Mary Tavarozzi Gives LGBTQ Youth a Place to Socialize

Sarasota Magazine honored ALSO Youth board chair Mary Tavarozzi. When the pandemic shut everything down in 2020, she started online book clubs, virtual art projects, and movie nights so there was no gap in programs, even on weeks when only one young person logged on. For many youth, she said, dropping into the center was their main social time outside of school.

She also stepped in as interim executive director after ALSO merged with Bradenton’s Prism Youth Alternatives, helping restaff and reopen both centers. By the time of the story, the Sarasota Center was open four times a week and the Bradenton Center at least once a week. “If Mary hadn’t been there, the organization would have had to shut down,” said Executive Director Mickey Stone.