Angie Vasquez is a 17-year-old Bed Stuy resident who stems from the roots of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Angie is a youth organizer who prioritizes her time into organizing events to bring awareness to the issue of gun violence and violence in general. What prompted Angie to do this is the violence that she sees surrounding the community, and how it has affected her personally through her brother. Ever since then, Angie has dedicated her time to increase togetherness and decrease violence in the community.

Angie sees her role more relatable to the youth in the community because of what she has been through as well as her age. Angie said  “Let’s be real, a lot of kids are not going to listen to an adult, they are just going to say we heard it all before.” More youths are more likely to connect with other youths than an adult and she uses this as an opportunity to be able to sit and talk to other youths about the effects of gun violence.  

Her plans for the future are to continue the work she has started to continue bringing  more awareness to the effects of violence. She even mentions that she wants to change the standards, and expectations of the community. “It takes a village to raise a child” she said and Angie believes that we should all be a community and be one and leave the violence and be one. Angie’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed and she is being honored because of it.