YO! Volunteer, Leanne Libas, California's newly appointed Student Commissioner to the Advisory Commission on Special Education (ACSE) will be participating in her first meeting from February 22 - 23, 2017 at the State Department of Education. 
Leanne recently finished her one-year commitment in YO! Volunteer Corps at the Dayle McIntosh Center in Anaheim, California. Her volunteer service time included co-hosting and facilitating a monthly youth group meeting focused on employment skill building opportunities, learning about disability culture, and the disability community.  Leanne also assisted in the planning and organizing of the statewide YO! Disabled & Proud: “Building My Disability Resources & Network Summit” in July of 2016.
It was Leanne’s involvement in the California Youth Leadership Forum for Students with Disabilities that opened up new doors for her. After learning that there was and still is a Disability Rights Movement, Leanne began her personal self-advocacy and self-acceptance journey. During her last year of high school she started a disability rights club on campus. She partnered with other YO! Members and presented Disability History at her school. She was the first to teach and talk about it in her district.
Leanne has continued her education at a local community college and plans to transfer with a degree in liberal studies. She has become an active member of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN) and is one of five ASAN members to be named an Autistic Scholar and be awarded a scholarship.
Joining the Advisory Commission on Special Education is something she looks forward to and will allow her to continue to speak up on behalf of students with all types of disabilities, especially Autism. Leanne feels that the ACSE will further prepare her for her future as a special education teacher, where she plans to break down disability stereotypes and improve systems for all students. Lastly, she hopes that her contributions and perspective as a disabled and proud, autistic female of color will impact the commission and California’s future students in positive ways.