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Access Youth Academy Sunset Soirée Access Youth Academy's events are unique in that the evening's hosts and key speakers are current students and program graduates. While enjoying tray-passed appetizers and sips, guests at the garden party-themed event at a private Rancho Santa Fe estate learned about the organization's exceptional students who are transforming their potential into tangible success as they become champions, both on the sports court and in our communities. Founded in 2006, Access Youth Academy's mission is to transform the lives of underserved individuals ages 10- 24+ through academic enrichment, health and wellness, social responsibility, critical thinking, and leadership development, using the sport of squash as a catalyst. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER NELSON Raheem Logan, Siarah Reed, and Nate Cambridge Sandy and Art Yayanos Lindsay Estrada, Katie Sullivan, Megan Delgado, and Sarah Houghton Miki Holmes, AnneElise Goetz, Jimmy Wayne, and Jessica Muñoz Sue Alper, Wendy Nash, Beth Goodman, and Nancy Howard Cobb Monique Rodriguez with Nikia Clarke Kristi E. Pfister, Michele Meisenbach, and Andrea Marvin Reese and Regina Jarrett and Laurie Black Anthony Mendias and Blair Sadler Robin To, Renato Paiva, and Susan Taylor Walter and Lola Green Seen Uplifting Voices Voices for Children presented its third annual Uplifting Voices, which combined inspiring stories from the nonprofit's Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, philanthropy, light bites, and fun to lift up the voices of our community's most vulnerable children in foster care. Taking place on the open-air deck at Del Mar Plaza, the program featured country music artist and New York Times bestselling author Jimmy Wayne. His book, Walk to Beautiful, is a powerfully emotive account of Wayne's difficult childhood in foster care, and how the love and consistency of a few individuals changed the course of his life. Wayne later went on to walk halfway across America to raise awareness for kids aging out of the foster care system and lobbied to pass legislative bills extending the age of foster care from 18 to 21 in California and Tennessee. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF VOICES FOR CHILDREN ranchandcoast.com 106 JULY 2024 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE