Our Team

We are educators, students, professionals, parents, activists and community advocates, each committed to racial equity, especially for our girls!

YOUTH JUSTICE LEADERS

Leading Change for Racial Justice ~ Transforming Schools for Girls

Deja Dunlap

I stan' for black girls because I am a black girl, and I believe that they should be fought for, protected, and loved the same way any other person would be. I dream a better world for Black girls and my work with Code Switch will give me the opportunity to bring my dream to life!

Naika Belizaire

I stan' for black girls because they are everything! They are the foundation and future of our community! I dream that all black girls will learn to love themselves and be unapologetically Black women. I hope that my work with Code Switch will help to achieve that dream, step by step.

Danae Dunlap

I stan' for Black Girls because I don't want things to be as hard for the next generation of black women. I don't want my little sister to have to deal with the same level of colorism, sexism, misogynoir, etc. . I don't want young black girls putting themselves into boxes of what they can and can't do. I don't want young black girls to feel inferior to their nonblack peers. I believe Code Switch gives me the opportunity to make sure they don't!

Tracy Renee Edwards

Tracy 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.

Ashante' Herring

Ashante' 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.

Tina Zhang

Tina is a conflict management specialist, helping individuals have difficult conversations. She mediates a variety of cases related to divorce, housing, small claims, and workplace disputes. Tina also has extensive training as a victim-survivor advocate, and volunteer for S.A.F.E. House, a domestic violence organization in Henderson, Nevada. She believe Girls of Color can change our collective future for the better, that they are wise and creative beyond common imagination! She was drawn to Code Switch for the opportunity to learn from them and to witness their growing power and presence.

Brooke Blackwell

Brooke is an educational specialist and Parent Trainer for Shining Star Community Services. She was drawn to Code Switch because she believes that Black girls because are beautiful and deserves the same chances that all other girls have! Brooke is here to make sure that our girls feel loved and uplifted and can go on to live long, beautiful lives filled with promises and joy. This is her freedom dream for every black girl and it's what powers her work with Code Switch.

Pam Cates-Albert

Pam is a manager and XX with Teach for America. She stands for and with Black girls because her dream is for them to be able to grow up joyfully living out loud without systemic roadblocks and hurdles. She lives by the Maya Angelou quote, “I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for me and others like me...” and draws on it as inspiration in her work with Code Switch.

Alicia Johnson

Alicia M. Johnson is a Chicago, IL resident, special education teacher, and the Program Manager for Code Switch's Youth Justice Fellowship program. She has a strong passion for Black Girls and Womxn and dream a world where they are seen and heard. She is committed to making sure that Black girls and womxn have a voice and a space to be authentically themselves, and it is this commitment that drives here work with Code Switch.

Gena Petrov

Gena 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.

Shakala Alvaranga

Shakala Alvaranga received her Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She served as a television news anchor in Massachusetts and worked as a television news reporter at CBS in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the years, she has covered a wide array of issues affecting girls of color. She invests in Black Girls because their voices deserve to be heard. Through her work with Code Switch, she hopes to empower and uplift other Black girls.

Alicia Baker

Alicia Baker is new to Code Switch. A Regional Coordinator/Career Coach for SEIU-UHW's Education Fund, she was drawn to the Code Switch family because of her passion for supporting the development and growth of Black girls. As a Black woman who was once a Black girl herself, she knows the power of mentorship and having someone stand with you and for you, and wants to be the same for the girls of Code Switch. Alicia envisions a world where every girl has the ability to dream and has made it her goal to be that support girls need to walk forward toward her dreams.

Tonya Walls

Tonya 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.

Kali Woods

Kali 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