One of the event's sponsors, the Children's Rights Council, will award Pedro Auad as its outstanding youth advocate. The 16-year-old high school junior from San Diego has been a tireless advocate for shared parenting and children's rights which supports the mission of the Children's Rights Council which says: "the best parent is both parents."

Since an early age, Pedro has been the subject of a prolonged custody battle between his mother and father. California Courts awarded legal custody with his mother but Pedro prefers to live with both parents.

In 2003 at the age of 12, Pedro collected signatures from neighbors, friends and strangers at supermarkets and stadiums in an effort to petition San Diego's family courts to allow him access to both parents.

Since then, he has become a champion of what's become a growing trend in the nation's family courts: children's rights in custody battles.