Milpitas community leader honored for Black History Month

Black leaders honored

Colette Choates, a founding member of Milpitas’ Juneteenth celebration and Black History Month flag-raising ceremony, was among community leaders in Santa Clara and Alameda counties honored Feb. 14 at a Black History Month celebration. The event was co-hosted by state Assemblymember Alex Lee, San Jose-Evergreen Community College District Board Trustee Tony Alexander and Fremont City Councilmember Desrie Campbell.

Choates is also the founder of Parenting With a Purpose, which equips parents with resources and support to raise resilient and compassionate children. She serves as co-chair of San Jose Women in Business for Good and is a former member of the Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association Board of Directors.

Also recognized were Marion “Cookie” Cozine, assistant program director at Mission Bay Works, a behavioral adult day program in San Jose for individuals with disabilities; Dr. Jan Von Dickey from Bay Area Community Health in Fremont; John Muragu, a resource teacher and the special education department chair at Washington High School in the Fremont Unified School District; Bettina Strickland, an administrative assistant of human resources for the Berryessa Union School District in San Jose; Danielle Cranon-Jones, a recreation coordinator for Newark’s Recreation and Community Services Department; and Pastor Jason Reynolds, senior pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Jose.

Climate video contest

Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action is accepting submissions from aspiring filmmakers ages 12-18 from Santa Clara County for its Youth Climate Video Contest. The two- to five-minute videos should highlight Coyote Valley, farming and food systems, nature-based climate solutions and personal connections to nature.

The video contest is sponsored by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. Winning entries will be announced April 22 and will receive $100-$500, and the winners will be screened at an event in mid-May.

Submissions close on March 31. For more information and to upload video submissions, visit https://svycanbs-contest.com.