Sylvia Mendez, the civil rights icon and education advocate who has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the landmark Mendez v. Westminster case, which led to the desegregation of California schools, has been named one of the Orange County Register’s 125 Most Influential People for 2024.
She was among a handful of educators, students and leaders within the education community recognized for making a difference in Orange County and beyond.
The Register noted that Mendez’s inclusion on this year’s list coincides with her selection to the Orange County Hall of Fame and the passage of a state law requiring Mendez v. Westminster to be taught in California schools. The case, fought by her family, helped integrate schools in the state — seven years before Brown v. Board of Education did so nationally.
Each year, the Orange County Register releases its list of the 125 most influential people, honoring individuals for their impacts locally, nationally and even internationally. The 2024 list was said to be particularly competitive, with more than 360 reader submissions and nominations from reporters and editors.
Naturally, there were big-name entertainers and athletes in the mix, like Freddie Freeman, Will Ferrell and Rod Carew. But here are some of the familiar names from the education community we spotted, along with the Register’s descriptions of their accomplishments:
Ava August
In 2024, while performing and spreading cheer regularly for CHOC patients as well as in and around Orange County, the 18-year-old Dana Hills High graduate and former “American Idol” and “The Voice” performer released two singles: “Goodbye” and “The End.” She now attends UCLA.
Ryan Bertoni
Bertoni’s work with the Matt Leinart Flag Football League showed its fruits with the success of Orange County high school girls flag football teams in the inaugural season of the CIF-Southern Section playoffs. He is president of the league.
Hannah Cho
Cho, representing Northwood High, was elected California Boys and Girls State Superintendent of Public Instruction at the conference. She was one of 12 high school students nationwide, she attended daily Library of Congress sessions and engaged in peer discussions and presentations. She serves as one of 10 high school students nationwide to be the youth face and voice for American Battlefield Trust.
Athena Elling
At 11 years old, Elling became the youngest student to graduate from Irvine Valley College, breaking a record set by her brother. She graduated cum laude (which means she had a GPA of 3.50–3.74) with an associate’s degree in liberal arts.
Kimberly Goll
The president and CEO of First 5 Orange County led the expansion of the HealthySteps model, which supports families with developmental screenings, behavioral health and well-child visits. With support from CalOptima Health, she increased the program to 15 clinics, reaching an additional 8,000 children. Additionally, she championed the use of Community Health Workers (CHWs) through Medi-Cal to support pregnant and postpartum families, including piloting a billing model for these services, enhancing the sustainability of CHW programs.
David Hemmerling
The Esperanza High baseball player suffered a life-changing shoulder injury last year, forcing him to give up his dream of playing high school and college baseball. With extra time on his hands, the 17-year-old decided to put his energy into something positive rather than feel sorry for himself. He founded “Food for the Famished,” a high school club that gleans fruit and vegetables from neighbors’ gardens and trees and donates them to local charities. So far he has collected almost 5,000 pounds.
Ryan Hickman
He founded Ryan’s Recycling when he was 7 years old. In the last several years, he’s been a finalist for Time’s Kid of the Year, a CNN Young Wonder and spoken to 23,000 kids at WE Day. The H&M clothing company highlighted him in its global role models campaign, he’s been in ads for Old Navy and Mack Trucks and he did a Got Milk commercial.
Joey King
King, a teacher at Hope School in Anaheim Union High School District, was honored as one of the top teachers in the county this year. He teaches special education students and hopes to instill skills in them to be leaders and help others.
Amber Lin
Lin, a junior at Tarbut V’Torah in Irvine, is only 16. Yet, she’s already performed piano at Carnegie Hall four times. She’s won national literary awards for her poetry. And she’s conducted university-level lab research on Alzheimer’s disease. She’s also made an impact in Orange County, playing piano at senior homes and founding a club committed to helping seniors learn healthy habits to slow the effects of aging. On campus, Lin helms TVT’s literary club and started the school’s first writing contest.
Sylvia Mendez
After being left out of the inaugural class, Mendez was selected to the Orange County Hall of Fame in its second year. That coincided with the passage of a state law that requires Mendez v. Westminster, the case her family fought that integrated California schools (before Brown v. Board of Education did it nationally), be taught to California students.
Sandra Morgan
Morgan, the executive director of the Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University, in 2024 launched the Safe Communities, Safe Kids program, a three-year pilot program that aims to significantly increase human trafficking prevention education for students and educators in Orange County public schools and secures grants to support trafficking survivors’ transition into a place of safety and security. In March, the center and the Orange County Department of Education co-sponsored a two-day conference promoting kids’ online safety.
Katelyn Nguyen
Twenty rounds of competition — and correctly spelling “discretionary” in the regional spelling bee — secured 13-year-old Nguyen her ticket to Washington D.C. to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. The Helen Stacey Middle School student is the first student from the Westminster School District to have advanced to the nationals.
Dawn Reese
The reader-nominated CEO of The Wooden Floor organized the first Youth Mental Health Convening with Santa Ana Unified leadership in collaboration with the City of Santa Ana and the Santa Ana Youth Mental Health Task Force. She also created the partnership of The Wooden Floor with the Garden Grove Unified School District and the Boys and Girls Club to create Dance Uplifts, an after-school dance education program.
Jay Seidel
Seidel created Fullerton College’s first Bachelor of Science degree. The degree, in drone and autonomous systems, is set to begin in Fall 2026. This groundbreaking program, the first of its kind on the West Coast, will provide students with a comprehensive education in the rapidly growing field of drone technology and autonomous systems. Seidel built the Fullerton Drone Lab from a single class in 2018 and now offers an associate’s degree, a bachelor’s degree and classes with local high schools.
Wilson Song and Connor Wong
The Sage Hill seniors were honored at National Philanthropy Day for their nonprofit, Sandbox Synergy, which helps young entrepreneurs launch their efforts. At the event, Wong said they wanted to help “build the foundation of a more compassionate society.”
Mucio Vidales and Pablo Diaz
Nicolas Junior High woodshop teacher Vidales and Diaz, an innovation and instructional support coordinator with the Fullerton School District, led 22 eighth graders in building a 192-square-foot tiny home for an unhoused family in the district this school year.
Harmony Yan-Li
The Irvine High School student won an international award for her documentary she created depicting the history of the thalidomide scandal and the doctor who prevented the United States from selling the drug. Yan-Li spent more than 40 hours on the project and is inspiring other students at Irvine High to do their own research and create projects.