We are educators, students, professionals, parents, activists and community advocates, each committed to educational equity, especially for our girls!
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Tracy Renee Edwards, Advisory Board Team MemberTracy Edwards is an elementary educator and Teach Plus Fellow. She has an extensive background in teaching, curriculum development, and technology, and currently works as a 5th grade teacher and curriculum developer at Odyssey Charter School. Tracy's advocacy work centers her commitment to equity in education, as well as her passion for cultivating a teaching force representative of the diverse student population indicative of Southern Nevada's diverse schools.
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Erica Etienne, Advisory Board Team MemberErica Etienne is a lifelong K-12 educator with a commitment to educational equity. Her work as an educational leader is steeped in her passion for addressing the barriers that impede the academic success and social, emotional, and spiritual well-being of Girls of Color. Though she understands the work of gender equity and racial justice is challenging, she also understands the rewards, and is determined to leverage her lived experiences as a Black girl, as well as her current role as an elementary school principal, to ensure that both are achieved.
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Ashante' Herring, Advisory Board Team MemberAshante' Herring works as a Youth Services Facilitator at Las Vegas' The Center, where she advances programming for LGBTQIA2+ identified youth. Her passion for achieving equity and racial justice at the intersections, especially for young Womxn of Color, is what inspired her connection to Code Switch. She also has an affinity for, and commitment to, engaging education for liberation centered in the needs of first generation college Students of Color.
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Luciana "Mama China" Hudson, Advisory Board Team MemberLuciana "Mama China" Hudson is a community organizer and artivist whose work for liberation has birthed some of Southern Nevada's most valued African Centered programming for Black Girls. Known as the Historic West-Side's premier cultural curator, Ms. China facilitates weekly African dance classes and also hosts an annual Rites of Passage program, helping girls tap into the brilliance and power already living within them! Mama China can be found inspiring the community at Pearson Community Center, The West Las Vegas Arts Center, and Rainbow Dreams Academy.
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Shannon Isaacs, Advisory Board Team MemberShannon Isaacs is a visionary educational leader who has committed nearly a decade working towards proactively transforming the educational landscape for youth and communities of color. She brings her background in public policy and community engagement, as well as developing youth apprenticeships and work based learning to Code Switch. She also brings a passion for achieving equity and justice for our girls!
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Jameelah Lewis, Advisory Board Team MemberJameelah Lewis is a rising young activist with a strong belief in education for liberation. She spends her time organizing movements to educate the community about the experiences of LGBTQIA2+ identified youth. Her work focuses on intersecting variables including race, gender equity, and housing insecurity. She is also committed to developing and hosting healing spaces for Black Womxn so they are free to express creativity, spirituality, and mindfulness. Jameelah currently engages this work in her professional role with the Rape Crisis Center of Nevada as well as a plethora of community-based organizations.
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Yvonne Morris, Advisory Board Team MemberYvonne Morris is a doctoral student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas where her research explores Black Feminism and social media, in tandem with the erasure and exploitation of Black women's labor. When not engrossed in her studies, she leverages her position as a Program Specialist for the Nevada State College TRIO Upward Bound Program to assist Youth of Color and their families with the college going process.
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Gena Petrov, Advisory Board Team MemberGena Petrov is a passionate bilingual educator who aligns her commitment to social justice with her values for servant leadership. She is committed to leveraging her role as an Assistant Principal and Chief Operating Officer of Think for Yourself Academy to cultivate culturally relevant learning environments through dialogue and community building. In addition to being an educator, Gena is a Chicago native, has one daughter, and is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
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Kyle Rogers, Advisory Leadership Team MemberKyle Rogers is a high school educator who amplifies the voices of incarcerated youth. He works as a teacher at Clark County's juvenile justice center and organizes with Teachers for Social Justice Las Vegas. He is also a graduate student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, pursuing a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Multicultural Education, Cultural Studies and International Education. Kyle is committed to educational equity and dismantling Southern Nevada's school-to-prison pipeline and seeks to leverage his research in public pedagogy to shine a light on the carceral experiences of historically marginalized and minoritized youth, including Code Switch girls.
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Teyev Smith, Advisory Board Team MemberTeyev Smith is a high school English teacher. Her experience as an educator, advocate, and mother provoked an increased consciousness about equity and justice and sparked her commitment to dismantling the inequities she witnessed Youth of Color experiencing as a result of punitive and exclusionary discipline. She connected with Code Switch to help eradicate Black Girl pushout and currently leverages her positionality as an educator to do so.
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Tonya Walls, Advisory Board Team MemberTonya Walls is an independent scholar and educator with a commitment to gender equity and racial justice for Black Girls and Womxn. She began teaching in her hometown, Oakland, California where she was introduced to culturally relevant and restorative pedagogies. She now leverages this experience to develop a critical mass of educators committed to building humanizing and liberatory spaces in Southern Nevada's classrooms and schools. She is one of three Black women whose community-engaged work inspired Code Switch, and it is this work that drives her belief in education for liberation. Tonya also organizes with Teachers for Social Justice Las Vegas.
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Kali Woods, Advisory Board Team MemberKali Woods is a Las Vegas native and home-grown gender equity advocate. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in Journalism & Media Studies. Upon graduating, her commitment to give back to the community inspired her to find ways to uplift young Girls of Color and led to her connection with Code Switch.. She is committed to putting her media skills to work to amplify the voices and experiences of Code Switch girls
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