Trans Filipina immigrant, Carla Ibarra is one of the 30 young creators selected for MTV's upcoming Health Youth Action Forum. The event will take place at the White House in Washington D.C. in May where creators and mental health activists will present their ideas about future mental health and public health campaigns. Carla Ibarra is currently a Master of Public Health student at USC and a council member of the Transgender Advisory Board of the City of Los Angeles.
As one of the applicants selected by the MTV Entertainment Group social impact team, she's gearing up to create impactful campaigns to change the thought surrounding mental health in marginalized communities. The group of creators are set to attend a six-week program by MTV to identify and work on developing a campaign for their communities to foster change. They'll get the exposure needed by partnering with MTV which includes PSAs, podcasts, digital art, and other digital tools needed to help improve mental health.
“It is our hope that the concepts that are presented at the Forum will be carried forward and developed into a tangible creative campaign that can reach millions of young people across the country."
VAUGHAN BAGLEY, SENIOR MANAGER OF SOCIAL IMPACT FOR MTV ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Looking to put an end to the stigma surrounding mental health, the event wants to reach young people who are least likely to seek help or not have enough resources available to them, according to Forbes. With the White House officials involved, senior officials and the individuals from the Department of Health and Human Services are expected to speak at the event. Best of luck is in order for Carla Ibarra as she not only will represent the Filipino community, but also the LGBTQ+ community.
Cover Photo Credit: Carla Ibarra Instagram
We all want to protect Olivia Rodrigo at all cost because we can't get enough of her. We finally catch her debut late night show interview on Jimmy Kimmel. She talks about visiting the White House and her initiative on encouraging young people to get vaccinated, she's also reached the threshold of over a billion streams on Spotify, and what's next for her music.
Olivia recalls her visit to the White House earlier this year and hanging out with President Biden himself. She mentioned she received gifts from her visit like the aviators, M&Ms, and a shoe horn with the presidential seal. That's uhm... very interesting but at least the sunglasses balance it out.
She's asked about what's next for her music even with SOUR still soaring the charts and new radio singles coming out. Songwriting is therapeutic for Olivia as it describes her feelings that are uncomfortable, she said "you can be a happy person and still be upset sometimes." Preach, Olivia!
What she was happy about was meeting Alanis Morisette for their Rolling Stone cover. With similar career paths, they chatted about starting out on TV, shared dating advice, and the move to music. With SOUR being so successful and reaching over a billion stream on Spotify, we can't help think when's the next album coming and what would it be called? Obliviously "sweet" would make sense, but Olivia is keeping it all under-wraps for now.
Olivia also performed her current single, "Traitor" to close out the show. Check it out below!
Cover Photo Credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live Twitter
Olivia Rodrigo spends the day at the White House to speak out on the importance of youth vaccination. She meets President Biden and shares a short speech on the availability of vaccines for all communities. The initiative aims to encourage Americans to continue to get vaccinated in order to fight against COVID-19.
The POTUS Instagram shares happier photos of President Biden and Olivia wearing signature aviators with big thumbs up.
Olivia shares another photo and continues to advocate for getting vaccinated. "Had the absolute honor of visiting the White House today and chatting with @potus about the importance of getting vaccinated! even if you are young and not immunocompromised, getting your covid vaccination is the best thing you can do for your health and your loved ones’ health. YOU have the power to save lives... thank you to everyone who has done their part in helping end this pandemic and thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Dr. Fauci, and everyone at the White House for having me. EVERYONE GET VAXED IT’S SO IMPORTANT"
Check out vaccines.gov to learn more about vaccinations and to find a vaccination center near you.
Check out Olivia's speech at the White House Briefing Room.
Cover Photo Credit: Olivia Rodrigo Facebook
Jason Tengco was appointed this week as the U.S. Office of Personnel Management White House liaison. The Biden-Harris administration has been releasing information on several appointees since the inauguration on January 20th. According to the Asian Journal, "the OPM serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the federal government".
"Biden wants to continue to build off of that significant progress and make sure that we have diverse, talented individuals in his administration."
Jason Tengco
"More than 85% of OPM First Week appointees identify as people of color, women, or LGBTQ.” This is what Tengco hoped when jumping back into politics. A commitment to diversifying leaders in an administration.
Since Tengco has valuable experiences in civil service, he will continue that work as part of the Office of Personnel Management agency. His interest in political activism started at the University of California, Los Angeles with a political science degree. Previous positions he held involved community outreach:
1. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) outreach lead in the Biden-Harris transition team; AAPI outreach director for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016.
2. Coalitions chief of staff during the Biden-Harris campaign to urge minority groups to get out and vote.
3. Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on AAPIs during the Obama administration.
4. Executive Director then a Senior Advisor for the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
The article closes with a quote that has stuck with Tengco, a reminder of why he chased his passion, "No history, No self. Know history, know self."
*Cover Photo Credit: Asian Journal and NaFFAA National Instagram
