.

Believing that every young person deserves access to resources and the voices of foster youth to be heard, Aliyana channels her passion into action through NFYI, focusing on improving transitional services and advocating for legislative changes that support foster youth. Outside of NFYI, she is also involved in community engagement efforts at a statewide level, for California for child abuse prevention – training advocates who are court appointed to youth cases, organizing events to empower foster youth around California. She is also a CASA Advocate for a foster youth navigating the complexities of the system first hand.

Beyond her advocacy work, Aliyana enjoys staying involved in policy discussions, supporting marginalized communities, and continuously learning about law and child welfare reform. She lives by the motto: “Be the person you needed when you were younger.” Through the Congressional Leadership Academy, she hopes to gain legislative advocacy skills and apply them to creating systemic changes that improve outcomes for foster youth.