Mission High School Student to Be Honored for Peer Mediation Efforts at 13th Annual San Francisco Peacemaker Awards

California Lopez, an 11th grade student and peer mediator at Mission High School, will be honored at the Community Boards’ 13th Annual San Francisco Peacemaker Awards ceremony as the recipient of the Gail Sadalla Rising Peacemaker Award. The ceremony will take place on Friday, June 9 from 10:00-11:30am at The City Club of San Francisco and will be livestreamed.

Currently in her second year as a peer mediator at Mission, California serves her community by mediating conflicts, mentoring younger students, and finding ways to collaborate with adults. This year alone, California has mediated 30 cases with disputes involving miscommunication, relationship problems, and fights. 

After being homeschooled by her parents, California began her journey in conflict resolution when she enrolled at Willie Brown Jr. Middle School in 8th grade and took their Peer Resources class. The class trains students in communication and conflict resolution skills, analyzing oppression, solving problems, and acting as mentors to younger students. California credits her teacher Oscar Cardenas for igniting her interest in conflict resolution and seeing that there are ways to make society better for everyone.

Aimee Riechel, California’s Peer Resources teacher at Mission, nominated her for the award. Aimee says, “I am impressed by the level of communication skills California has mastered and how she can easily guide students towards resolving conflicts, even within tough situations.”

Community Boards was founded in 1976 with the mission to provide the public with empowering, effective, and accessible mediation and conflict resolution services for resolving a wide range of personal, residential, neighborhood, consumer, and public disputes.

The San Francisco Peacemaker Awards event acknowledges and honors the significant contributions of those making San Francisco a city of healthier, safer neighborhoods and communities. With the awards, Community Boards salutes and celebrates change makers, community builders, anti-violence advocates, and on-the-ground peacemakers. The awards recognize an adult, a youth, and an organization with proven track records.

Congratulations to California on this honor!