High School HeroesX adds the incredible Joshua Lafazan to the Advisory Board to its PHL Education Challenge!

Though the 2015 summer portion of our education challenge is complete, HSHX is still planning on expanding its efforts come fall to effect more positive change in the education sector, and help more students learn the tools they need to succeed in higher education and in life. To do so, we are beyond thrilled to add such an amazing mind for education, and caring mind for students, to the Advisory Board to the challenge to continue to assist our teams.

 

Bio: Joshua Lafazan became one of the youngest elected officials in the history of New York State when at 18 years of age he was elected to the Syosset School Board of Education, receiving 82% of the vote in May of 2012. At the time of the election, Joshua was Senior Class President, graduating from Syosset High School in June of 2012. Joshua is currently a senior in the Cornell University ILR School.

 

​Joshua’s dedication to community service began before he ran for the school board.  Joshua is the Founder and C.E.O. of Safe Ride Syosset, Inc., a community outreach program dedicated to ensuring that no Syosset teenager gets behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated, or is the passenger in a car with a drunk driver. Joshua continues to make volunteerism and community service a priority in his life. Joshua is a member of the Board of Directors of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (LICADD), whose mission is to aid both families and individuals who suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction.  Joshua is a member of both the Nassau County Heroin Prevention Task Force as well as the Long Island Youth Safety Coalition, helping to bring the perspective of youth into policy conversations across Long Island.  After being appointed by the Nassau County Executive, Joshua was confirmed by the Nassau County Legislature as a member of the Board of Directors of the Nassau County Youth Board, a government agency that oversees funding for youth programs.  Additionally, Joshua is a volunteer firefighter in the Varna Volunteer Fire Department.

 

On Joining the Board: "Joining the advisory board of the High School HeroesX education challenge was a no-brainer; what Eli and his team are doing is simply remarkable. Affording Philadelphia based students the opportunity to unleash their full creative potential through social change means we're helping to cultivate a generation of activists in a world that so sorely needs them. I'm proud to be a member of the advisory board, as I believe it is truly a game changer."