Aniyah has lived in the Central Valley since 2016 and moved here from her hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Having lived in Fresno and recently moved to Madera she loves to be active in the community. Working with local nonprofits such as the Fresno Mission and YFC Fresno/Madera, she has found the most joy being active in ministry in schools, juvenile detention centers, and group homes.
Graduating in the fall with her Associates in Psychology and in pursuit of substance abuse and addiction counseling certification, Ani’s passions lie in supporting and uplifting youth. In her junior year of high school she joined the Center for Advanced Research and Technology taking law and being active in policy change in schools. Apart from an award winning advocacy group Teens Against Domestic Violence, she worked with lawyers from the Fresno County Bar Association in making a policy to have a resource page that provided help for those witnessing and struggling with a variety of societal happenings. She partnered with M.A.D, and brought awareness to addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, and abuse.
On a more personal note, Ani grew up in a small town in Arizona called Sahuarita, about an hour from the border town to Mexico called Nogales, and frequented the indigenous reservations around her. Hailing from the Yaqui tribe herself, her native roots are a strong part of who she is. Ani loves to express herself through the arts and in her free time paints and does clay making at a local studio here in Fresno. A true outdoors-woman she hikes, rock climbs, and kayaks. A fun fact that most will come to learn is that Ani secondhand buys everything but her groceries, so next time you see her don’t be shy to ask where she gets her unique clothes.