| Tanaka is originally from Byhalia, MS. She relocated to Denver, CO, ten years ago to pursue a career in the non-profit sector, and in that time she has been active in the community, working with local organizations such as the Leadership Foundation of Colorado, the Annual Juneteenth Music Festival, the Denver Metro Chamber’s Impact Denver Leader Foundation Program, and most recently as a graduate of the Denver Foundation’s Executive Directors of Color Institute (EDCI). She was awarded the Urban Leadership Alumni of the Year Award 2017. And she was also recognized/awarded by her peers as the Distinguished Graduate for ULFC’s 2013 cohort. (The Class Who Re-Ignited The Flame) Tanaka most recently served as the Director of Education with CHIC (Collaborative Healing Initiative within Communities). In this role she recognizes that she truly found her purpose and passion in serving the community through grassroots efforts by helping build and maintain community partnerships with various school partners.Tanaka has committed to remaining steadfast in QueenShipp’s continued growth locally, nationally, and soon to be internationally as it relates to promoting positive identity development and culturally diverse programming for all young women, including queer, trans and non-binary. |
Having “come out” recently herself, she understands firsthand the strength, vulnerability, and inevitable judgement that comes with this journey. She admits, “I’ve personally witnessed my students’ struggle with their identities at this age, many of whom have no supportive adult they feel they can trust at school or at home.” She decided she would no longer sit idly by but rather lean in to her own authentic self in an effort to support her students holistically.
Tanaka received her BA in Sociology from Jackson State University (JSU). While at JSU, she was selected as the first student to study abroad in Taiwan after spending the previous summer in Beijing, China, as a part of the first faculty-led study abroad program.
Tanaka is also the proud co-founder of Denver’s first African American women’s philanthropic giving circle, Sisterhood of Philanthropists Impacting Needs, SPIN. In this short time SPIN has donated/given back over $30,000 to Denver’s non-profit sector, with a true focus on small non-profits that serve primarily African American women and girls specifically.
In Tanaka’s spare time she loves grilling and cooking for friends; she also enjoys golfing, thrift store shopping, and mining for old Blues/R&B vinyl records on the weekends!
The Sisterhood of Philanthropists Impacting Needs (SPIN) is a philanthropic giving circle of African-American women in Denver, Colorado. SPIN’s mission is to leverage our collective strengths in order to positively impact marginalized women and adolescent girls in our community.
Established in 2014, the Sims-Fayola Foundation is redefining the narrative for boys and young men of color. We confront the educational, social, and systemic barriers that limit opportunity and belonging, working to create pathways where every young man can thrive.
Through innovative programs, awareness campaigns, and strategic partnerships with schools, community organizations, and civic leaders, we turn belief into structure and structure into practice. Guided by our three pillars, Building Power, Shaping Systems, and Elevating Narratives, we are advancing equity by design.
Our work provides mentorship, education, advocacy, and direct support that lead to measurable impact and lasting change. The Sims-Fayola Foundation is more than an organization; it’s a movement to build systems of belonging and brighter futures for boys and young men of color.
Denver Health’s School-based Health Centers (SBHC) form a large network of 19 health centers located inside Denver Public School (DPS) campuses that provide medical, mental health, dental and behavioral health care to any DPS student and sibling(s), including children enrolled in DPS-affiliated Early Childhood Education programs at no charge to families. We also offer health education and family planning, as well as insurance enrollment and advising services.
In 1946, Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the Rotary Club of Denver partnered to form Denver Boys with the purpose of providing academic support, mentorship, and job skills for boys who were dropping out of school to work and provide for their families when their fathers did not return from WWII. Denver Girls was founded in 1970 to follow the same model of academic and mentor support. In 1993, Denver Kids became the merged entities of Denver Boys and Denver Girls to consolidate programs and funding.
Our unique partnership with DPS continues today. Specializing in Educational Advising—a one-to-one, relationship-based, long-term approach dedicated to building character, academic achievement, and positive development of the whole child—Denver Kids strives to help students use education and the development of social and emotional skills as tools to create career and college pathways.
As we strive to meet the academic, social and emotional needs of our students, our model is stronger than ever. And our students need us more profoundly than ever before.
In 2026, Denver Kids celebrates 80 years of serving youth in our community. Click on our timeline above to take a walk through the history of our organization by decade, and learn how you can support our next 80 years.
Who We Are
In 2012, Bob Bell discovered a heartbreaking truth: in schools across the Denver area, children were going home on Friday afternoons not knowing if they’d eat again before Monday. What began as one man’s determination, along with volunteers from the Arvada Rotary Club, quickly became a movement. Together, they filled and delivered the first weekend food bags, or PowerSacks, to just two Denver public schools.
What started small has since grown into a powerful community effort. Food For Thought Denver now serves over 75 schools across the Denver area, providing weekend meals to tens of thousands of children every week.
And we’re still a 100% volunteer-run organization.
In Denver, 1 in 7 children experiences food insecurity, and for many, the lunch they receive at school on Friday is the last full meal they’ll have until Monday morning. This hunger affects physical and mental health, the ability to learn, and the chance to thrive.
We’re here to change that.
Our mission is simple but urgent: to close the weekend hunger gap for Denver’s children and ensure that no child goes hungry. Period.
Every Friday morning, hundreds of volunteers come together to pack PowerSacks filled with non-perishable food items, enough to feed a family of four for two full meals. This support comes from our neighbors, students, local businesses, friends, family, and community groups. By Friday afternoon, those PowerSacks are in the hands of our kiddos to take home with them for the weekend.
Because we give a PowerSack to every student in the schools we serve, we eliminate stigma, reduce barriers, and make sure that every child who needs food gets it — no questions asked.