Skylar Dorosin

Palo Alto, CA | 18

2013 Award Recipient

A competitive water polo player, Skylar Dorosin knows first-hand how sports can foster self-confidence and self-esteem. After participating in a water polo tournament in a working-class Los Angeles suburb, Skylar realized that some of her neighboring communities did not have the resources to support athletic programs. In 2010, she created Project 2020 to give young girls from lower-income communities the opportunity to be a part of a team, to learn how to swim, and to play water polo—building their self-esteem, teamwork, and collaboration skills. To date, Project 2020 has worked with more than 250 girls throughout the San Francisco Bay Area with more than 50 teenagers coaching and mentoring participants, and the involvement of four-time water polo Olympian, Brenda Villa. Skylar and Brenda have worked together to expand the program, including partnering with the East Palo Alto YMCA, and developing an after-school tutoring program.