HomeMy WebLinkAboutTC 03-11-2026 MinutesAPPROVED MINUTES
CUPERTINO TEEN COMMISSION
Wednesday, March 11, 2026
At 6:05 p.m. Vice Chair Harly Liu called the regular Teen Commission meeting to order at the
Quinlan Conference Room, 10185 North Stelling Road and via teleconference.
ROLL CALL
Present: Vice Chair Harly Liu, and Commissioners Rusheel Deshmukh, Jonathan Gao, Saanvi
Halambi (arrived at 6:08 p.m.), Sumedha Kumar, Chelsea Lau (arrived at 6:06 p.m.), and Vinay
Prakash. Absent: Chair Anushree Misra and Commissioner Brianna Su.
CEREMONIAL MATTERS AND PRESENTATIONS
1.Subject: Intergenerational Programs Presentation
Recommended Action: Receive a presentation on Intergenerational Programs from
Recreation Coordinator, Zoe Keeley.
Recreation Coordinator Zoe Keeley gave a presentation.
Commissioners asked questions which staff responded to.
Vice Chair Liu opened the public comment period, and seeing no one, closed the public
comment period.
2.Subject: California Association of Youth Commissions Presentation
Recommended Action: Receive a presentation on California Association of Youth
Commissions Surveys and Conference from Anya Dalal.
Cofounder and Chair of California Association of Youth Commissions Anya Dalal gave a
presentation.
Commissioners asked questions which the presenter responded to.
Vice Chair Liu opened the public comment period and, seeing no one, closed the public
comment period.
Teen Commission Minutes March 11, 2026
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3. Subject: Approval of Minutes - February 11, 2026
Recommended Action: Review and approve the minutes from the Teen Commission
meeting on February 11, 2026.
Vice Chair Liu opened the public comment period and, seeing no one, closed the public
comment period.
MOTION: Gao moved and Halambi seconded to approve the February 11, 2026 minutes.
The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Liu, Deshmukh, Gao, Halambi,
Kumar, Lau, Prakash. Noes: None. Abstain: None. Absent: Su, Misra.
POSTPONEMENTS – None
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS – None
OLD BUSINESS – None
NEW BUSINESS
4. Subject: Teen Speaker Series Topics
Recommended Action: Solicit feedback on Teen Speaker Series Topics for 2026.
Recreation Coordinator Robert Kaufman gave a presentation.
Vice Chair Liu opened the public comment period and, seeing no one, closed the public
comment period.
Commissioners made the following recommendations:
• Make college planning events recurring since they had high attendance from teens
and parents and generated many follow-up questions.
• Continue covering practical college application topics such as essay writing and
developing a personal story.
• Expand career events beyond just tech to include a wider range of career paths.
• Invite professionals to share their career experiences and explain how they entered
their fields.
• Organize career sessions into more specific fields rather than broad categories.
• Include niche or specialized career topics to attract students with specific interests.
• Consider bringing back business or entrepreneurship-related events, possibly with
Teen Commission Minutes March 11, 2026
improved marketing or timing.
• Add programming about youth leadership or starting youth-led organizations or
nonprofits.
• Offer life-skills programming not typically taught in school, such as taxes, credit
management, and financial planning.
• Include interactive workshop elements in events, such as time to work on or
review college essays.
5. Subject: Pizza and Politics
Recommended Action: Solicit feedback on Pizza and Politics for 2026.
Recreation Coordinator Robert Kaufman gave a presentation.
Vice Chair Liu opened the public comment period and, seeing no one, closed the public
comment period.
Commissioners made the following recommendations:
• Incorporate interactive or gamified activities, such as debate-style discussions
where participants take sides on different topics.
• Consider roundtable discussions with experienced individuals, such as teen
commissioners or school board candidates, to share perspectives.
• Include fast-paced debate or discussion segments to make the event more
engaging for participants.
• Invite local candidates or public officials, such as school board or city council
candidates, to introduce themselves and answer questions.
• Feature students or school political clubs to share their experiences with civic
engagement and political involvement.
• Host discussions or workshops about youth activism and civic participation,
including organizing protests or walkouts.
• Consider inviting activists or community leaders to speak about their work and
experiences.
• Explore using surveys or feedback forms to gather topic suggestions from teens for
future events.
• Include discussions about upcoming elections or important local and state races to
help inform students.
6. Subject: Splash Bash/Summer Kickoff
Recommended Action: Solicit feedback on Splash Bash/Summer Kickoff for 2026.
Recreation Coordinator Robert Kaufman gave a presentation.
Teen Commission Minutes March 11, 2026
Commissioners asked questions which staff responded to.
Vice Chair Liu opened the public comment period and, seeing no one, closed the public
comment period.
Commissioners made the following recommendations:
• Keep the event small-scale initially, with flexibility to expand as teen participation
grows.
• Allow youth of all ages to participate when teen turnout is low.
• Include fun, interactive activities such as a dunk tank featuring teachers, arts and
crafts (painting bags, henna, bracelet-making), and other hands-on projects.
• Consider adding more food options, like multiple food trucks or hot meals, to
attract attendees and improve the experience of the event.
• Communicate activities more clearly in flyers to highlight the variety of options
beyond basic descriptions.
• Be mindful of potential schedule conflicts with similar school or community
events.
• Explore creative, safe ideas like water play with portable sprinklers.
STAFF AND COMMISSION REPORTS
Recreation Coordinator Robert Kaufman reported on recent and upcoming Parks and Recreation
events.
FUTURE AGENDA SETTING - None
ADJOURNMENT
At 7:17 p.m. Vice Chair Liu adjourned the Regular Teen Commission Meeting.
Minutes prepared by:
Teen Commission Minutes March 11, 2026
Lindsay Nelson, Administrative Assistant