Texas youth directors plan to make San Antonio a hub for Positive Youth Development

By Anna Weis ‘23

Anthony Betori and Sophia Montemayor of Healthy Futures of Texas have a big vision for addressing youth issues in the San Antonio region. As advocates for Positive Youth Development, they have dedicated their careers to locating youth disparities and fighting for solutions, which has culminated into the task of becoming the first TYAN Pod Leaders in public health region 8. But for these spearheads in sexual health education, this path was not always the most obvious one to take.

Betori has always been passionate about working with youth. However, when starting his career as a teacher in Chicago, he noticed the surprising lack of sexual health resources offered in the school system. Witnessing the prevalence of this issue first-hand, he decided to veer his career into the realm of public health, where he learned how deep-rooted this matter really is. Since moving to Texas, Betori has become the Director of Curriculum and Innovation for Healthy Futures of Texas, a leading nonprofit in preventing teen pregnancy, and was named 2020 Rising Star by the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

Betori’s motivation is epitomized in Sophia Montemayor’s personal youth advocacy journey. Growing up in Texas, Montemayor explained that she “didnt have any sexual education or empowerment when it came to [her] own anatomy or autonomy,” and especially for “health and relationships, consent, the other pieces of sexual health that not everyone might associate.” While at university, she discovered just how much education was missing in her and her peers’ upbringing and made it her mission to broaden resources for the future generation of youth.

“In my college years, when I found the information myself, I just thought that everyone needed to know it.” Montemayor expressed.

Both having backgrounds in sex education advocacy, they seek to incorporate this topic into the Pod’s future activities. And, with the help of Pod partners who focus on mental health awareness, the Pod will dive into how these two matters intersect.

In preparation for Sex Ed For All Month, a monthlong campaign dedicated to sexual education and empowerment, in May, 2023, Pod Members and Community Partners are planning relevant events to empower and educate Rio Valley youth, but in order to provide the best support, they acknowledge that inspiration must come from the youth first.

“We have a lot of ideas about what we need to be doing. We could read the research and get together as adults and think ‘well, I think this is important,’ but you know, we weren’t teens during the pandemic, so how can I understand things like the impact of TikTok on teen mental health, or how they learn about sex and relationships?” stated Betori.

To incorporate Youth Voice, there will be upcoming brainstorming sessions between the Pod leaders and involved youth, such as the Youth Advocacy Council, to learn their needs firsthand and to ensure there are informed Caring Adults behind the effort. The Pod’s ultimate mission is to make San Antonio and the surrounding areas a hub for Positive Youth Development.

If you or your organization are interested in joining the Region 8 Pod, reach out to the Texas Youth Action Network at tyan@ppri.tamu.edu.